Jury selection began on Monday for the high-profile Dallas murder case involving a deadly feud between rival rappers.

MO3 was shot to death on Interstate 35 back in 2020. Prosecutors allege the shooting was part of a murder-for-hire plot organized by Yella Beezy.

MO3, whose real name was Melvin Noble, was gunned down in the middle of the busy interstate. The deadly shooting shocked the local hip-hop community.

But prosecutors allege it wasn’t random. They believe Noble was targeted as part of a murder-for-hire plot.

Prosecutors argue there was a long-running feud between Noble and Dallas rapper Yella Beezy, whose real name is Markies Conway.

Conway is accused of orchestrating the killing and hiring Kewon White to carry it out.

Conway has pleaded not guilty to capital murder and denies involvement.

White is already serving time for an unrelated gun charge. He now faces capital murder for MO3’s death.

A third defendant, Devin Brown, is also charged with capital murder. Prosecutors said he was in the car with White and was seen in surveillance video walking up Noble while wearing a ski mask.

Jury selection is currently underway in White’s case. Attorneys hope to narrow down a pool of 77 prospective jurors to a panel of 12.

Just before lunch on Monday, Judge Chika Anyiam reportedly banned a group of bloggers from the trial after they allegedly harassed and recorded video of potential jurors.

One of the biggest questions heading into the trial is what role rap lyrics will play.

A judge has allowed some of Yella Beezy’s music, including lyrics about his feud with MO3, to be presented as evidence.

But during a pretrial hearing on Friday, a judge denied a Dallas detective who has done a lot of investigations involving Dallas rappers. He will not be allowed to serve as an expert witness on the music.

That’s important because prosecutors claim one of Conway’s songs put a bounty on MO3.

The defense argues rap lyrics are artistic expression and not confessions. S: Fox 4