Free Meek (2019–…): Season 1, Episode 5 - Episode #1.5 - full transcript
Meek's family and supporters gather at the courthouse as Judge Brinkley is scheduled to review his petition for immediate Post-Conviction Relief. During the hearing, even the District ...
(rain patters)
(soft orchestral music)
(thunder rumbles)
(thunder cracks)
- ...wake up weather,
and temperatures are going
to be all over the place
for our Monday morning,
and the warm front will be
lifting through the area
for the Monday morning--
(thunder cracks)
Wrapping up from a downpour,
then a line of strong
thunderstorms rolling through
right around our
Monday morning commute...
- No, I never imagined
this in a million years,
that this case would
actually still be going on.
- My grandson, he's a
hard-working young man.
He come up a long
ways from the ghetto.
Hopefully, they'll be
able to let him out today.
Good luck, baby.
Grandma loves you.
- Meek Mill
has been locked up
by this judge on
probation violations.
Now, this goes back
10 years with this judge
to 2008 when he was convicted
on gun and
distribution charges.
- We are all converging
in a deluge on
downtown Philadelphia
for Meek's status hearing.
Meek spent the
last five months
of his life
pointlessly in prison.
We're expecting what
should have been thousands
of people rallying
on his behalf
on the courthouse steps,
but this is an act of God,
and no one knows how
many people can actually
physically stand outside
in wind and rain like this.
Free Meek Mill!
Free Meek Mill!
Free Meek Mill!
Free Meek Mill!
Free Meek Mill!
- I'm here because I want
to see Meek Mill free.
I was asked to give
the opening prayer,
so if y'all don't mind,
if every head would bow
and every eye would close.
Lord, we pray right now
that justice will show up
in this building today.
We pray that, this very day,
in the midst of the storm
and clouds on the outside,
that reform would bring
injustice to light.
We pray your blessings
upon Robert Williams,
his family, his friends,
his fans, everything
he represents,
and all of those things
for which he stands.
Allow Meek, through this
trying time in his life,
to be used by you
as the hinges
upon which the doors of
justice and reform will swing.
We leave it all in your hands,
and your will be done, we pray.
And all God's children
said amen.
- Amen.
Free Meek Mill!
Free Meek Mill!
Free Meek Mill!
(thunder rumbles)
(people chatter)
- Kathy, how do you
feel right now?
- I'm feeling
very hopeful now.
His team done a wonderful job.
- What'd you think?
- Free Meek Mill.
- Yeah, one more time.
- Because when Meek Mill is
in jail, everybody's in jail.
When everybody's in jail,
nobody's free.
We must free the world.
We must free Meek Mill.
We must change the law.
God bless y'all.
Free Meek Mill!
Free Meek Mill!
Free Meek Mill!
Bring him home.
(intense electronic music)
- She's just spoiled my day.
Unreal. When she
started talking,
she had the attitude
in the beginning,
so I figured that
it wasn't gonna work
'cause she had a attitude.
- Assistant district
attorney stood up
in open court and said,
we agree
that his conviction
should be thrown out,
and he's entitled
to a new trial.
We also think that
immediate bail is warranted.
Judge Brinkley refused to
even entertain the notion
of discussing bail today,
and set us out 60 days
for a further status hearing
because the district
attorney's position
is not yet in writing.
- I've never
witnessed anything
like I've witnessed
in this case.
The judge really wants
more compelling evidence
that justifies a Post-Conviction
Relief Act petition,
but that's what we've done.
There is no contested issue.
The district attorney,
the prosecuting authority,
in this case has
agreed to a new trial.
Right now, she has scheduled
an evidentiary hearing
on June the 18th that the
parties are not requesting.
- MEEK: I don't even know
how she can do that...
Like if the DA is saying
they wanna throw the case out
and grant bail...
- ...like, what?
- That's the part--
The most outrageous part
of this whole day is,
after the district
attorney said what he said,
and said that we agree
with the defense,
that the conviction
needs to be thrown out,
we then stood up and said,
okay, can we talk
about bail now?
There's a new circumstance.
Obviously, we thought
this was something
that wouldn't even
be an argument,
and she said no,
we're not discussing bail,
see you on June 18th.
- Another 60 day
court date. Goddamn.
- Yep. We're hopeful
the Supreme Court's gonna act
on bail immediately.
We'll file an emergency
motion, obviously,
for them to release you,
to grant bail immediately.
(intense electronic music)
- It's head-scratching to me.
There's absolutely
no right to this.
We're long past
fundamental fairness,
so our Supreme Court
has to get involved,
not only for Meek,
but for other defendants
who could be situated
in the same way.
- The law says,
this is the act,
Post-Conviction Relief Act,
you must fulfill the
requirements of that act.
By just simply going in
there and saying we agree,
that doesn't fulfill
the requirements of the act.
He's already been found guilty.
They have to take
very regimented steps
in order to fulfill the act.
If they do that,
Judge Brinkley's gonna
grant his petition,
and he's gonna go free.
If they don't do that,
she's gonna deny this petition,
and then he's gonna have
to appeal to a higher court
to see if they'll do it.
Really is that simple.
- Thanks.
- Great job, thank you.
- Thanks so much.
- Let me tell you something.
That was hard to do
because defending this judge
is now becoming...
Why doesn't she just
grant this fucking thing?
And she looks fucking awful.
I don't know why she's got
a bug up her ass about
this guy because...
It's just a, if I was
a judge in this case...
Prosecution and Defense agree?
Good. Goodbye. See you later.
End it.
(soft electronic music)
Today, DA Larry Krasner
again backed Mills' request
to be released on bail,
and has now submitted a motion
to the Pennsylvania
Supreme Court.
The bail decision is
again in the hands
of the Supreme Court
instead of Judge Brinkley.
- (phone dings)
- See? How many
text messages you got?
- Three already.
- About three?
Yeah, I got two.
- Everybody's hearing
the news about Meek.
- Now, only thing we gotta
do is wait for them
to decide what they
going to do. Monday.
- It was Monday,
Judge Brinkley,
she shot down all
Meek's requests.
We was ready.
We was thinking,
any day, he would come home.
Then it's like, one day turned
into two days, and three days.
It's hopeless,
you know what I mean?
It's a hopeless situation.
It's like, damn,
you know?
We thought that things
were blowing up,
and it's just like this
roller coaster ride.
- Hopefully,
when Meek gets out,
he gonna be the voice
of the whole situation,
the voice of the people
that's in jail now.
(protesters chatter)
- Free Meek Mill!
Free Meek Mill!
Free Meek Mill!
- Judge Brinkley is corrupt,
and still no justice for Meek.
The governor said
he wants Meek free.
The mayor said he
wants Meek free,
and still no justice for Meek.
The time is really now
to create change
that's unprecedented.
- There are thousands
of people in jails
and prisons that don't
need to be there.
There are some things that we
need to do in our community.
- MEEK: If they're
taking me from so high
and putting me in
the state penitentiary,
you know they're doing
the average black male
or hispanic male in the
neighborhood 10 times worse.
- We're waiting on the
Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
Could be today, could be
tomorrow, could be six weeks.
We have no idea.
- Free Meek Mill!
Free Meek Mill!
Free Meek Mill!
We need justice and hope
for all these black
people and everything.
- We had so many people
come out and support
because we all see
that this is something
that we have the
power to change.
- You know, for
so many black men
that's been
wrongfully convicted,
wrongfully incarcerated,
let this be the start.
Let this ignite unity.
We stand together.
We'll stand united.
- Call from
Pennsylvania State
Correctional Institution.
- The first game's Saturday.
We got two days left for
the Supreme Court to act
to get you to game one.
- MEEK: Yeah, I know man,
hopefully this week
something happens.
- From your mouth to God's ears,
I'm really sick of seeing
your face in prison.
(intense electronic music)
- Good evening, everyone.
I'm Ukee Washington.
- I'm Jessica Dean.
The Philadelphia
rapper's conviction
sparked national outcry.
- We are expecting
rapper Meek Mill
to be released from prison.
Chopper 3 is above
the situation right now.
- I'm sitting at my desk.
I get notified that
the Supreme Court
has just done
the most amazing thing.
- The Pennsylvania
Supreme Court ordered
that Judge Brinkley
immediately release him on bail
while the PCRA plays out.
- Crowds here
that have been growing
for a while now,
hoping that he comes out.
- I believe my mama, somebody
said turn on the news.
Some of my Instagram followers
were tagging me in videos
because they were
outside of the prison.
- Meek, baby.
- It was crowds
and crowds of people.
- As anticipation
builds for his release,
so does the crowds
outside the prison.
- Meek told me that,
in prison,
he kept having this dream
that I came to get
him in a helicopter.
I've never been more
excited in my life.
(man laughs)
- They are lining
the streets in anticipation
of Meek Mill's
release from prison,
which could happen
any moment now.
- Free Meek,
Free Meek, Free Meek, Free Meek,
Free Meek, Free Meek,
Free Meek!
- We're going in
the jail right now.
Literally everyone
is going crazy.
Get back, get back now.
(crowd shouts)
- I was really in shock.
I was in my cell.
Next thing you know,
a CO was at my door,
telling me to pack my stuff.
I packed my stuff,
and I walked out.
♪ Whoo ♪
♪ Showtime ♪
♪ King's back ♪
♪ Ha ♪
♪ Yeah ♪
♪ For the love of the city ♪
♪ All my niggas on the block ♪
♪ 12 o'clock,
we ain't wheeling ♪
♪ Fuck 12 and the cops ♪
♪ They want to
see me in a cage ♪
- I'll show you
getting out of the heli.
- Where the heli?
They not even sure
it's real, man.
♪ Who love the streets ♪
♪ Meek, Meek ♪
- We were on FaceTime,
and he was like,
Na, ain't this crazy?
NASHEEMA: This is a national
holiday right now.
- I know, it's crazy.
I can't even imagine
what's going.
I can't even comprehend.
- I was just
looking at his face,
and we just were smiling.
That was just, like,
the hairs were standing up
on my arms, I just
thought that that was big.
- The helicopter right here?
- Right here.
- And I started
to believe more
about what was going on now,
and the journey that
I feel like we gonna take
from the past and now.
(soft electronic music)
(crowd shouts)
- Free, still not free.
- Nothing this
morning, when you woke up,
that you were gonna be out?
- No, hell no.
- What'd I tell you today?
- You might be at
the game tonight.
I said that's impossible.
- He was like, Mom,
they have released me.
But I was, like, I'm already
looking at the news.
I see you even talking to me.
Then just tears just start
rolling down my eyes.
It's something
that I can't explain,
but I was overjoyed.
- Kylie, you said
I'd be back soon, too.
(man laughs)
- How
good does this feel?
- He's gotta get a shower.
We gotta go win this game.
- How do you feel?
- I feel... great.
- We home, we home, we home.
Meek got fat as shit.
He got fat.
- Today was a good day.
Ice Cube said.
Welcome home, Meek Mill.
(bell rings)
- From leaving out of prison,
being locked in 24 hours,
being inside for
months at a time,
and then coming out
to thousands of people,
it's overwhelming.
There was this sense of joy
actually being
reunited with my son,
but I don't even
really remember it.
I look at footage
of it, and see,
and I'm like, damn, I look
like I was happy right there.
I don't even barely even
remember being on the helicopter
and what really
happened for real.
It was just, like,
blackout moments.
It was really a dark moment.
They had me doing
interviews like this
the next day when
I got out of prison.
All that just felt
like a dream to me.
- Less than 18 hours
after his release,
Meek Mill sat down with me
for his first
post-prison interview.
Have you slept since
you got out of prison?
- No, I haven't slept one minute
since I've been out of prison.
It's actually like
a culture shock
coming from a small cell
back into the real world.
- You're still on bail.
- Yeah.
- Do you feel free, truly free?
- No, I don't feel free.
I ain't feel free since
I caught this case
at the age of 19.
I'm 30 now.
When I came home,
I just felt different
than I always felt.
- How are you, man?
- How you doing?
How y'all doing?
- All right.
- I would like to thank everyone
standing up here with me
for supporting me since
I have been entangled
in the criminal justice system.
My thinking process
was different.
My mind always be
wondering off.
It really was a
overwhelming situation.
It was a traumatic experience.
I'm happy to be back,
and be a part
of what I call history,
because I know
it's a lot of voiceless
men and people
I personally know
from being in prison,
sitting next to them every day.
I feel as though we've
been treated wrongly
when it comes to the
criminal justice--
(laughs)
I'm overwhelmed,
at this point.
I appreciate everything.
Thank you, y'all.
(people clap)
Yeah, how you doing?
- How you doing?
Thank you.
- Hey, what's up?
How you doing?
Damon, good to see you again.
- How does
it feel just to be able
to hug your friends.
- Great.
It feel great to feel normal.
- One time, Meek Mill.
- I remember
the first time
that I spoke to
you, I was like--
- I just felt different.
I think from doing 23 and 1,
and being traumatized
on and off
so many times, it might play
with your train of thought.
- What producers are you
working with for this album?
You know, this is when
everything's getting booked,
right now, so if
you want to jump off
for next year, for
June, and Coachella,
you guys gotta go now,
start locking it in.
- It's overwhelming.
Just lock yourself in a closet
for 23 hours a day
and see how it feel.
It kinda drives you crazy.
Everybody don't recover
from these things.
I spent time
inside them walls
with people who
wasn't strong enough
to make it through that
because they went to
jail, got depressed,
started taking meds, end up
losing their sanity in prison,
fucking traumatized, there's
so many different things.
I just learned to cope
with it through music.
It's almost like a
therapy for myself.
♪ Rule number three ♪
♪ Save some of that money ♪
♪ Shit, you better
start splurging ♪
♪ When it's all said and done ♪
♪ And you back at the bottom ♪
♪ They gonna treat you
like you worthless ♪
♪ Respect the game ♪
Make that hook echo.
Play that back,
make that hook echo
in between like crazy.
- Some people get motivated,
and they write a
whole album in jail.
That's not the way Meek works.
He works off of other people.
He feeds off of
other people's energy,
so he literally didn't
write anything there.
Everything that's been
coming out now has come
from him being back in the
mix and getting comfortable.
♪ They gonna put
you on the menu ♪
♪ That's why I be with family ♪
♪ And some bulls that
we been through ♪
♪ If money determine loyalty ♪
♪ We cut you with a-- ♪
From the top.
- I think, honestly, I
think this is probably
the biggest moment to him.
With this platform and
everything that's been going on,
he's very aware of where
he's at and what can happen.
I think it's kinda put
things in perspective for him
that everything can be taken
from you just like that.
- I just went to
jail for six months,
read a lot of books, went
through some real experiences
relatable to a lot of people.
A lot of people going
through the system.
They got 2.2 million
people booked in jail.
I could rap about going
through the system,
being tied up in the system.
I could get 2.2 million
people to relate to.
- What he's able to
do with that momentum
is gonna put him on a
whole different plateau.
He's still fighting this thing,
at the end of the day.
Somebody's attacking you,
rapping wise,
you're gonna go
right back at them.
You know, that's Meek Mill.
("Trauma" by Meek Mill)
♪ You used to be a dreamer ♪
♪ Dream about a fire ♪
♪ Ain't no PTSDs,
them drugs keep it at ease ♪
♪ They shot a boy 20 times
when they could've
told him just freeze ♪
♪ Could've put him
in a cop car, but they
let him just bleed ♪
♪ The ambulance,
they coming, baby ♪
♪ Just breathe ♪
♪ That's what the old lady
said when she screamed ♪
♪ It's nightmare on Elm Street,
Friday the 13th ♪
♪ In the 13th amendment,
it don't say that we kings ♪
♪ It said we legally slaves
if we go to the bing ♪
♪ They told-- ♪
- You know what
the 13th amendment is?
If you under the state custody
or federal custody,
you allowed to be, what?
- You property.
- A slave, a legal slave.
Ain't that crazy?
And it's fact.
If you looking at it,
Google it.
I talk about that
in this song.
When cops kill people
with guns,
you know, that's
a terrible thing.
When judges kill
people on paper,
that happen probably 1,000
times a day in America.
That's just the normal thing,
you know what I'm saying?
A lot of lives being
lost to a piece of paper.
That's something that
I was embedded to,
and wanted to dedicate, to
help bring a change to it.
- Do you think you can say
everything you want to say?
Or do you feel like because of
the things that are still
sort of out there, you can't
say what you want to?
- I'm saying what the fuck
I want to say, I'm real.
Meek Mill from
North Philadelphia.
I've been through some shit,
and I gotta express
myself a certain way.
That's what I'm gonna do.
- He's very understanding
that God is using him as a test.
He's the face for
the other inmates
that don't have
the backup that he has.
The change I see in my
brother is almost scary.
It's like, I'm glad
that I'm seeing it
'cause this is some of
the stuff I pray for.
We just hope that he
doesn't have to go back.
(intense electronic music)
- We're having an
evidentiary hearing
on the Post-Conviction
Relief appeal
in front of Genece
Brinkley to demonstrate
that there is sufficient
evidence of grand corruption
that he should be
granted a new trial.
Nonetheless, she is forcing Meek
to present evidence, when
other former defendants who,
like Meek, were
arrested by dirty cops,
have already either
been granted retrials
or the overturning
of their convictions.
- When you go to court,
you want to have the same
justice dispensed out
that anybody else would have.
So, the argument
to make is, well,
not only did you
treat Meek disparately
when he was on probation
and when he was in your
courtroom as a defendant,
but now that he's going
for post-conviction relief,
you're still treating
him differently
because you're not
letting his case go in
with the vast majority
of other PCRA cases
that stem from the
same cause for relief.
- I never sleep with having
to go to court with her.
You will stay up 24 hours,
fall asleep for
the last 30 minutes
before you gotta wake up,
and then go to court.
You can't even sleep
'cause you don't know
what's gonna happen.
Am I going to jail today?
Am I going to jail for
three, four years today?
I'm rocking a hoodie
to court today
'cause I don't respect
this judge no more.
I'm not putting no suit
on in front of her.
Free Meek Mill,
that's how we move it.
She gets no more respect.
She's not honorable.
We don't care what she do,
how she do it.
We don't respect it.
- This is what we're facing.
When his probation officer
said please don't lock him up,
and she still locked him up,
we have a rogue
elected official.
(crowd cheers)
- The lady of justice
has a blindfold on.
She had two scales where you
have the district attorney,
you have a lawyer.
It's almost like a fight.
That's why they say
I'm fighting my case.
It's almost like a fight,
two people going back
and forth to win a fight.
The judge is supposed
to play neutral,
or arbitrator,
weigh things out,
and make a decision.
In my situation,
the district attorney
is not fighting,
and the judge, she done
took her blindfold off.
(people chatter)
(intense electronic music)
- It was a contentious
hearing, even bizarre.
There was
a rally, big support
for Meek Mill both before
and during the hearing.
(crowd cheers)
- Meek, what
happened right here?
- I'll let the lawyer talk.
I'm almost scared to the point
I'm scared to speak
on my own situation
until I get out the situation.
- I've been doing
this for 30 years.
I've never, ever, ever
walked into a courtroom
and felt so far from the idea
of being in a courtroom.
There wasn't any justice.
There wasn't any
attempt at justice.
There wasn't
any attempt at fairness.
(soft electronic music)
- I know a lot of lawyers.
I hear a lot of
whispers about them
not really agreeing with
what the justice system
is really doing to me,
because they like,
why wait 'til I build up
and make it to a high level?
I do so many things
in my life that's great.
This is a young kid who
made it through all that.
Don't take him from all
the way back up here,
and put me below zero.
Stuff like that broken
with the system, period.
It just broke me.
It made me lose all
faith in the system.
Families are getting broken
apart for stupid shit.
You shouldn't be
locked in a cage
because you addicted to a drug,
or fucking, you
had police contact.
I felt like I got
a responsibility
from when I was locked up
with certain dudes
to reach back for a few,
and help them move forward,
and help them get light
shed on they situation.
- These particular
moments in your life,
Papi, yourself, your family,
it's going to matter.
- Yeah.
- You wouldn't blame
him if he got out
and just ran, made
18,000 party records,
and just enjoyed his freedom,
but for him to look back,
and to say,
okay, I got a chance,
and I gotta give
other people a chance
is a great thing.
- Millions and millions
of people are listening
to what you saying.
You gotta give them this
shit in they fucking veins.
I'm telling you.
Play that shit,
I'm telling you.
-("Championships" by Meek Mill)
-(crowd cheers)
♪ All the youngins in my
hood popping percs now ♪
♪ Getting high to get by,
it's getting worse now ♪
♪ You gotta tell them,
put them guns
and them percs down ♪
- You have an album out,
and I've watched you
go on multiple shows,
and you don't seem to need
to speak about the album.
- I just try to freestyle it.
Most of the time,
we end up talking
about justice reform,
so you know.
- What's brilliant
about Meek Mill is,
this cat comes on the scene,
and the system tries
to put Meek Mill on trial,
and Meek says no, I'm gonna
put the system on trial.
- My whole message
to get across,
if somebody like myself,
who's doing so good for myself,
I'm not involved in crime,
I've been working,
I employ people, I pay taxes,
if probation can stalk me down
and bring me back to
a state penitentiary
without committing a crime,
they don't stand a chance.
You have thousands of
kids that will be destined
to be put in prison for
the rest of their life.
Their beds
are already made up.
- Meek's in a long
line of Americans
that the system would
see as an antihero,
and the people
would see as a hero.
(funky music)
- Thank you, everyone.
Thank you guys.
- So proud of you. So proud.
- You have been out
of prison three times.
When did you realize
this was something
that shouldn't be happening?
- 23 hours in a cell,
you sitting there,
thinking about, what did I do?
I knew this wasn't
really normal.
I'm committed to
actually working
on reforming things,
and the goal is trying
to help a million people
get out of prison.
It's history.
Being a part of history
is a big deal to me.
- At first,
I really thought it was
just something that
was specific to him.
And what I realized,
there's millions of
people in the system
that don't belong
in the system today.
That's when the two
of us together said
we're gonna start a foundation
to help reform this system,
and I think we have
the determination,
the capital,
the founding partners,
and the platforms
to make a big impact.
- The Reform
Alliance is comprised
of some amazing individuals
that see that
there is injustices
in this quote-unquote
criminal justice system.
- We're all prisoners to this,
because until everyone's
free, no one's free.
- So, Michael,
you've said that your goal
is to help free a million
peoplefrom prison.
That sounds
incredibly ambitious.
- I've always said
come up with a bold goal
and go after it,
so what seems like a really
aggressive goal today
I want to figure out
how we beat it.
- They've come
together to change laws
so that no one else
has to go through
what Meek went through.
- I'm, like,
one of the lucky ones,
even after all I went through.
You have people that
don't have a voice.
I didn't ask to be
the face of reform.
I don't want to be
the face of anything.
I just want to
speak for the people
who don't have a voice.
Thank you.
(crowd claps and cheers)
- It was only a matter of time
before you had a rapper like
Meek Mill take on the system.
It wasn't a tough call for
me to help reform the system.
- I'm confident we can
make a real difference,
and with that, I'd like to
welcome Van Jones, our CEO.
(crowd claps and cheers)
- We are not, not,
as this alliance,
gonna try to get lawyers,
millions, and millions,
and millions, and millions,
and millions of
lawyers for anyone.
Instead of trying
to get lawyers,
we're gonna change the laws,
and the policies,
and the practice for
everyone, for everyone.
That's what we're gonna do.
(crowd claps and cheers)
You got entrepreneurs,
and young kids,
and Jay Z, and stuff
rallying around you.
That guy has a destiny
way bigger than he knows.
- I never thought
I would see the day
of this many people from
this many walk of lives,
that's powerful and wealthy,
come together for
justice reform.
Actually make real change,
and give hope,
and give people something
to look forward to
that come from
where I come from,
that never had that
shoulder to lean on.
(crowd cheers)
- Make some
motherfucking noise.
- Made in America,
what the fuck is
happening (indistinct)?
This like my welcome home party
at Made in America tonight.
♪ Maybach music,
Maybach music ♪
I want to let this be known.
Today, Meek Mill has dedicated
his self to justice reform,
and making sure the people
that don't belong in prison
is not in
motherfucking prison,
making sure people not
being locked in chains
and shackled inside of cells
because they whip
wheelied a dirt bike,
or popped a Percocet,
or smoked some marijuana.
If you got a family
member in prison
about some dumb shit,
we need your support,
and we need you to make
some noise right fucking now.
(crowd cheers)
♪ Stay free,
made a few mistakes ♪
♪ But this ain't
where I want to be ♪
♪ Before I'm judged
by 12 put a 12 on my V ♪
♪ Told my niggas I need you ♪
♪ Stay up, I know these
times ain't true ♪
♪ Real life, what's free ♪
♪ Fed investigations, heard
they plotting like I trip ♪
♪ 20 million cash ♪
♪ They know I got
that all for rap ♪
♪ Maybe it's
the Michael Rubins
or the Robert Krafts ♪
♪ Or the billionaire
from Marcy ♪
♪ And the way they
got my back ♪
♪ Seeing how I prevailed,
and now they try to
knock me back ♪
♪ Lock me in a cell for all
them nights and I won't snap ♪
♪ 250 a show and they still
think I'm selling crack ♪
♪ When you bring my
name up to the judge,
just tell them facts ♪
♪ Tell them how we funding all
these kids to go to college ♪
♪ Tell them how we ceasing all
these wars, stopping violence ♪
♪ Trying to fix the system
in the way that they
designed it ♪
- ♪ I think they
want me silenced ♪
- ♪ Shush ♪
♪ Oh say, you can see,
I don't feel like I'm free ♪
♪ Locked down in my cell,
shackled from ankle to feet ♪
♪ Judge banging that gavel
turned me to slave from a king ♪
♪ Another day in the bing,
I gotta hang from a string ♪
♪ Just for popping a wheelie,
my people march in the city ♪
♪ From a cell to a chopper,
view from the top of the city ♪
♪ You could tell how we rock
as soon as I pop it, we litty ♪
♪ Pop it like Bad Boy in '94 ♪
♪ Big Poppa and Diddy ♪
♪ Niggas counted me out ♪
♪ Like my accountant
ain't busy ♪
♪ That's five milly in 20s ♪
♪ Sit up and count
'til I'm dizzy ♪
(soft orchestral music)
(thunder rumbles)
(thunder cracks)
- ...wake up weather,
and temperatures are going
to be all over the place
for our Monday morning,
and the warm front will be
lifting through the area
for the Monday morning--
(thunder cracks)
Wrapping up from a downpour,
then a line of strong
thunderstorms rolling through
right around our
Monday morning commute...
- No, I never imagined
this in a million years,
that this case would
actually still be going on.
- My grandson, he's a
hard-working young man.
He come up a long
ways from the ghetto.
Hopefully, they'll be
able to let him out today.
Good luck, baby.
Grandma loves you.
- Meek Mill
has been locked up
by this judge on
probation violations.
Now, this goes back
10 years with this judge
to 2008 when he was convicted
on gun and
distribution charges.
- We are all converging
in a deluge on
downtown Philadelphia
for Meek's status hearing.
Meek spent the
last five months
of his life
pointlessly in prison.
We're expecting what
should have been thousands
of people rallying
on his behalf
on the courthouse steps,
but this is an act of God,
and no one knows how
many people can actually
physically stand outside
in wind and rain like this.
Free Meek Mill!
Free Meek Mill!
Free Meek Mill!
Free Meek Mill!
Free Meek Mill!
- I'm here because I want
to see Meek Mill free.
I was asked to give
the opening prayer,
so if y'all don't mind,
if every head would bow
and every eye would close.
Lord, we pray right now
that justice will show up
in this building today.
We pray that, this very day,
in the midst of the storm
and clouds on the outside,
that reform would bring
injustice to light.
We pray your blessings
upon Robert Williams,
his family, his friends,
his fans, everything
he represents,
and all of those things
for which he stands.
Allow Meek, through this
trying time in his life,
to be used by you
as the hinges
upon which the doors of
justice and reform will swing.
We leave it all in your hands,
and your will be done, we pray.
And all God's children
said amen.
- Amen.
Free Meek Mill!
Free Meek Mill!
Free Meek Mill!
(thunder rumbles)
(people chatter)
- Kathy, how do you
feel right now?
- I'm feeling
very hopeful now.
His team done a wonderful job.
- What'd you think?
- Free Meek Mill.
- Yeah, one more time.
- Because when Meek Mill is
in jail, everybody's in jail.
When everybody's in jail,
nobody's free.
We must free the world.
We must free Meek Mill.
We must change the law.
God bless y'all.
Free Meek Mill!
Free Meek Mill!
Free Meek Mill!
Bring him home.
(intense electronic music)
- She's just spoiled my day.
Unreal. When she
started talking,
she had the attitude
in the beginning,
so I figured that
it wasn't gonna work
'cause she had a attitude.
- Assistant district
attorney stood up
in open court and said,
we agree
that his conviction
should be thrown out,
and he's entitled
to a new trial.
We also think that
immediate bail is warranted.
Judge Brinkley refused to
even entertain the notion
of discussing bail today,
and set us out 60 days
for a further status hearing
because the district
attorney's position
is not yet in writing.
- I've never
witnessed anything
like I've witnessed
in this case.
The judge really wants
more compelling evidence
that justifies a Post-Conviction
Relief Act petition,
but that's what we've done.
There is no contested issue.
The district attorney,
the prosecuting authority,
in this case has
agreed to a new trial.
Right now, she has scheduled
an evidentiary hearing
on June the 18th that the
parties are not requesting.
- MEEK: I don't even know
how she can do that...
Like if the DA is saying
they wanna throw the case out
and grant bail...
- ...like, what?
- That's the part--
The most outrageous part
of this whole day is,
after the district
attorney said what he said,
and said that we agree
with the defense,
that the conviction
needs to be thrown out,
we then stood up and said,
okay, can we talk
about bail now?
There's a new circumstance.
Obviously, we thought
this was something
that wouldn't even
be an argument,
and she said no,
we're not discussing bail,
see you on June 18th.
- Another 60 day
court date. Goddamn.
- Yep. We're hopeful
the Supreme Court's gonna act
on bail immediately.
We'll file an emergency
motion, obviously,
for them to release you,
to grant bail immediately.
(intense electronic music)
- It's head-scratching to me.
There's absolutely
no right to this.
We're long past
fundamental fairness,
so our Supreme Court
has to get involved,
not only for Meek,
but for other defendants
who could be situated
in the same way.
- The law says,
this is the act,
Post-Conviction Relief Act,
you must fulfill the
requirements of that act.
By just simply going in
there and saying we agree,
that doesn't fulfill
the requirements of the act.
He's already been found guilty.
They have to take
very regimented steps
in order to fulfill the act.
If they do that,
Judge Brinkley's gonna
grant his petition,
and he's gonna go free.
If they don't do that,
she's gonna deny this petition,
and then he's gonna have
to appeal to a higher court
to see if they'll do it.
Really is that simple.
- Thanks.
- Great job, thank you.
- Thanks so much.
- Let me tell you something.
That was hard to do
because defending this judge
is now becoming...
Why doesn't she just
grant this fucking thing?
And she looks fucking awful.
I don't know why she's got
a bug up her ass about
this guy because...
It's just a, if I was
a judge in this case...
Prosecution and Defense agree?
Good. Goodbye. See you later.
End it.
(soft electronic music)
Today, DA Larry Krasner
again backed Mills' request
to be released on bail,
and has now submitted a motion
to the Pennsylvania
Supreme Court.
The bail decision is
again in the hands
of the Supreme Court
instead of Judge Brinkley.
- (phone dings)
- See? How many
text messages you got?
- Three already.
- About three?
Yeah, I got two.
- Everybody's hearing
the news about Meek.
- Now, only thing we gotta
do is wait for them
to decide what they
going to do. Monday.
- It was Monday,
Judge Brinkley,
she shot down all
Meek's requests.
We was ready.
We was thinking,
any day, he would come home.
Then it's like, one day turned
into two days, and three days.
It's hopeless,
you know what I mean?
It's a hopeless situation.
It's like, damn,
you know?
We thought that things
were blowing up,
and it's just like this
roller coaster ride.
- Hopefully,
when Meek gets out,
he gonna be the voice
of the whole situation,
the voice of the people
that's in jail now.
(protesters chatter)
- Free Meek Mill!
Free Meek Mill!
Free Meek Mill!
- Judge Brinkley is corrupt,
and still no justice for Meek.
The governor said
he wants Meek free.
The mayor said he
wants Meek free,
and still no justice for Meek.
The time is really now
to create change
that's unprecedented.
- There are thousands
of people in jails
and prisons that don't
need to be there.
There are some things that we
need to do in our community.
- MEEK: If they're
taking me from so high
and putting me in
the state penitentiary,
you know they're doing
the average black male
or hispanic male in the
neighborhood 10 times worse.
- We're waiting on the
Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
Could be today, could be
tomorrow, could be six weeks.
We have no idea.
- Free Meek Mill!
Free Meek Mill!
Free Meek Mill!
We need justice and hope
for all these black
people and everything.
- We had so many people
come out and support
because we all see
that this is something
that we have the
power to change.
- You know, for
so many black men
that's been
wrongfully convicted,
wrongfully incarcerated,
let this be the start.
Let this ignite unity.
We stand together.
We'll stand united.
- Call from
Pennsylvania State
Correctional Institution.
- The first game's Saturday.
We got two days left for
the Supreme Court to act
to get you to game one.
- MEEK: Yeah, I know man,
hopefully this week
something happens.
- From your mouth to God's ears,
I'm really sick of seeing
your face in prison.
(intense electronic music)
- Good evening, everyone.
I'm Ukee Washington.
- I'm Jessica Dean.
The Philadelphia
rapper's conviction
sparked national outcry.
- We are expecting
rapper Meek Mill
to be released from prison.
Chopper 3 is above
the situation right now.
- I'm sitting at my desk.
I get notified that
the Supreme Court
has just done
the most amazing thing.
- The Pennsylvania
Supreme Court ordered
that Judge Brinkley
immediately release him on bail
while the PCRA plays out.
- Crowds here
that have been growing
for a while now,
hoping that he comes out.
- I believe my mama, somebody
said turn on the news.
Some of my Instagram followers
were tagging me in videos
because they were
outside of the prison.
- Meek, baby.
- It was crowds
and crowds of people.
- As anticipation
builds for his release,
so does the crowds
outside the prison.
- Meek told me that,
in prison,
he kept having this dream
that I came to get
him in a helicopter.
I've never been more
excited in my life.
(man laughs)
- They are lining
the streets in anticipation
of Meek Mill's
release from prison,
which could happen
any moment now.
- Free Meek,
Free Meek, Free Meek, Free Meek,
Free Meek, Free Meek,
Free Meek!
- We're going in
the jail right now.
Literally everyone
is going crazy.
Get back, get back now.
(crowd shouts)
- I was really in shock.
I was in my cell.
Next thing you know,
a CO was at my door,
telling me to pack my stuff.
I packed my stuff,
and I walked out.
♪ Whoo ♪
♪ Showtime ♪
♪ King's back ♪
♪ Ha ♪
♪ Yeah ♪
♪ For the love of the city ♪
♪ All my niggas on the block ♪
♪ 12 o'clock,
we ain't wheeling ♪
♪ Fuck 12 and the cops ♪
♪ They want to
see me in a cage ♪
- I'll show you
getting out of the heli.
- Where the heli?
They not even sure
it's real, man.
♪ Who love the streets ♪
♪ Meek, Meek ♪
- We were on FaceTime,
and he was like,
Na, ain't this crazy?
NASHEEMA: This is a national
holiday right now.
- I know, it's crazy.
I can't even imagine
what's going.
I can't even comprehend.
- I was just
looking at his face,
and we just were smiling.
That was just, like,
the hairs were standing up
on my arms, I just
thought that that was big.
- The helicopter right here?
- Right here.
- And I started
to believe more
about what was going on now,
and the journey that
I feel like we gonna take
from the past and now.
(soft electronic music)
(crowd shouts)
- Free, still not free.
- Nothing this
morning, when you woke up,
that you were gonna be out?
- No, hell no.
- What'd I tell you today?
- You might be at
the game tonight.
I said that's impossible.
- He was like, Mom,
they have released me.
But I was, like, I'm already
looking at the news.
I see you even talking to me.
Then just tears just start
rolling down my eyes.
It's something
that I can't explain,
but I was overjoyed.
- Kylie, you said
I'd be back soon, too.
(man laughs)
- How
good does this feel?
- He's gotta get a shower.
We gotta go win this game.
- How do you feel?
- I feel... great.
- We home, we home, we home.
Meek got fat as shit.
He got fat.
- Today was a good day.
Ice Cube said.
Welcome home, Meek Mill.
(bell rings)
- From leaving out of prison,
being locked in 24 hours,
being inside for
months at a time,
and then coming out
to thousands of people,
it's overwhelming.
There was this sense of joy
actually being
reunited with my son,
but I don't even
really remember it.
I look at footage
of it, and see,
and I'm like, damn, I look
like I was happy right there.
I don't even barely even
remember being on the helicopter
and what really
happened for real.
It was just, like,
blackout moments.
It was really a dark moment.
They had me doing
interviews like this
the next day when
I got out of prison.
All that just felt
like a dream to me.
- Less than 18 hours
after his release,
Meek Mill sat down with me
for his first
post-prison interview.
Have you slept since
you got out of prison?
- No, I haven't slept one minute
since I've been out of prison.
It's actually like
a culture shock
coming from a small cell
back into the real world.
- You're still on bail.
- Yeah.
- Do you feel free, truly free?
- No, I don't feel free.
I ain't feel free since
I caught this case
at the age of 19.
I'm 30 now.
When I came home,
I just felt different
than I always felt.
- How are you, man?
- How you doing?
How y'all doing?
- All right.
- I would like to thank everyone
standing up here with me
for supporting me since
I have been entangled
in the criminal justice system.
My thinking process
was different.
My mind always be
wondering off.
It really was a
overwhelming situation.
It was a traumatic experience.
I'm happy to be back,
and be a part
of what I call history,
because I know
it's a lot of voiceless
men and people
I personally know
from being in prison,
sitting next to them every day.
I feel as though we've
been treated wrongly
when it comes to the
criminal justice--
(laughs)
I'm overwhelmed,
at this point.
I appreciate everything.
Thank you, y'all.
(people clap)
Yeah, how you doing?
- How you doing?
Thank you.
- Hey, what's up?
How you doing?
Damon, good to see you again.
- How does
it feel just to be able
to hug your friends.
- Great.
It feel great to feel normal.
- One time, Meek Mill.
- I remember
the first time
that I spoke to
you, I was like--
- I just felt different.
I think from doing 23 and 1,
and being traumatized
on and off
so many times, it might play
with your train of thought.
- What producers are you
working with for this album?
You know, this is when
everything's getting booked,
right now, so if
you want to jump off
for next year, for
June, and Coachella,
you guys gotta go now,
start locking it in.
- It's overwhelming.
Just lock yourself in a closet
for 23 hours a day
and see how it feel.
It kinda drives you crazy.
Everybody don't recover
from these things.
I spent time
inside them walls
with people who
wasn't strong enough
to make it through that
because they went to
jail, got depressed,
started taking meds, end up
losing their sanity in prison,
fucking traumatized, there's
so many different things.
I just learned to cope
with it through music.
It's almost like a
therapy for myself.
♪ Rule number three ♪
♪ Save some of that money ♪
♪ Shit, you better
start splurging ♪
♪ When it's all said and done ♪
♪ And you back at the bottom ♪
♪ They gonna treat you
like you worthless ♪
♪ Respect the game ♪
Make that hook echo.
Play that back,
make that hook echo
in between like crazy.
- Some people get motivated,
and they write a
whole album in jail.
That's not the way Meek works.
He works off of other people.
He feeds off of
other people's energy,
so he literally didn't
write anything there.
Everything that's been
coming out now has come
from him being back in the
mix and getting comfortable.
♪ They gonna put
you on the menu ♪
♪ That's why I be with family ♪
♪ And some bulls that
we been through ♪
♪ If money determine loyalty ♪
♪ We cut you with a-- ♪
From the top.
- I think, honestly, I
think this is probably
the biggest moment to him.
With this platform and
everything that's been going on,
he's very aware of where
he's at and what can happen.
I think it's kinda put
things in perspective for him
that everything can be taken
from you just like that.
- I just went to
jail for six months,
read a lot of books, went
through some real experiences
relatable to a lot of people.
A lot of people going
through the system.
They got 2.2 million
people booked in jail.
I could rap about going
through the system,
being tied up in the system.
I could get 2.2 million
people to relate to.
- What he's able to
do with that momentum
is gonna put him on a
whole different plateau.
He's still fighting this thing,
at the end of the day.
Somebody's attacking you,
rapping wise,
you're gonna go
right back at them.
You know, that's Meek Mill.
("Trauma" by Meek Mill)
♪ You used to be a dreamer ♪
♪ Dream about a fire ♪
♪ Ain't no PTSDs,
them drugs keep it at ease ♪
♪ They shot a boy 20 times
when they could've
told him just freeze ♪
♪ Could've put him
in a cop car, but they
let him just bleed ♪
♪ The ambulance,
they coming, baby ♪
♪ Just breathe ♪
♪ That's what the old lady
said when she screamed ♪
♪ It's nightmare on Elm Street,
Friday the 13th ♪
♪ In the 13th amendment,
it don't say that we kings ♪
♪ It said we legally slaves
if we go to the bing ♪
♪ They told-- ♪
- You know what
the 13th amendment is?
If you under the state custody
or federal custody,
you allowed to be, what?
- You property.
- A slave, a legal slave.
Ain't that crazy?
And it's fact.
If you looking at it,
Google it.
I talk about that
in this song.
When cops kill people
with guns,
you know, that's
a terrible thing.
When judges kill
people on paper,
that happen probably 1,000
times a day in America.
That's just the normal thing,
you know what I'm saying?
A lot of lives being
lost to a piece of paper.
That's something that
I was embedded to,
and wanted to dedicate, to
help bring a change to it.
- Do you think you can say
everything you want to say?
Or do you feel like because of
the things that are still
sort of out there, you can't
say what you want to?
- I'm saying what the fuck
I want to say, I'm real.
Meek Mill from
North Philadelphia.
I've been through some shit,
and I gotta express
myself a certain way.
That's what I'm gonna do.
- He's very understanding
that God is using him as a test.
He's the face for
the other inmates
that don't have
the backup that he has.
The change I see in my
brother is almost scary.
It's like, I'm glad
that I'm seeing it
'cause this is some of
the stuff I pray for.
We just hope that he
doesn't have to go back.
(intense electronic music)
- We're having an
evidentiary hearing
on the Post-Conviction
Relief appeal
in front of Genece
Brinkley to demonstrate
that there is sufficient
evidence of grand corruption
that he should be
granted a new trial.
Nonetheless, she is forcing Meek
to present evidence, when
other former defendants who,
like Meek, were
arrested by dirty cops,
have already either
been granted retrials
or the overturning
of their convictions.
- When you go to court,
you want to have the same
justice dispensed out
that anybody else would have.
So, the argument
to make is, well,
not only did you
treat Meek disparately
when he was on probation
and when he was in your
courtroom as a defendant,
but now that he's going
for post-conviction relief,
you're still treating
him differently
because you're not
letting his case go in
with the vast majority
of other PCRA cases
that stem from the
same cause for relief.
- I never sleep with having
to go to court with her.
You will stay up 24 hours,
fall asleep for
the last 30 minutes
before you gotta wake up,
and then go to court.
You can't even sleep
'cause you don't know
what's gonna happen.
Am I going to jail today?
Am I going to jail for
three, four years today?
I'm rocking a hoodie
to court today
'cause I don't respect
this judge no more.
I'm not putting no suit
on in front of her.
Free Meek Mill,
that's how we move it.
She gets no more respect.
She's not honorable.
We don't care what she do,
how she do it.
We don't respect it.
- This is what we're facing.
When his probation officer
said please don't lock him up,
and she still locked him up,
we have a rogue
elected official.
(crowd cheers)
- The lady of justice
has a blindfold on.
She had two scales where you
have the district attorney,
you have a lawyer.
It's almost like a fight.
That's why they say
I'm fighting my case.
It's almost like a fight,
two people going back
and forth to win a fight.
The judge is supposed
to play neutral,
or arbitrator,
weigh things out,
and make a decision.
In my situation,
the district attorney
is not fighting,
and the judge, she done
took her blindfold off.
(people chatter)
(intense electronic music)
- It was a contentious
hearing, even bizarre.
There was
a rally, big support
for Meek Mill both before
and during the hearing.
(crowd cheers)
- Meek, what
happened right here?
- I'll let the lawyer talk.
I'm almost scared to the point
I'm scared to speak
on my own situation
until I get out the situation.
- I've been doing
this for 30 years.
I've never, ever, ever
walked into a courtroom
and felt so far from the idea
of being in a courtroom.
There wasn't any justice.
There wasn't any
attempt at justice.
There wasn't
any attempt at fairness.
(soft electronic music)
- I know a lot of lawyers.
I hear a lot of
whispers about them
not really agreeing with
what the justice system
is really doing to me,
because they like,
why wait 'til I build up
and make it to a high level?
I do so many things
in my life that's great.
This is a young kid who
made it through all that.
Don't take him from all
the way back up here,
and put me below zero.
Stuff like that broken
with the system, period.
It just broke me.
It made me lose all
faith in the system.
Families are getting broken
apart for stupid shit.
You shouldn't be
locked in a cage
because you addicted to a drug,
or fucking, you
had police contact.
I felt like I got
a responsibility
from when I was locked up
with certain dudes
to reach back for a few,
and help them move forward,
and help them get light
shed on they situation.
- These particular
moments in your life,
Papi, yourself, your family,
it's going to matter.
- Yeah.
- You wouldn't blame
him if he got out
and just ran, made
18,000 party records,
and just enjoyed his freedom,
but for him to look back,
and to say,
okay, I got a chance,
and I gotta give
other people a chance
is a great thing.
- Millions and millions
of people are listening
to what you saying.
You gotta give them this
shit in they fucking veins.
I'm telling you.
Play that shit,
I'm telling you.
-("Championships" by Meek Mill)
-(crowd cheers)
♪ All the youngins in my
hood popping percs now ♪
♪ Getting high to get by,
it's getting worse now ♪
♪ You gotta tell them,
put them guns
and them percs down ♪
- You have an album out,
and I've watched you
go on multiple shows,
and you don't seem to need
to speak about the album.
- I just try to freestyle it.
Most of the time,
we end up talking
about justice reform,
so you know.
- What's brilliant
about Meek Mill is,
this cat comes on the scene,
and the system tries
to put Meek Mill on trial,
and Meek says no, I'm gonna
put the system on trial.
- My whole message
to get across,
if somebody like myself,
who's doing so good for myself,
I'm not involved in crime,
I've been working,
I employ people, I pay taxes,
if probation can stalk me down
and bring me back to
a state penitentiary
without committing a crime,
they don't stand a chance.
You have thousands of
kids that will be destined
to be put in prison for
the rest of their life.
Their beds
are already made up.
- Meek's in a long
line of Americans
that the system would
see as an antihero,
and the people
would see as a hero.
(funky music)
- Thank you, everyone.
Thank you guys.
- So proud of you. So proud.
- You have been out
of prison three times.
When did you realize
this was something
that shouldn't be happening?
- 23 hours in a cell,
you sitting there,
thinking about, what did I do?
I knew this wasn't
really normal.
I'm committed to
actually working
on reforming things,
and the goal is trying
to help a million people
get out of prison.
It's history.
Being a part of history
is a big deal to me.
- At first,
I really thought it was
just something that
was specific to him.
And what I realized,
there's millions of
people in the system
that don't belong
in the system today.
That's when the two
of us together said
we're gonna start a foundation
to help reform this system,
and I think we have
the determination,
the capital,
the founding partners,
and the platforms
to make a big impact.
- The Reform
Alliance is comprised
of some amazing individuals
that see that
there is injustices
in this quote-unquote
criminal justice system.
- We're all prisoners to this,
because until everyone's
free, no one's free.
- So, Michael,
you've said that your goal
is to help free a million
peoplefrom prison.
That sounds
incredibly ambitious.
- I've always said
come up with a bold goal
and go after it,
so what seems like a really
aggressive goal today
I want to figure out
how we beat it.
- They've come
together to change laws
so that no one else
has to go through
what Meek went through.
- I'm, like,
one of the lucky ones,
even after all I went through.
You have people that
don't have a voice.
I didn't ask to be
the face of reform.
I don't want to be
the face of anything.
I just want to
speak for the people
who don't have a voice.
Thank you.
(crowd claps and cheers)
- It was only a matter of time
before you had a rapper like
Meek Mill take on the system.
It wasn't a tough call for
me to help reform the system.
- I'm confident we can
make a real difference,
and with that, I'd like to
welcome Van Jones, our CEO.
(crowd claps and cheers)
- We are not, not,
as this alliance,
gonna try to get lawyers,
millions, and millions,
and millions, and millions,
and millions of
lawyers for anyone.
Instead of trying
to get lawyers,
we're gonna change the laws,
and the policies,
and the practice for
everyone, for everyone.
That's what we're gonna do.
(crowd claps and cheers)
You got entrepreneurs,
and young kids,
and Jay Z, and stuff
rallying around you.
That guy has a destiny
way bigger than he knows.
- I never thought
I would see the day
of this many people from
this many walk of lives,
that's powerful and wealthy,
come together for
justice reform.
Actually make real change,
and give hope,
and give people something
to look forward to
that come from
where I come from,
that never had that
shoulder to lean on.
(crowd cheers)
- Make some
motherfucking noise.
- Made in America,
what the fuck is
happening (indistinct)?
This like my welcome home party
at Made in America tonight.
♪ Maybach music,
Maybach music ♪
I want to let this be known.
Today, Meek Mill has dedicated
his self to justice reform,
and making sure the people
that don't belong in prison
is not in
motherfucking prison,
making sure people not
being locked in chains
and shackled inside of cells
because they whip
wheelied a dirt bike,
or popped a Percocet,
or smoked some marijuana.
If you got a family
member in prison
about some dumb shit,
we need your support,
and we need you to make
some noise right fucking now.
(crowd cheers)
♪ Stay free,
made a few mistakes ♪
♪ But this ain't
where I want to be ♪
♪ Before I'm judged
by 12 put a 12 on my V ♪
♪ Told my niggas I need you ♪
♪ Stay up, I know these
times ain't true ♪
♪ Real life, what's free ♪
♪ Fed investigations, heard
they plotting like I trip ♪
♪ 20 million cash ♪
♪ They know I got
that all for rap ♪
♪ Maybe it's
the Michael Rubins
or the Robert Krafts ♪
♪ Or the billionaire
from Marcy ♪
♪ And the way they
got my back ♪
♪ Seeing how I prevailed,
and now they try to
knock me back ♪
♪ Lock me in a cell for all
them nights and I won't snap ♪
♪ 250 a show and they still
think I'm selling crack ♪
♪ When you bring my
name up to the judge,
just tell them facts ♪
♪ Tell them how we funding all
these kids to go to college ♪
♪ Tell them how we ceasing all
these wars, stopping violence ♪
♪ Trying to fix the system
in the way that they
designed it ♪
- ♪ I think they
want me silenced ♪
- ♪ Shush ♪
♪ Oh say, you can see,
I don't feel like I'm free ♪
♪ Locked down in my cell,
shackled from ankle to feet ♪
♪ Judge banging that gavel
turned me to slave from a king ♪
♪ Another day in the bing,
I gotta hang from a string ♪
♪ Just for popping a wheelie,
my people march in the city ♪
♪ From a cell to a chopper,
view from the top of the city ♪
♪ You could tell how we rock
as soon as I pop it, we litty ♪
♪ Pop it like Bad Boy in '94 ♪
♪ Big Poppa and Diddy ♪
♪ Niggas counted me out ♪
♪ Like my accountant
ain't busy ♪
♪ That's five milly in 20s ♪
♪ Sit up and count
'til I'm dizzy ♪