Prosecutors say Fetty Wap made $5 million with his music and he didn't need to traffic drugs to supplement it

• Fetty Wap will be sentenced on Wednesday after pleading guilty in connection to a drug trafficking charge.
• The rapper's lawyer has requested the minimum sentence — 5 years in prison.

Prosecutors In New York are requesting that Fetty Wap be sentenced to at least seven years in prison for dealing cocaine, saying in a sentencing memo that the crime was especially egregious considering that the rapper didn't even need to deal drugs to make money.

Fetty Wap — whose real name is Willie Junior Maxwell II — is set to be sentenced in Brooklyn federal court on Wednesday after pleading guilty in August to conspiracy to distribute 500 grams or more of cocaine.

In a sentencing memos last week, Maxwell's lawyer requested that he receive the minimum sentence possible — 5 years in prison — while prosecutors said he should serve between seven to nine years.

Prosecutors listed multiple reasons they believe that Maxwell deserves a longer sentence, including the fact that he had a successful music career and didn't need to deal drugs in the first place.

Maxwell is unlike many defendants who turn to to drug trafficking for financial reasons, prosecutors said.

"He had a lucrative career as a rap artist and the ability to make an honest living and provide for himself and his family," the sentencing memo said. "Indeed the defendant told the Probation Department that he made $5 million during his music career. Nevertheless, this defendant chose to supplement his income by trafficking large quantities of drugs — drugs he knew would ruin lives."

While Maxwell had not been arrested previously on drug charges, prosecutors said he admitted to the probation department that he had dealt drugs previously in 2014, and that his hit song, "Trap Queen," was an "ode to a former girlfriend" who assisted him in distributing cocaine in New Jersey.

Meanwhile, Maxwell's lawyer argued in her sentencing memo that Maxwell got into drug dealing to help family members, who had become dependent on him.

Attorney Elizabeth Macedonio said her client is the father of nine children by seven different women, and always financially supported his children and other family members. When the pandemic hit, and opportunities to perform evaporated, Macedonio said Maxwell became desperate to start making money again to support others.

"Suddenly it felt like his life was going in reverse and he became ashamed when he began to struggle to keep up the lifestyle he had created for so many," Macedonio wrote.

Macedonio said Maxwell now understands that he "does not have to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders" and is not likely to deal drugs again, leading her to recommend a lower sentence.

Maxwell was arrested in October 2021, and was initially released on bail.

His bail was revoked two months later when he was caught on FaceTime threatening a person with a gun, and he has been in jail ever since.