Meek Mill is out of jail but his fight is far from finished.
As the Philadelphia rapper appeals his own case, he told CNN Tuesday night that he has pledged to lend his voice to those who are not as fortunate and hopes that his release does not stunt the momentum his story generated for criminal justice reform.
“I know the support has been tremendous, everybody coming out supporting, and hopefully we can keep that support, keep that energy at the same level it’s been to stand behind justice reform and help things get fixed … that’s all I really ask for,” he told CNN ahead of his speech at the Innocence Project gala in New York City.
The Innocence Project is an organization that works to exonerate those wrongly convicted through DNA testing and advocates for reforms in the system to prevent future injustices.
“I told myself, I told God the moment that I got out of my situation and got back, feet on the ground, I would participate in being a voice for the voiceless,” the rapper said in his speech.
Mill told CNN that his fans, who have been anxiously waiting for his release, have been asking him when he is going to put out new music.
“I didn’t make any music yet since I came home… today marks two weeks, I dedicated my two weeks to speaking out for people, for the voiceless.”
After spending nearly five months incarcerated after a controversial sentence for violating probation, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court ordered an immediate release for Mill on April 24.
You can learn more about the case HERE.
Mill, whose full name is Robert Rihmeek Williams, received a two-to-four year prison sentence in November for violating probation on a 2008 gun and drug case. Judge Genece Brinkley cited a failed drug test and the rapper’s noncompliance with a court order restricting his travel in her sentencing order.
He was arrested in 2017 after being involved in a fight and arrested again later for popping wheelies on a dirt bike. Had his probation been over, these infractions would not have been tied to the 2008 case.
The rapper’s case sparked outrage from criminal justice reform activists and received widespread support from notable artists and athletes, including Colin Kaepernick, rappers Jay-Z, T.I. and Rick Ross, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft, comedian Kevin Hart and the Philadelphia 76ers’ co-owner Michael Rubin.
In response to some arguments that a famous rapper who has money and access to the media should not be the poster child for criminal justice reform, Mill said in his speech that he doesn’t believe he is “the face for anything,” but believes that his “situation as a public figure can shed more light to situations that never had light shed on them.”
And his advice for those who are still behind bars?
“Stay strong, it’s a world of people out here fighting for the voiceless.”