JAY-Z — Roc Nation label boss and one of Meek Mill’s most outspoken supporters — has issued a statement on Meek’s prison release. After five months in Chester State Prison, Meek walked free on Tuesday (April 24).
“Today, Meek Mill, a son of Philadelphia, is a free man,” Hov said in a statement sent to HipHopDX. “He was incarcerated unjustly and caught in a probation trap for years by a broken system. Now we can celebrate his release. We thank every individual that has supported and fought alongside Meek every step of the way.”
Roc Nation issued a statement of its own, which read: “We are pleased with the Supreme Court’s decision to grant Meek Mill bail and allow him to return home to his loved ones. We are grateful for all the support that Meek has received from his fans and public advocates over the past five months and look forward to working alongside Meek to fight for criminal justice reform.”
Meek was sentenced to two to four years in prison for a probation violation stemming from a 2009 gun possession charge. Judge Genece Brinkley, who’s been overseeing his case since the beginning, was highly criticized for her handling of the high profile case.
After Brinkley ruled Meek would stay in prison until his next appeal hearing, the PA Supreme Court thought otherwise and granted his bail Tuesday morning.
Shortly after Meek’s November arrest, JAY penned an eloquent op-ed for the New York Times addressing the Philly-bred rapper’s case and has been calling for his release ever since.
Now, they indeed have something to celebrate.[apple_news_ad type=”any”]
(The original version of this article was published on April 24, 2018 at 1:20 p.m. PST and can be found below.)
Meek Mill’s prison saga is finally coming to an end. According to a press release sent to HipHopDX, the Philadelphia Supreme Court has granted Meek bail, overriding Judge Genece Brinkley’s initial decision to keep him in prison until his next hearing.
The 30-year-old Philly native is expected to walk free from Chester State Prison Tuesday afternoon (April 24) and hitch a ride with Philadelphia 76s co-owner Micheal Grubin.
“We are thrilled that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has directed Judge Brinkley to immediately issue an order releasing Meek on bail,” Meek’s lawyer Joe Tacopina said in the statement. “As we have said all along, Meek was unjustly convicted and should not have spent a single day in jail.”
Tacopina continued, “We are also pleased that the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has noted that Judge Brinkley may opt to remove herself from presiding over any further proceedings in Meek’s case in the interests of justice. Meek is excited to be reunited with his family, and we, along with Meek, intend to continue to shine the light on a justice system in need of reform to prevent any other citizen from being put through what Meek has endured.” [apple_news_ad type=”any”]
Understandably, Meek is grateful for all the support he’s received since he was sent to prison last November.
“I’d like to thank God, my family, my friends, my attorneys, my team at Roc Nation including JAY-Z, Desiree Perez, my good friend Michael Rubin, my fans, The Pennsylvania Supreme Court and all my public advocates for their love, support and encouragement during this difficult time,” Meek said. “While the past five months have been a nightmare, the prayers, visits, calls, letters and rallies have helped me stay positive. To the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office, I’m grateful for your commitment to justice – not only for my case, but for others that have been wrongfully jailed due to police misconduct.”
In terms of the future, Meek laid out some plans for how he’d like to use his experience to help others.
“Although I’m blessed to have the resources to fight this unjust situation, I understand that many people of color across the country don’t have that luxury and I plan to use my platform to shine a light on those issues,” he said. “In the meantime, I plan to work closely with my legal team to overturn this unwarranted conviction and look forward to reuniting with my family and resuming my music career.”
Meek’s publicist told DX the Wins & Losses rapper will likely attend the 76ers game later tonight.
Hope none of you threw his Race Crad in the Trash Can. It still works you just need to cry wolf longer than usual.
This is like the dumbest most pointless comment I ever saw.
Co-sign
It looks like you have a chip(cracker) on your shoulder. Need some dip. Would being Black for a day make you feel better?
I don’t think I have a “race crad” in my possession.
No Ross mention
Really interesting that he didnt shout out anything related to MMG, to include Ross.
Word, Ross must have been the corrupt arresting officer on the Judge’s payroll.
THE GOAT IS OUT , I TOLD YALL AUBREY CANT KEEP THE KING DOWN . DRAKE TIME IS UP , MEEK FINNA MAKE A CLASSIC ABLUM NOW AND CHANGE DA GAME
keep DREAMING loser!
Stand by for the lame “dindu nuffin” jokes…
good, now he can stop the fucking whining! dont fuck this up Meeka
Dude is a terrible rapper but I hope he gets his life together, being a thug is only cool until the legal system locks your ass up.
While everybody celebrating this dude being free the judicial system is still Fuck’d up. Just saw a kid get 60 year murder charge because the cop shot his homie during a robbery. It’s a lot of dudes still getting unnecessary time and I hope these “celebs” use their platform to help others.
They not…they only gave a fuck cause Meek was one of them…rich…meanwhile cats been getting railroaded before, during , and after Meek but no RICH celebs black or otherwise speaking out for them. Please keep in mind the shit Meek got away with because of his celebrity status and wealth…. violated his probation more than a few times, got Beanie Siegal knocked out, sent dudes to jump Safareem, but time he gets knocked and cant buy his way out of it, now its system injustice and racism…It was only an outrage because a black man with money shouldn’t have gotten jail time. Meanwhile our middle and lower middle class struggling asses supposed to give a fuck about a cocky rapper that couldn’t stay outta trouble?!! Cause we black?! Shit Gucci a whole lot harder and crazier than the biker boy and he managed to get out stay outta trouble and make a ton of money…its called acccountabilty…
Jay-Z and Roc mention but no Ross or maybach mention at all.
Ross probably didnt even check in on him.
5 months in prison got him thinking fuck correctional officer Ricky he used to lock guys like me up
Jay only wants him released to keep Drake in check
Also appears meek doesnt follow ross anymore on IG
Jay-Z the vulture tryna make this all about him as usual
they really trying to milk meek mill for all his worth,
How ironic. I remember a few years back this guy saying he didn’t want to get involved in anything political because it would make him a target. I’ve hoped you learned a hard lesson sir. You’ve been a target since the day you were born. Learn from this for your child.
AMEN WHITEY REALLY KEEPING THIS YELLING RAPPER DOWN! #CANTHOLDMEEKBACK #WHITEPEOPLEHOLDINUSBACK
Shut the fuck up. There nothing wrong with Black people fighting for their rights. White people aren’t holding us back. all they do is test us.
Lol probably not cause he knows trash ass losers like you are trollin
Wouldn’t it be funny if he violated giant probation yet again smoking weed, carrying a gun or driving drunk, anything? Hahahahaha. If he does anything else Andre gets arrested, it’s DEFINITLY because he’s black.
You must really be an evil person if someone being arrested is entertaining. This statement right here proves what kind of person you are.
The Goat is out… Sad day for haters..lol!!! Hold up wait a minute, y’all thought he was finished? #Dc
Whats crazy is when Drake dissed Meek, none of these celebrities were fucking with him. They all turned their back on him like he took a major L. Now they all want to join in and say they care and are celebrating his release to be a part of the news. Fake. Of course Meek is going to shout out Jay for being part of the label but Jay always trying to make it about him.
Its 2 seperate issues moron. Meek started a beef got slayed and refused 2 respond.. This is real life
Hhdx deletes comments praising meek but keeps the hater comments.. What part of the game is that?
I’m glad Meek Mill is free,
now back to the drawing board with mediocre rhymes disguised with yelling and shouting over the mic to fool his fan base that he’s better than he actually is.
Black or White you need money to fight the system. Meek should fund raise with Jay, Rubin and everyone one he knows with paper and send a shit load of appeals to the supreme court, now that they’ve been softened up.
It’s cool that he’s out but I feel that all those celebs are just commenting about it to look cool and get attention, there are thousands of prisoners in the US and millions around this world that have had unfair cases that’s much worse than his! Have any of these motherfuckers addressed this before as a part of their art?! It’s all about the bitches, violence and drugs that encourages the young generation to do it and give the government an excuse to lock them up and be just like him. This the disgusting reality that we live in!