As he continues to languish in a Philadelphia-area jail, incarcerated rapper Meek Mill called Don Lemon’s show on CNN to deliver a dour and grim message to his supporters, mostly young people of color.
The Dreams and Nightmares rapper is currently serving a two- to four-year sentence stemming from probation violations. Nicki Minaj’s ex-boyfriend, 30, was just 18 when he was originally arrested. Currently, a #FreeMeekMill social media campaign has gone viral as Meek is used as the face of the millions of Americans currently entangled within the suffocating American penal system that is ripe for reform or a complete overhaul.
“I want people to be careful, especially these young minorities,” Meek told Lemon. “I call it target practice because you’re already a target and you’re in higher-risk neighborhoods where people go to jail a lot. Be careful. Watch the way you move because you don’t want to get caught up in a situation like this one here. You can be 18 years old and you can suffer from it when you 30 years old.”
“Luckily, I’m strong enough to overcome everything,” Meek continued. “I been to jail three, four times on the same probation I been on for 11 years. I was strong enough to lose endorsements and get ’em back. Strong enough to lose fans and get ’em back and keep people believing in me and stay on top of my game.
“So I would say be careful and stay out the way. The most important thing I want to say is vote. When it’s time to vote for governor, when it’s time to vote for judges, DAs, vote,” encouraged the Philadelphia native. Let’s vote for people that [are] into justice reform and helping the urban communities. We’re being affected by it, but we’re not moving it. We’re not holding any political presence.”
Check out the Meek Mill interview with Don Lemon on CNN below:
