A Los Angeles jury has convicted rapper Tory Lanez of wounding hip-hop star Megan Thee Stallion by firing at her feet and demanding that she dance for him.

The jury of seven women and five men deliberated for one day before convicting the 30-year-old Canadian rapper, whose legal name is Daystar Peterson, of assault with a semiautomatic firearm, having a loaded, unregistered firearm in a vehicle and discharging a firearm with gross negligence.

The counts could lead to up to 22 years in prison.

The Grammy-winning Ms Stallion required surgery to remove bullet fragments.

Lanez, handcuffed while in the courtroom, was wearing a powder pink winter coat with matching pants, showed no visible reaction as the verdict was read.

Bizarre scene

However his father, Sonstar Peterson, leapt up and began shouting after the jury left the courtroom.

“This wicked system stands judged before God almighty!” he said as deputies closed in on him.

He then pointed to the two prosecutors in the case and yelled: “You two are evil, wicked people. You know exactly what you did.”

Deputies removed him from the courtroom.

Megan Thee Stallion, whose legal name is Megan Pete, testified during the trial that Lanez fired a handgun at the back of her feet and shouted for her to dance as she walked away from an SUV they had been riding in the Hollywood Hills in the summer of 2020.

She said the two had gotten into a dispute that got especially heated when she began insulting his music.

She needed surgery to remove bullet fragments from her feet.

“The jury got it right,” Megan’s attorney Alex Spiro said. “I am thankful there is justice for Meg.”

Politically charged case

The shooting set off a storm of cultural issues and arguments that peaked during the trial, including the reluctance of Black victims to speak to police, the protection of Black women, gender politics in hip-hop and online toxicity.

In closing arguments, prosecutors emphasised the courage it took for Megan to come forward and the vitriol the 27-year-old has faced.

They said she had no incentive to tell anything but the truth.

“Why would she lie?” Deputy District Attorney Alexander Bott said.

“She’s been subjected to a stream of hate. For what? For coming forward as a victim of domestic violence?”

Lanez’s lawyer George Mgdesyan alleged in his closing argument that the shots were fired by Megan’s then-best friend Kelsey Harris in a jealous fight over Lanez, who tried to stop the shooting.

Mgdesyan argued Megan created a more sympathetic narrative by pinning the shooting on Lanez.

“Megan Pete is a liar. She lied about everything in this case from the beginning,” Mgdesyan said.

Harris denied being the shooter and previously identified Lanez as the one holding the gun.

Her lawyer, in an email, declined to comment on her involvement.

Lanez began releasing mixtapes in 2009 before moving on to major-label albums, with his last two reaching the top 10 on Billboard’s charts.

Megan Thee Stallion was a major rising star at the time of the shooting and her prominence has surged since.

She won a Grammy for best new artist in 2021 and had No.1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 with her song Savage, featuring Beyoncé, and as a guest on Cardi B’s WAP.

-with AAP