Locked In with Ian Bick - CONVICTED of Attempted Murder & Sent to RIKERS ISLAND at 16 yrs old | Melvin Acevedo

Episode Date: July 20, 2023

Raised in the Bronx by his mother after his father is sentenced to prison, teenage Melvin starts down a path of crime. It doesn't take long for Melvin to get in over his head and find himself facing second degree attempted m*rder charges. Sentenced to spend jail time at the infamous Rikers Island, we learn how Melvin navigated the system and what he had to do in order to survive. Connect with Melvin Acevedo:https://instagram.com/alphamel174?igshid=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==https://www.tiktok.com/@alphamel174?_t=8e2sedQAtzP&_r=1Listen to Alpha Mel's latest song "Lottery" on all platforns00:00 Intro01:06 Growing up in The Bronx09:00 Arrested in 10th grade  20:18 Gangs of New York23:02 Arrested continued 26:48 Rikers Island 31:31 Sentencing 36:04 Prison Hustles 44:00 Prison Stories 48:47 Thoughts on  life after prison 1:02:11 Message to be Positive  Connect with Ian Bick: https://www.ianbick.com/Subscribe to our membership program on YouTube to get early access to interviews, see behind the scenes photos & more:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCRvVklIft6DMelVW18M0oBw/joinPowered by Q29 Productions, LLC Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Task performance does not guarantee future results. What's the difference between butter and butter made from real California dairy? It's the real California farm families behind it. Real people. Real care. Real intention. Why? Because real matters. So whether you're pouring milk, melting cheese, or just grabbing one more spoonful of yogurt. Keep it real. Look for the seal. Real California milk by real California farm families. Hey guys, it's Ian Bick. We are back with another episode of Locked-in. Today I'm interviewing Melvin Acevedo, who spent six years in prison. In this episode, we detail his early childhood. We go through the acts of why he got sentenced to prison time, and then also how he was able to turn it all around and become a rapper, who goes by the name Alpha Mel. Hope you guys sit back, relax, and enjoy this episode of Locked In. Appreciate all the love and support you guys have been showing us. it's really taking off and it doesn't go unnoticed.

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with Melvin Acevedo. Melvin, welcome to the show, man. You came out today from New Jersey all the way to come see us. So what's up, man? Thanks for having me, man. Yeah, how you doing today? Long ride, but I'm here. Awesome, man. I'm glad to hear it. Let's jump right into your story. Let's do it. Where are you from? Where do you grow up? What's your childhood like? Puerto Rican, from the Bronx, born and raised. Came from Jersey because I picked up my beautiful manager. I mean, she lives out there to how to pick up. She wouldn't let me come without her. So you're the driver. Yeah, but she said, you're going to drive, but come get me. She's the manager, but you're the driver.

I'm the driver, for sure. And she's my schedule. I mean, shout out to her. Lina Love. She holds me down. So, yeah, from the Bronx, Puerto Rican, you know, grew up with my mother, my father was in prison as well, you know, most of my life. Brother and a sister, a cousin that I consider my sister as well.

Story goes from there, what you want to know. Are you the youngest, oldest oldest, old? oldest middle child? I'm the youngest. Youngest. Wow. We all have the same mother and father. I'm the youngest of a brother and a sister. My brother passed away. He got me by five years. My sister has me by three years. I'm sorry to hear that, man. Yeah, you know, regular life shit. Thank you, though.

Oh, I mean, it's not regular, but it happens, you know, but it's not. That's how I brush it off, you know? It happens to everybody is what I mean. You know, I can't feel like I'm special. Yeah. I get it. And growing up in the Bronx, is it like a bad area? Is it the good part? What would you describe it? I would say if you're not from there, my area, you would think bad of it. But if you're from there, you know, it's pretty warm. But there's a lot of temp out there.

You know, people got, there's a lot of bipolar going on out there, you know. And a good day could turn bad fast. But if you grow up out there, you know, it's pretty good. You know, I'm in the hybrid section, Morris Heights, Cedric Projects, right up the block from where hip hop was born actually. And yeah, there's violence out there, shootings. I grew up around shooting, you know, their bodies and stuff. And that was just normal to you?

Yeah, yeah, it was normal. I wouldn't say on an everyday thing, but more than I would like to see it, you know? And you weren't scared at all, like as a kid walking around through the Bronx? Yeah, one time I ran right in the one going outside. Like, it was on the stairs. And it made me, I was like, I don't really remember the age, but I was probably like nine, eight going outside of play. and, you know, we run into the stairs when you're kids. Like, you think the building on fire

the way you run outside of play, and that's how I opened the door to the stairs and there was a body right there. Shit caught me off guard, took my win. I cried. You know what I mean? And then my boy came and he was regular, my best friend. He was like, what happened?

Where is that? And I showed him where was that. And he's like, he tapping it. Yo, you dead? Like, you know, that's how it is. I'm mad. You know, but it's scared the shit out of me. Yeah, it's scared.

That was my first encounter with one of those, know what I mean, and they scared the shit out of me. You think it was, like, traumatic for you seeing that and being in that area? Yeah, because I never ran into them steps like that again. I didn't take the other side, because you got the A sign, the B sign of the projects. My shit, I believe I was on the B side, if I could remember. And, yeah, I never ran into the stairs anymore. I, like, looked through the glass and then open the steps.

Now, at that age, is it normal to, like, be walking around on your own because it's a city? Like, is your mom taking you to school? How does that all work? Um, shout out to Mama Love, right? I lost something in 2020, not to COVID, so something totally different, right? I would say, you know, my mother taught me principles and manners, but she wasn't really raised to take kids to the move. You know, she wasn't really taken out or showed how to get a job and shit. So she showed me anything. Before I say anything, I want to say that, she showed me everything she could other than what she was taught to. And it's my job to pass it down to my kids on a positive note just like she did.

She only told me what she was taught. Well, not what she was taught. The little bit good that she had in her life, she gave it to me. That's what I'm trying to say, you know what I mean? So, yeah, I went to school alone when I was, it started like when I was like in third grade, I started going to school alone. And, yeah, on the walks of school, you know, it's stuff going on. It was a long walk.

But nothing traumatic, I would say, because it's a regular thing. It's a regular day. Like, even the day I sorted that body. Like, I still went outside and played. Like, nothing happened. I got over it. still went on sign play, you know what I mean? Talked about it with my friends.

Like, it was cool. Yeah. That's the problem. It was just cool. Yeah, that was another regular day for you guys. Now, what was it like to have your father in prison growing up? It was whack because I was like poor. You know, I wasn't always fly.

I was like the bummias in the projects. My mother fed me all the time, but she didn't have enough to keep me, you know, looking nice. So I was fighting a lot for people trying to snap on me. Like, people thinking they, could bully me just because, you know, the way I looked. And, you know, looking how I look as well. Like, I look like a white boy in the middle of the projects, but black people, Spanish people, even though I'm Spanish. So leaving my hood, it was a challenge because they're like, who is white boy when they don't know, you know, you know, I'm from here. Like, this is my culture.

So that was hard as well. But yeah, man. Did you have any relationship with your father while he was in prison? My father, back to that, I kind of steered off. Yeah, he was, I remember one memory when he was home. I saw him sleeping at that. He was sleeping and I poked the son that we called Farina. I don't know if you heard about it. It's like oatmeal, you could say. It's like a starch thing. It's real good. I'm poking holes in it. I remember that while he's sleeping because it gets so cold that when you poke holes, it leaves a hole. So as a kid, I just wanted to leave the hose in that shit. So then everything, every other memory is me visiting him, going to trailer visits. So it was hard because a lot of people, not too much.

but the people that had them, you know, they look happy. They're doing things with their father. I'm like lying that my father's coming home soon, knowing he ain't. How much time did he get and what do you go to prison for? He went to prison. I know the main one was like a tent murder, something like that. And it was to defend a family member, his sister's kids. And he went away.

I really don't remember too much of him when I was a kid. He did like 11. Then he came home when I was like, like 14, 15, I saw him like once or twice and then I went away. I went to jail and then he went to jail again for another 11. So he was like always in there. And what year is this? Like what time frame? When I went to jail? No, when you're growing up and he's in prison. This is all the way to like 14, 15 years old. He was in prison. Well, like what years? This is the 90s, late 90s. And how old are you now? I'm 36. 36 now. You got about eight years on me. Yeah. Over. So were you, like, bullied for not having your dad around?

No. Did you feel, like, excluded, though, because he wasn't around? Not really. Like, no, you know, not too many people had their dads, but they had moms that, you know, they worked hard. They, you know, and they, there was, my mother was always an immigrant, so she had to take those jobs that didn't pay to my. I'm Puerto Rican, but my mother's Costa Rican. I just grew up Puerto Rican, but my mother didn't have her papers all her life out here. So she had to take the jobs that was giving her $2, $300 a week.

What kind of work was she doing? She was working in, like, Spanish restaurants, like the Gucci Fritos, bakeries, Kennedy fried chicken, things like that. Did her work ethic get instilled in you, too, at a young age? I saw the grind that, you know, I never saw her. And she always came back so tired, was so little. and it made me, you know, just want to go guess it on my own. Now, let's get into going on your own and stuff. What's high school?

Like, do you start hustling in high school? Where's the path you take? I wasn't really a hustle. I was more, you know, I did sell my little weed, but that was very short-lived because my brother found out, took it from me and, you know. That's a good brother. Yeah, yeah, you know, he always tried to keep me away because he always, you know, he always pushed me away, but I knew and heard of him drew everybody in my block.

Like, and they didn't even know that. my brother because I never ran around like, oh, heck this is my brother, because he was one of the wilders losing the black, rest and peace of him. So, you know, I'm kind of getting sidetrack, but yeah, like him out there, you know, he was always one of the wildest ones and I never used him as a getaway. So what was the question again?

Just what high school is like and what you're getting into. High school, um, high school actually, you know, all the way to high school, I was like into bad shit. High school, I was still into bad shit, but I started focusing more. on the girls. But that was short-lived because I went to, I had like a year in high school and then I went to jail. In high school, you went to jail? Yeah, I went to jail like in 10th grade or something like that. 10th grade. Yeah. What did you do to go to jail in 10th grade? I shot somebody. You shot someone. Yeah. So let's talk about that. What exactly happened, what went down?

What happened with that was, you know, it goes back to being, you know, in the hood. Like, you know, the bully part was really, really short-lived. Like, that was like second grade. Somebody thought they can bully me. I ended that immediately. Because, you know, I'm not a bully myself. Like, I'm going to give you the chance. You think I'm soft, whatever. But once I'm fed up, it's over.

So that's what happened. I did that. Then, my fault, I'm getting sidetrack because I had a, something crazy happening to me today, man, that I really don't want to touch on. But it's ironic that I'm coming here because what almost happened could have sent me back to what we're talking about right now. And they kind of got,

me sidetrack because the pride that we have from, you know, holding all this anger. And, like, you just want to while out sometimes. But you can't because someone like me, I got two felonies. You know what I mean? So if I while out, if I bug down somebody, I go away. My kids have never seen me. The judge told me that. So when I go through shit, like, what I went through today that is rare, it, like, throws me off.

And I'm a little thrown off. That's why I'm, like, I'm forgetting about your questions and shit. Yeah. No, we'll take it one question at a time. Yeah. I mean, I go through that too. when there's you have to be very careful of like who you're surrounding your time with who you're giving your time to and not letting it affect your peace because we have more to lose in the average

person because we already have strikes against us so it's so important to you know just remember the eye on the prize and focus on everything you have going yeah and not ruin because things can change in a moment imagine you're out at a bar you're having a great time with your friends you're drinking and then you hop in the car and that one second you're driving you kill someone you're getting an accident and it's the rest of your life gone just in that one moment or you pick a fight with someone over something stupid you always have to think about those things because all the people that you know we talk to on here go through really shit it comes down to one significant moment that alters their life forever so you always want to stay on course and just think about those things and just be cautious in that

because you have so much you know you have your music career you have you have your children you have everything and think about how far you came and think about what's ahead you know doing the podcast doing your music career anything like that you focus on those and that can bring you to like unobtainable levels that the average person can't get to because you have all that trauma in the past as like a fuel to your fire yeah exactly now so the day of the shooting what what goes down oh so that that happened because um you know like they kind of used me you know my brother went to jail um he told the wrong people to hold me down make sure you I wasn't out there while and like he was trying to control me.

And instead of holding me down, they kind of like used me to rob people and shit because they knew I was with it. My boy needed some bills paid or whatever. I'm helping him out. Everything went wrong. It went very wrong. I heard gunshots go off. I thought my boy got hit.

So it was like kind of a saving my boy type of situation. But at the end of the day, I regret it because the dude that I hit up, I kind of, I didn't know him. I just knew of him. You know what I mean? Never was his friend at all. You know, it goes like that. But I just regret it because, you know, as an adult now, I'd be like, damn, what if he had kids?

What if I took him out? Because I hit him where, you know, he could have died, you know. So what if I took him out? I took a father out, a brother out, a son out. It's deep like that for me now. But when you're in the hood, it ain't deep like that. You're trying to survive. Yo, but let me touch deep on that.

It's not even trying to survive. Like, we're surviving every day. It's about people are trying to impress. you. Like, you think killing someone is cool. You think going to jail is cool. It's a badge. These little kids out there, they think it's a badge. And that's why I'm here now, because it's not. You're going there. You want to go in your bathroom for 30 years. Go kill somebody, you know, like, it's not a badge of honor. I was looking at it like a badge of honor. I was having conversations with my people's like, yo, if we go to jail, we're going to hold it down. You know, like,

that shit is very ignorant. So it's like, yeah, surviving, but then it becomes a matter of Let me just impress who I can impress and let them know I'm the realest motherfucker in this crazy block. That's what it is. Why do you think you had that mentality? Where did it come from at that age? Because you're what, 14, 15 years old when this goes down? So where does that come from at that age? I feel like it came from just a everyday thing, you know?

Like hearing gunshots go off and your whole entire family jumping on the floor because a bullet could go into your window from the third floor on the projects. running into the building because the black party got shot up and then going back outside when it's clears like it's just natural it comes from that

like it's what you're seeing you know like if you get thrown in a basketball camp and you get you lock the key up and you're there for two years you're going to come out that shit bawling you know so if you're throwing in the projects

and all you see around you is people selling drugs using drugs fighting to join gangs fighting just because a basketball game went wrong. Like, it's just, it's just a way of life. It just creates a little animal on you. Do you think if you had lived somewhere else,

it would have, your life would end it up differently? Definitely. Like, I look at life from a different perspective now, right? Because I look at, for example, like, I got a nephew on the right side. I know this is my left. I mean, like, on the right side of life. Because I said, right side. I got a nephew on the right side of life, right?

And then I got a nephew. He's not on the wrong side, but he's on the wrong side of the area. My nephew that's on the right side. He's in the good area, right? He grew up very nice, like a very polite kid. And then I put him next to my nephew from this side of the Bronx. And they're both sweet kids. But this one, he's a little, you can see the crazy in him.

This one, he's so oblivious. I'll send him to the store. Yo, get me a juice real quick. I won't send him because he won't know how to walk through there. And it's not his force. Just he wasn't raised. where this one was. So it's all about where you at. It literally is. Like, I got my kids out the hood now and it's beautiful. I leave my front door unlocked. I mean, I would never even live in my

windows unlocked in the projects, third floor, patio, little balcony shit on top of the entrance. Like, I always thought crazy like that. It's amazing how where we come from can affect our lives so much. I mean, like, if I literally lived an hour away from you and my life was so much different, and I can only imagine if my life was your life and I lived in that area, if that would have been my destiny. Where you grew up at, if you were in Connecticut?

Oh, aye, so you're in 16. Yeah, and sometimes that's out of our control, like where we're born and where we live. You're just thrown in it. Yeah, I was born in Manhattan, but my family moved us out to Connecticut and we grew up in my dad's summer house that they renovated.

Yeah. And it's just, it's crazy, you know? That's beautiful, though. Yeah, but you didn't choose that, you know? Like the universe did, but yeah. Yeah, the universe. yeah and your parents you know your parents knew they didn't want nothing you know they in my hand you know my hand you walk a block up you could be in the nice area you woke a block up

you probably in the hood so they didn't want that they moved you out and that's beautiful bro yeah now going back to the shooting how do you get a gun at that age like how does that happen because where i come from we didn't just have a gun at at 14 years old you know yeah or even know how to get one yeah i'm very i'm like an open book but you know what i'm gonna give you or like, you know, like, I don't seen pictures of my father holding guns, like, thinking he cool, now I mean? I got pictures of myself as a kid holding guns, like. Putting it on the gram.

I probably threw it on the gram once. Like, I wasn't always like this, you know, you know what I mean? Like, some stupid shit. But, yo, I got too many, like, it's, your question is crazy because guns, it's never been hard to get. It's so easy. Like, my brother had a million. I used to play with my brother's guns while he's sleeping.

I mean, oh, shit, it's cool, shiny. My sister dating boyfriends that were gun heavy, like loving guns, like under the mattress, guns. Like, I've done, you know, one story, yo, Mel, come to the room. I'm coming to the room. Close your eyes door. I walk in the room with my eyes closed. I open them. I open them and cocking the fucking 12 gauge in my face.

And I'm fucking 12. And I'm like, whoa, can I hold it? And I was like, it's just the fuck it is. Like the movies. I mean? Why do you think that these grown men, thought I was okay to introduce kids to it. He a grown man, but at that time, he was only like 22, 23, and you know that ain't grown.

Like, you're, you said you're like, what, six years younger than me, right? I'm 28 now, yeah. Yeah, you know what I mean? I'm still a kid, bro. I'm 36. I'm a grown ass, man, I get my shit done, but I'm saying is I'm still a kid, man, like 50 is, you're still young at 50, so imagine a 20-year-old. He's a kid, bro.

Yeah. Especially in the hood with no guidance. No, I still call myself a kid now, too. Yeah, we're still, we're still young, man. We still got a lot to grow. So imagine a 20-year-old in a hood where they ain't really teaching you too much. I mean, I had the dude that was trying to teach me, shout out to him, man. I'm not even going to say his name, but the dude that was trying to teach me,

he was a fucking star in the hood. He was ready to go to the, I think, the NFL. He was a star, seen him on TV, all that. You know, he used to see me practicing because I used to play ball as a kid. He used to see me practicing my moves and shit. I was very nice. I never had a jump shot, but I would break your ankles. I broke a few.

Excuse me. Nice little layup. So he used to see me from his window. So one day he came down and he's like busting my ass. Like, no, you want to play boy? He's busting my ass. And he told me, yo, don't follow your brother footsteps. Because, you know, everybody knew about my brother.

He was a little crazy and shit. So he's like, don't follow your brother footsteps. I see you out here, you know, try to, you know, do the right thing. He ended up shooting. He went to college, shot somebody in the face, went to jail. You know, like, it's like all your idols are like, who's an idol out here? You know, who do we look up to? Yeah.

You know, it's so, it's 20, 30 people can't look up to one person. It can't. Like, you had the people in the hood that come through, throw the block parties. You know, they're good people, but they can't take care of all of us. Were you running in, like, an official gang at this time, or is this just hanging out with your brother? Well, you know, me, my brother and, you know, like two more people. We had our clique. And I ran with who I ran with.

You know, I ran around a few people. But I wasn't, like, an official, like, gang, like, like, the bloods or whatever, whatever the gang. was. I'm, I'm, I'm affiliated with, uh, everyone. I mean, like, I know everyone, you know, like, I know all the bluds. I know all the Crips, kings. They all love me. I love them. I mean, I've been, I ran around a few people. I just don't want to get into that because, you know, they be going crazy, sweeping people and shit, you know, bringing them, you know, I'm nothing like I was back then, so I wouldn't want something I say to make them think I'm still affiliated with a certain with certain clique and then you know i like Puerto Rico not

rico and you you were just you were exposed to that just early on through your family through your brother um or did that just happen through school yeah yeah um it was my neighborhood is happening in school you know i'm from the block where where the blood started at in the Bronx not from the block but i'm up the block and that's actually i don't even want to talk about what happened today but the block that the blood started at i grew up up the block that the blood started at I grew up up the block, so my schools had to close early on Halloween. If there was a red moon, you know, how they'd be like, oh, Red Moon Saturday, we had to close early because, you know, people grew up around me.

They got cut when you wore red like that. You wouldn't wear that around my area when I grew up. They was heavy. The blurs in my area went crazy. They was cutting pregnant women. They was cutting kids that they had red. Like, you could not wear red in my area. So, you know, then the people in my area started becoming blood because it was,

couple blocks up, so it just spread like wildfire. We used to see them walking 20, 30 deep up the block, trying to cut the principle. Like, it's crazy. Now, what were your aspirations as a kid? Like, did you have any? Honestly, to rap. I always wanted to rap.

It's crazy, I started so late, but I always wanted to rap. I don't think I wanted to do anything else because I never, I knew I wouldn't be a basketball player, none of that. I wasn't playing baseball. I did all that. I played ball, basketball. baseball, football. I was nice and all of that,

but school was never really my thing. Very small, but I just didn't want to be there, you know? I would go past the test if I had a test, but I hated it, you know, I hated the thought of it. I just, I think I started rapping at 9. I'm just going hard now because, you know, my manager heard a gift in me and she wants to go hard, you know, so I want to go hard now too.

But I think I always wanted to be a rap, but nothing else. I can't really think of no other dream. And then when I came out of jail, I wanted to be a trucker, and I got my CDO. That's awesome, man. All right, so let's focus on the jail aspect.

10th grade, you're caught up in a shooting. How does that end? Like, what happens that night? So I caught a robbery case first, right? I got locked up. They let me out because it was my first. I was still going to court, but they let me out because it was my first one.

And in the process of that, I got locked up a couple more times for stupid shit, like trespassing, smoking hair, stupid shit. And then when I got locked up for the tent murder, Yeah, they took me in. They wanted me to say a story. I made up a story, actually. And they, you know, they was like, you think I'm stupid? And they fucking beat me up for it.

The cops beat you up. Yeah. In the holding cell. Yes. So that night, are you arrested on scene when you pull the trigger? Nah. The way I got caught is crazy. It's very personal, honestly.

But somebody close to me got told on me. That's how it always goes down. Yeah, but damn. If I tell you how close you... A family member? Mm-hmm. And they ratted you out. Yeah, they told them exactly where I'll be.

And then, you know, people told me, you know, I was... From what I heard, I was able to go to Alabama. My grandfather was black. He would have took me to Alabama. And I would have been good out there. But, you know, they told me, yo, just give yourself up. If you get caught, that's seven more years. And I thought I was, you know, I was running for a body at the time.

So I'm like, fuck it. So I went smoke mad blunts. And then I went to my crib. When I got to my crib, the detectives were there already, and that family member was there. And I'm like, what fuck you doing here? And I went in there from there. And it was like, yo, what happened?

And I'm like, yo, I don't know what you're talking about. And what happened? They pressed me, whatever. Beat my ass up. My mom's came, brought me a sandwich. I couldn't even eat it. I ain't tell her why, though, but I was hurting inside. They beat you up at your own house.

No, they beat me up in the 40th. So they brought you the station and they just beat the show. Well, yeah, when they saw that I was lying at them, because they kept saying what happens. I made up a story. And that's why I wanted to, I could have beat it. I could have beat this shit. Wow.

So this day I probably go, you know, but I made up a story. Well, I can't now. I fucking admitted it. But I made up a story thinking they'll let me out. And they were like, you think I'm stupid? And they'd be mine aside. They put the telephone books in my chest and just like kept hitting me through the telephone book, the yellow pages.

Yeah. And yeah, there's me dirty. My moms came. I was a mind at that. So when my moms came, she was like, you're okay. Because I really, you know, I was her. And she brought me a brand new sandwich. She's like, please eat.

She's crying. I'm like, my, don't cry. I'm like, don't worry about that. When she left, I couldn't even eat the sand. I threw the sandwich away. No, at that time. Because I was nervous. At that time, you thought the guy had died.

You didn't know if he survived. I thought he was dead. Yeah, but when there was interrogating me, there was like, he has three bumps in his head. He got three bumps in his head. So that kind of, like, tell me he was alive. So it was like a roller coaster because people telling me, well, before I got locked up is when I was, like,

unsure if he was dead or alive. because people were like, he's dead. No, he's alive. He's dead. So when I got locked up, locked up. Like, when they came and got me, I thought he was dead.

But then when they started interrogating me, they was like, he's out the hospital. He only got three bumps on his head. So like that. The streets talk and everything's fine now. So do you get released on bond or they just hold you? Nah, I was there for,

for the rest. Yeah. Where do they take you? Rikers Island. Rikers Island. So what's being on Rikers Island like at 15 years old? Yo, bro, I went to Rikers Island in 2000. the end of 2002 and I was there all the way to the end of 2003.

And let me tell you, I did six years. I was in Caxaggy. I don't know if you heard of Caxackie. Is that at Rikers? No, Caxacki is a maximum security. Rikers is just the, you know, you know it's Rikers Islands, the New York City, the county. Yeah, that's like one of the most notorious. Really.

So what is Rikers like? Like, can you describe what it's like? I could give you very details. Why the reputation is so bad? All right. So Rikers Island, the first day I got there, I went to I was in a reception area

It's like I wasn't the sprung one Which is reception It could be sprung three or sprung one But it was like one of the sprung reception You're there for like a week Then you got the two sprungs That you're there for a while But if you got a high case like me

You go straight to the building And the building is where it gets crazy at The sprungs is like it's wild It's still wild in the sprung But it's not as crazy as the building Because the building The inmates run it I mean, the sprung, the COs run it.

So, yeah, I already, before I even got to the sprung, because they put me there by accident, I was supposed to go straight to the building. Before I even got to the sprung, you know, I was fighting already, you know what I mean? And the holding cell with people that's in the building. And yeah, I remember walking up into the shit and you see all, because it was like nighttime.

The sprung is like a little walkway, and then you got the south side and the north side, and there's windows. And you can see, like, everybody just looking. that is holding all the blankets and shit as you go on in everybody like you know how in the in the movie they banged the that's all it was missing because all you know they just looking at is like food from the window all you see is the look like shadows just mad figures and you know like i always had a thing in my life that yeah i might be scared but then i like click something and that's it i'm like

it leaves how um what type of people are they putting you with is it older people or just kids this is kids just kids at rikers 16 to 18 but they look 30 Yeah, kids look old. Because, yeah, I'm big now, but I was little, bro. I was small. What are these other kids here for? Murder, tent murder. And that's just normal?

That's crazy. Oh, it's crazy. I know somebody that got killed in Rikers Island. I know it's just, it's not enough time for the Rikers Island stories, but that was crazy, crazy times. Like, it's just, you know, the inmates running. You got the inmates running the house, and then you got the day room dummy that, which where I pretty much was, that, you know, you just. stay in the day room, but then you got the pop-off dummies.

You know what I mean? The pop-off dummies are the people that run the house be like, yo, go jump him. I was never that. Like, I was just the dude, don't fuck with me, or we're going to fight. I mean, I have my little chair. You know what I mean? I just didn't want to lock out, which is you go inside, nine, everybody else stay out that night.

I didn't want to do that. When I got to my last house, which is three main, I started wiggling because I was so little, I used to wiggle out the slots. So, you know, I'll be like, yo, crack my slide, the people, and I'll just wiggle my ass out. Are you scared, like, being on Rikers at this age? Like, what's your thoughts? Yeah, like, like, all right, so when I was in, when I was going to my first court date, I was still, I went to, I got to Rikers Island and that same fucking night,

like, probably got there at 4 in the morning, that same day I had court. So I didn't really even get to chill there. Went to court, and that's when I was there with dudes that was in the building. So I'm not scared yet, right? So I'm there, somebody, it's a long story, but somebody was like telling somebody else. I guess this dude was fucking bored. He told somebody else, yo, this guy got nice clothes on

because before I got like that, I started making my clothes and shit. So he's like, yo, this guy got nice clothes on. Why are you on asking for a size? So the dude was like, yo, what size are you? And I looked at him like,

this pussy. I mean, that's my man. So this day he knows who I'm talking about. He's out here with me. And then there's other dude whispered in my ear, yo, if somebody asks you for your shit, you got to pop.

Even if you're not going to get with him, you got to pop. So I'm like, what? He's like, yes. I got up popped on him and I went to another cell because the COs came, grabbed me up, threw me another cell, and I laid on the bench. I was in my own cell, and I just started tearing.

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Every day, this is what you want, it's what you hear. And then I wiped my face and I sat up, took a deep breath, and I ain't ever cry again. Wow. And I just, that's why I said, I throw my shit away because you got to adapt. But like what I'm going to do with? Like you're going to get eating up alive if you're going there with that type of energy. You would have grow up so fast, man. Immediately. Yeah. Like when, do you ever think about like what other kids your age were doing regularly and you're sitting in here in one of the worst prisons in America? Yeah, it's, it's whack because a lot of the conversations I can't even get into. Like, you know, my crew, they never, the people I talk to every day, they never been, you know, someone have been to jail, but they never really did too much time like me. And they have their teenage stories. I don't. I don't know what my shit wasn't there. I ain't got high school.

college, none of that. Did you ever finish high school or no? I got my GED in there. In prison. Yeah, I got my general. Now, did you know how much time you were facing at that point? When, in Rikers Island, nah, that's why I was so angry, like, fighting all the time and shit. But once I, once I found, because I thought I was going away forever.

Like, I had lawyers telling me, just take 15 for each. You're young. You'll be home by, by your 35, 40, you know. Firing them. As soon as they told me I could fire my attorney, I was firing like two of them. And then I got one that she fucking, he got me, he got me five years for the attempt murder. And then I had a robbery. I had a one or three for the robbery.

So when they put them together, it turned them to six years. And, you know, that's why I know I could have beat it. Because I could have beat this shit. Six years for an attempted murder. Yeah. Was that the final charge that you pled out to attempted murder? To the second. Attempted murder to the second.

So it was just a straight six years that they gave you. Five for that. And then the robbery to the first, which was with a gun. So they ran a concurrent. Now, what turned into six? What is your mom talking you about at this point? It's sad because, you know, I'm watching my brother get locked up. My father's locked up.

My own family's getting locked up. And, you know, my mother always cried. So, you know, her baby, I'm her baby. You know what I mean? So me going in there is just, oh, man, it was hard for her. Like, I didn't see my mother not one time. Like, from that day in the, in the, in the, navigation room, I ain't see her since until I came home.

You didn't want her to come visit? No, she couldn't. She wasn't a citizen. Oh, she wasn't, I didn't even think of that. Yeah. So there was no way around her, they would have checked. Like if we had, if I had my mindset, if the people around her had the mindset I have now, there's always a way, you know what I mean? But she wasn't, like I said, she wasn't taught to think outside the box.

It was just taught with what you tell her. Gotcha. So you get sentenced. The judge gives you the six years. you signed for where what prison do you end up in um i go to all stuff for a month which is the reception um which was my favorite because they had the best food in that shit they had these cookies oh man anyway you see what you see what i'm thinking about in jib hey that's how that's how you got cookies some more i ain't even worry about this bit you know what i mean so um dude we were thinking

cheesecake what yeah we're thinking you know you circ with the fucking lunch man you like oh they got having pizza on this day that's what you look forward to it's like high school you know Chicken Day, yeah. I remember every new spot I went to, I'd get the commissary list, and I'm highlighting, and I'm excited. You're hype. They don't got that over there. Yeah, like a week before, you know, commissary would be a week now, and I'm thinking because that's what I'd look forward to. Yeah, it's like building an Amazon list, but on commissary. Yep, exactly. So what prison do you end up for the whole time? So Ulster, I was there for a month. I got transferred out to green correctional facility. It's an adolescent jail, but they let adults in there as well, but it's dominated by the adolescents. Is it Greenville or just green?

It's green. There is a Greenville in New York, though. Yeah, I think I could be wrong. I think that's a max. I could be wrong. Yeah, because we had a CEO on the show that worked there. Greenville, it sounds familiar. I know Green Haven is definitely a Max.

Yeah, Green Haven too. Maybe that's what it was. That's probably what you're talking about. Yeah. So you end up in this prison. Are they like opening up to you in open arms, the inmates? Because of like your reputation? What's it like?

Well, I got up there and I knew a few people that knew me. I mean, they know I was valid. And up there, you know, it's crazy. Like, you know, I grew up in such a dominated project with none but black people. I'm like one of five, six Spanish families in it. And, you know, I didn't grow up with the segregation shit. I never looked at it like that.

I didn't even look at myself, you know, the way I look at myself today. Up there, you know, they, you know, as soon as you go in there, they know you're Spanish, the Spanish people try to pull you into their little corner. Yeah, how does that work with, like, the gangs and being Spanish in prison? because I think you're our first, like, Spanish person on the show. They all rock, like, the Spanish is a gang itself, you know, like, they all rock with each other.

Like, you know, you're going to a house. The Spanish people, they're going to come up to you with a bag with soap, slippers. I'm not saying to all other nationalities do this. I'm just telling you from what I experienced, I mean, they throw you the soap, slippers, toothpaste, tell you who not to fuck within the house. I, you hear you knew, that dude right there, Raybo, that dude right there, you know what I mean? And, you know, you're outside, you got your lane. Kings over there. You got your Trinidadios, which is the Dominican gang. You got the Mexicans.

Like, you see how the Mexicans go to war here and jail? They all won. You know, so in jail, all the Spanish people are won. Now, something I've seen in prison is that the Spanish groups, gangs, whatever you want to call it, are the biggest hustlers. Oh, yeah. What were you seeing them do to hustle in prison? I did, I did my little thing. Like, my sister's, my sister, my mom's dressing piece, they could tell you I used to send money home. I mean, I made my little moves in there. Yeah, I'd meet Spanish guys that would that were immigrants that had to do their stay in federal prison before going to ICE. They'd rather be there making money and sending it back. Yeah, that's what they hear for from the jump. Like, they left their country just to send

money back. So how are they making this much money in prison? So in jail, um, you know, like, let's say a joint, you know, was a blunt and a joint, right? So a blunt is $100. You could sell that for $100. You could buy a blunt for $5 out here. It could be the trashiest weed. If it's that amount, it'll go by the amount. You got to give me $100. A joint, you can sell that shit for like $7. I mean, so you got people in there that they're addicted. There's people that sniffing dope. I was selling a little bit of that too.

Like, they're sniffing dope and they're addicted. You don't get money every day because, you know, so what they do, they rack it up. Like, they get the credit line and then by the end of the month, your family got to send that to my family. So, yeah, how does currency work? It is all on credit and they send it on, you know, Western Union? They'll call their family, be like, yo, send this amount to this, this. this address and you know what i mean that's how it's done you never get a sent to the prison

because that's how that's how i went to the box ones so there's no physical currency in the prison there's no like mac yeah you could yeah you could sell you know like if it's a little buy like like a seven dollar joint you know i mean i got this all right let me get that that that that that right look at you swap it out but if it's a lot you know you can only spend 55 to 100 you own me 700 you know what happens have your family send that what happens if someone doesn't pay what goes down when you're in a gang like this? I never had somebody not pay because I kind of like know who to deal with

to this day. But, you know, they get you out of there. You know, because as easy as it was to give you the drugs, you know, you could pay somebody else that really wanted to take care of that for you. Now, are they resorting to violence or are they just send them to the shoe to the whole? It's always resorting to violence in jail. So they're just going to attack them and...

Yeah, they're going to get you out of it. It's never, oh, he's dead to me. I ain't fucking. one no one no because if you do that them 30 dudes over there they're gonna they're gonna take advantage of you so you got to make an example there's no making one example like if you got to keep making the example you got to keep making the example sometimes you're lucky you just make one example and you don't have to do it again but you know like some people they got to keep making it now what was the food situation like with the spanish groups in prison like what are they cooking

with the commissary because i would see some pretty fascinating things yo we was jealous because I went to Washington, too, but that's laid in my bed. They got the stoves and shit, so we always used to talk shit about them because we had the mics, but you would be, yo, the mics, they make a whole fucking coarse meal. Like, Thanksgiving was amazing. Like, I'm this kid, and they, you know, they come with a bow, and you got, I don't know how the fuck they did it,

but you have beef stew. You have Poriugisau. I think that's chicken stew in English, which is like the soup and the tomato sauce and shit, and rice with corn and, You know, it was just crazy. Like, it was good. It was good.

And they're making this all off the commissary. Well, now, you get packages to what the commissary. You could get the simple shit, like the cans and stuff. But commissive, you get the exotic stuff, like the fruit. Yeah, you know what I mean? The cakes that you don't get out here, the seasoning that you might need. So the packages were important. Did you know how to make food in prison?

Yeah, hell, yeah. What was your go-to? My go-to, it got to the point that my boy, when I went to Kaksaki, they started asking me to cook because I was. so dope at it like send it over man i ain't even have to buy a fool and i make like um my shit shit was uh damn uh beef log you chop up the beef log fried up with like some it's my little secret but you fried up with with the pickle juice oh man you just just trust me yeah you can't sleep on the pickle juice red you'll be surprised what pickle juice could do pa pose told my pickles

fish oil yeah and the fish the mackerel fish oil you can use it to fry up yeah make a lot of things happen with that yeah well were you ever addicted to drugs at all or anything like that? Nah, nah. I would say I was addicted to weed. I was smoking mad weed in jail. But, nah, I never had no other crazy habit. So what, like, inspired you to start selling heroin in prison then?

The opportunity, like, my man came up to me like, yo, you mad cool with that old motherfucker right there. He do this. And I'm like, yeah, he's like, well, I get it. So I'm like, how much you give him to me for you giving you for that? And then I hollad at my boy, like, yo, you're looking for that, right? Yeah. Well, I can get it for this.

And then I'll give you this amount. And that's how it happened. So I saw it again. My boy would get smashed and I would give it to, he was my first custody and then, you know, he knew the other people that fucked with it. And I used to protect my shit too. Like, it was times they'd be doped up, like nodding. And, you know, the police see that. They send you to take a drug test.

If you got it, you go away. So one time I saw one of them dozing off and shit, I'm trying to figure out how to make him look normal. And I grabbed a fucking towel. I wet it with cold water and I splashed it on his head and he fucking woke up. Like, he was in the desert. Yeah. And I was like, yo, you got to stop nodding. I was thinking of my money.

Like, you leave. This money stops. Wow. Wait the fuck up. And how much money were you making like on a weekly basis? Yeah. Like, I would say a weekly basis probably like, like, because you know, it's one, I had like one or two, three customers. So they're not going crazy with it at the end of the day.

The month probably, and this was very short-lived, like a two-month period. A week, I probably was making like 400. Which is good money for. Oh, yeah. Because I was sending them in home. I was sending to my mom, like, taking, keeping some for me in the commissary. My shit was, my commisset was crazy. And then, you know, I was sending, I was buying my niece, her crib, her bed, her dressing

and shit. Yeah. And did you have a prison job, too? Yeah. Always, always thinking, I got lawns and grounds, which is mowing the lawn, picking up the garbage, because I knew I'll have access to the whole prison. And whatever you don't get into the package room, like, whatever they say, not you're not allowed to have this.

They throw it away, but all they do is slice it once. They give it one slice. So it'll be like, let's say, a pack of chicken, right? And they'll give it one slice and throw it away. But that bag just got there, like two hours ago. And me picking up the garbage, I could open the bag and be like, it's coming right to my crib. And it was like a little scheme.

And then you could get around, you know, like you could sell your shit over there because you're mowing, yo, I left it right here, you know what I'm? And how much do you get paid for this lawn job? Seven cents an hour? Seven cents an hour. But you're making money as a hundred. also selling the stuff you find. Yeah, yeah.

Oh, yeah, exactly. A lot of the shit I was bringing back, I was flip it. Those I usually just swap out. You know what's fascinating is that the federal prisons and like the state prisons kind of operate the same ways. And like prisoners like don't talk to each other at like home angle, but they all operate the same way. Like similar stuff happens.

Big thing in federal prison was the Spanish guys making the hooch or the liquor. Yeah, yeah, for sure. Yeah, you got the hoots. Definitely. How are they making it? Can you break that down? I never really made. it, but I think they use, like, orange peels or some shit. They, like, leave it, uh, damn,

I knew once. It's like, it has to do with fruits and you leave it, like, sitting for a long ass time. And then it creates, like, you know, the chemical, like, you get drunk off of it. And then once you bust that shit out, the bag open, you can smell it heavy and it smelled like liquor. Yeah. Did you taste it? Oh, no, I thought it was disgusting with the mold. I took a, I took a sip and I was like, I can't do this shit. I'm not a drinker. They're putting, like, bread in it. They're putting fruit. Yeah, you got the bread in it. And it sits in the walls.

Yeah, yeah, they hide out over there. Toilets sometimes. Like, yeah, I know. Dude, it's insane, man. It's literally insane. Facts. That is so wild. And what's like the most violent thing you saw in prison?

Well, violence, you know, I've seen people stabbed up all the time. But I would say I saw somebody hanging. Hanging. Yeah, this wasn't right to his island, though. You walked by and they were just hanging. Next door neighbor. Wow. He was hanging.

Someone put him there or he did it himself? He did it himself. And what do you even? A little, he was some African dude. He only got caught with four pounds of marijuana. And what do you say? Well, at that time, four pounds was crazy. What happened?

What do you think in that moment? When you see something like that, that never goes away, right? Nah, I still see it. Like, talking about it right now. But you go to the day room and you just, you know, first they locked the whole shit down for like the whole day. Now I mean? Talk to your man like, like, yo, word. And you just talk about it.

It was crazy, man. Like, you know, people like me, they don't. understand suicide. Like, we look at that like, you know, easy way out. So, you know, go to the dayroom, talk about it like, damn, how could he do that? What about his family, you know? Yeah.

Just move on. That's it. And that's just crazy. Yeah, bro. He was only, like, 16, 17. He had to be. He was so skinny. I remember one of the dudes points him in the chest so hard that he couldn't breathe for,

like two minutes. And I'm just looking at him like, damn, you know. What about sex offenders, rats, are they allowed to walk your yard in that prison? They walk the yard, but, you know, a lot of the COs, you know, like, if you in one of them houses, the CEO will be like, oh, dude right there, you know, he's this. Like, you know, you got the rapeos. They don't respect the rapos, but a lot of the rapos, like, there was one that was there,

like 30 years. So they, you know, they look at it like, he got fucked up his entire bed. But the new ones, they love the new ones. So they'll let you know, like, yeah, I'm going to go get coffee. I'll be back in like, you know, two minutes and, you know, they won't really tell you, but they'll tell you and you go take care of it. I wasn't one of those, but I've seen it done many times, you know.

What does that mean? I'm going to go take a cop. Beat his ass up, like bad. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm going to go. This guy, you know, you're like touching kids. We go drink coffee for two minutes. What, kids? You know, I done stumped a few, but I wasn't the go-to, like, you know,

like, yo, come here, this kid. I wasn't that guy. I was the guy like, yo, I'm going to do this nigga dirty. The CO said this and I go, you know, help him out. But you couldn't say no. You had to do it. No, no, I don't know. I never had to do nothing.

I don't know. So if they asked you were. Oh, the CEO? If anyone asked you. No, no, it's a choice. But they know the fucking inmates are so crazy. A freebie, that's a freebie. You want to let your steam off.

It's free. You're not getting into trouble. Like when they come around hands and you do this shit when they, you know, you ain't going away. They're just going to take him. Oh, they're checking your hands. Yeah, they're just going to take him. Yeah.

It was him and they get him to fuck out of them. They don't want to be in the room with them. What kind of corruption do you see from prison guards, men or a woman? I would say the drugs. I didn't really see too much corruption, but yeah, we probably some illegal food. I've never really seen. That's like the corruption with that thing goes on in the maxi-maxes and shit where people live. They live there forever.

I was in a max where some people lived forever. but they'll make it down there, you know, because they've been doing good for like 10 years and shit. Now, did you lose, like, any good time or anything because of the shit you were getting into? Yeah, I lost all my good time at one time, and then I got it back. So how much time do you end up having to do?

If I didn't get my good time back, I would have to do six years flat. With the good time, I did five years, seven months, something like that. Because you were so young, was the whole time you were in prison just, like, you know, violence, gang bang, and doing whatever, and like not you weren't in a clear direction like I need to get my shit together

I'm not gonna lie I met a lot of old Gs that you know they they you know I met some old Gs that would look at me and be like how old are you? I'm 18 you got another one in you meaning another bid I'm young enough to go home

and come back to jail and that shit I hate shit like that I don't like people downplaying like don't think you know me like you think I'm gonna go out there and come back here to you so shit like that would be like that and you know the people I was running with

doing funny shit It made me be like, I got the fuck out of here. But at the time, you probably thought it was cool, that they were saying. Nah, I would, nah, because I had the old G's telling me, yo, you, you, you, you, you, I never met, you know, not to talk about myself, but they like, you know, I don't really meet young niggas like you, so I like who you are, like, go out there and become somebody. So there were people that were saying that then. Yeah, definitely. So it wasn't always negative, like, you got another bit in you and this. It wasn't always.

Most of it was, but then you got those that you could see the fire in their eyes that you know they about it. And they're telling you that the people that. It's like, you got another one in you. They're losers. Just because you in jail don't mean you tough and gangsters. There's a lot of losers in jail. You know that. Yeah, the time you were in prison, did you spend any time thinking?

Like, what's next for you? What's your future? Your actions that got you there? Man, I was, you know, being that I didn't experience too much at all, you know, I didn't really fuck, you know? I got head like twice. You wedded a virgin? Yeah, pretty much, you know what I mean? So I had to learn how to-

That's what you were thinking about. Yeah, pause. I had to learn how to do my thing in there. did, like, jerk my dick, I had to learn. I never jerked my dick as a kid. Really? I had to talk about that. But, yeah, like, I had to learn.

I had to think of the time I fucked Shorty. Like, I was like, I remember how it felt. And I, like, it's crazy, bro. That's, like, I had no experience. That's what gets people through. I used to think about it all the time. Pat, I talked about it on other episodes. I used to, you think, because you have to go off a memory.

You think about past relationships, all of that. See, but me, I used to create things in my head. Like, I would. Because you had never experienced it. Yeah, so I would create a girl. Like, I would. I would live a movie in my head sometimes, especially when I was doing my box time. Like, I would like create.

I think that's why I'm so creative because I used to really live in my head. I never was in jail. I was always in my head. And you know, guys in prison give the best dating advice because they have so much experience. Yeah, I was writing poems, doing little cards, like making little doors. You open there's a little picture of us. Did you ask guys in prison like about sex tips or girls or anything like that? No, because I knew about, I knew everything that had to be done.

done. I just didn't get a chance to do it. Well, I've done it, but I didn't like, you know, do it multiple times. I got there and then I was still on my little crazy shirt. You were young. You were young. Was it everything that you imagined it to be when it finally happened? Yeah, the heavy breathing. Coming in like two minutes. Like, yeah, all that, everything. But, yo, before I got locked up, I was having parties with all the girls, like most of the girls in my school. So I knew I had potential, like, to get girls. But I just, you know, I got locked up immediately. So, When I found out, I was like, yeah, I could get business. I got like that.

You definitely weren't shy, right? You were kind of out there? I'm shy when you get, you know, you had to get to know me. Like, I was, yeah, I was never really, that's why I rap so late because I always been nice. If you know me, you know I rap. I always been nice. I just never was confident to be like, yo, ah, like, you know, I was just keeping it myself. Yeah.

So you get out, what year do you get out? And how old are you? 2008, 22. And what's life like? What was the hardest thing to adjust to? What are you doing? Shit, I go to my parole in Manhattan, and she's like, I heard you're a blood. I'm like, what?

I'm a blood. Who the fuck told you this? And she's like, yes, you are, Sasey here. I'm like, I'm not. And she's like, you can't wear red. If you wear red, I'm going to violate you. So I'm like, I won't wear red. And she's like, and you can't go to the Bronx.

Say's here. Like, it was a judge saying I was like banned from the Bronx. And I'm like, my whole family is in the Bronx. And she's like, well, you're parole into Manhattan. They got to come to you. And I went straight to the Bronx. Like right after that meeting, I went straight on the four train. Took that shit to the Bronx.

My family had a little party for me. I couldn't even eat. Like, I couldn't eat. It was so much good food in front of me I couldn't even eat. Did your body take a little bit to adjust to outside free world food when you got back after eating commissaries? I couldn't really eat heavy at all because my body, I was so lean and cut up. And, you know, I was mad sexy. When I got out, I was a sexy.

The girls love D-Benz. I inspired, like, there's people till this day that work out because of, like, there's family that came to my crib, and I came out to shower and my towel, and they're like, you what the fuck? And they work out now because of that, I mean? So, yeah, I was good money, but the fool, yeah, I was going to all these places to eat, and I was taking, like, two bites, three fries. It took a while, yeah.

What was, like, a hard adjustment to adjust to, either mentally or physically? Crossing the street. traveling on the train, interacting with people. Because, you know, like, I didn't really want to bother nobody. Like, you know, I was, it was so much stupid shit

that would happen to me when I came home. Like, I was walking up the avenue one time in Harlem and I'm waiting for the bus to go uptown. And I'm like, yo, this bus is nice. So I'm just walking at each bus stop. Like, I'll just walk to the next one while I wait. And finally, I'm there, yo, what the fuck? So I asked somebody,

yo, where's the bus for the uptime? It's not coming. And he looked at me sad and he was like, all the cars are going downtown. And he was like, you got to go to the other avenue. I didn't even register that there was no bus, no cars going uptown. I'm waiting for an uptown bus on the downtown, on the downtown side of Harlem. Like, stupid shit, waiting for doors to open and then I open and you shaking them and then

you look to the right and that's the entrance. Like, shit like that. Like, I was so used to being directed. I had to find my way, you know. Wow. Yeah, I had to find my direction. And how's your relationship with, like, your mom and your siblings at that point? You know, honestly, it was a little bumpy because I came home and I saw that a lot of my family had like, you know, there was just Facebook was happening, YouTube and shit, not YouTube, MySpace.

Yeah, it was just started. And I saw that a lot of my family had pages for other people in jail. And I'm like, damn, like, what the fuck happened to me? Like, I'm just nobody. And I mean, so it was bumpy because I saw the favoritism. But I never hold grudges on nobody to this day. Like, you're a dickhead, you're a dickhead. That's it got nothing to do with me.

If you treat me like shit, I'm just not going to be around you. Yeah. What do you think you missed out on the most those years? Because you missed your prime teenage years to prison. You missed your 21st birthday to prison. 18? Yeah. Some of the big milestones.

Yeah, facts. I think I missed the opportunity to maybe I would have changed. You know, maybe I would have fucking went to college. I probably would have, you know, because I went to jail and started listening to these dudes telling me to do the right thing. What if I met somebody that would have told me to do the right thing at that moment instead of somebody saying, oh, you wilding? I come, let's do it like this instead. You using handguns? Let's use these.

You robbing Chinese food people? Let's rob this drug spot. Neighborhood. You know, like, if I had a positive person, I would have been somebody better. So that's my regret. I never met somebody that. Could be that mentor. Yeah.

That's why I treat everybody so good. Like, I was always man nice to, like, for example, the little kids in my block, man, like, shout out to I, he's like my little cousin. You know, he had a hard life going up. I saw that, so I wanted to be a good person to him. So I became like a big brother to him. Shout out to little Shelby. He has his brothers, but every time I saw him, I gave him an extra love.

Little dude from Highbridge the label. His name is QP now, Quincy. He was one of the little dudes in the block running around, and I used to show him mad love when I seen him because I never got that. So I wanted to give that. So this day. I mean, I want to give people sneakers off my feet. Yeah.

When you got out, did you want to get back into crime and doing what you were doing? At first, no, I was legit. I was, I went to, I got jobs in stores with mad females. And, you know, I occupied doing that. And unfortunately, you know, because, you know, it was my situation. But, yeah, I started doing all that other shit. A little crown, like selling my things and stuff I have to afterwards, you know, like I didn't jump right into it.

But you never went back to prison? Never went back to prison. I'm never going back. So you think that was the eye opener you needed to get on the right track? Yeah, because I saw that my problem is violent. I'm so violent. Like, I just react. Well, reacted so quick back then.

I always wanted to do the bad shit So now I don't want to do that I'd rather just fucking fight my pride And screaming my pillow at night Yeah how do you channel that anger now To make sure that never happens again Because it never really goes away Yeah

It's hard like you know the shit that happens today Like you know You want to fucking go crazy But you can't because you know Now I have something to live for Like before I didn't So how I channel it I rap about it I go write a fucking rap about it

Or I go eat Smoke a blunt I smoke a lot. Chill with my kids, you know. Chill with somebody very close to me. Go get into something with my manager. Like, just, you know, I can't fucking, I can't let the devil win. And he's knocking.

Like, I got so much shit happening. Even today, I'm on my way to talk about bettering myself from what I've been through, thanks to you, right? And look at what one was happening. That shit could have went so left. But to the kids out there, like, you got to think, you know, like, don't just jump out because you don't know what you're jumping out to. You don't know there's 30 people up the block or 40 cops or, you know, like, just don't jump out.

Don't let your anger lead the way. Like, channel that shit. Hold it. You know what else is important to think about is that you, when you shot someone, he could have died, but he didn't die. And that gave you automatically another second chance at life to turn it around. I think if you sometimes you think about that, that makes you think too, because I think about my actions and where, like, it could have went worse, you know, situation.

and I survived that and I made it through and it didn't happen a certain way because of one little instinct or action or whatever and you got to live with that and you have to you got to live with every day you have to live with that and you have to remember that and use that to never go back to that yeah and when did you end up having kids how far after when you got out soon as I got home oh you got the next year really I came out oh eight I got a good oh nine do you think that was too soon for you for like your development I didn't you know I was I was just a fucking horny kid, I didn't know she could get pregnant. You know, there's condoms, right?

Yeah, for shit. Oh, bad. Fucking condom. Yeah. Well, yeah, man, I got a beautiful daughter, man. Just one kid? I got three daughters. Three daughters.

Three kids. Wow. Same, same mother, though. Same mother. Are you guys still together? Nah, we're in trouble times right now. But we co-parent to the max, though. Like, one thing I could appreciate, like, you know, we put our kids first over

anything. Yeah, do it for the kids. Yeah, definitely. What inspired you to get into the career you're at now? Did you work a normal job ever, or did you go work in the music? I was, you know, I did stock boy shit. I always won it better. So I did a stock boy shit.

They was paying me like $9 an hour. What's stock boy? Charlotte Rules order clothes. You know, I'm the one that brings the boxes and put them where they got to be. Yo, just go there, all that dumb shit. Okay. But I was so dope at my job. Like, I quit it once and they hired me back.

They begged me to come back because the stock room looked beautiful. beautiful, you know? Yeah. Without me, all the girls running it, that shit looked crazy. You wouldn't find none. But with me, I had everything sectioned off.

Then I went to selling produce for, like, Boudaul and shit. Then that's when I spoke to the dude about the trucking, the trigger the thought. Then I worked for Sony. Like, I kept climbing, you know? I always wanted more. And then from Sony, I ran into my boy, and he was in the truck. And he was like, yeah, you could do this.

And he put me as a helper for four months. And I got my CDO in like two months. And you were able to build. a life for you with that. Yeah, with the CDL, I was making the most money I ever did. Have there been challenges with a criminal record an attempted murder charge on your record?

Those people that didn't give me the job because of my background, but... And what do you say in that moment? Do you get mad? They don't tell you. They just be like, we'll call you. But you know. Yeah, I knew that one time that I was telling you,

like... How does that make you feel? Because I knew somebody in there. It makes me feel like, damn, like, you know, don't judge me for what I did. Like, if you want me to change, see if, you know, give me the opportunity. Like these jobs, that be like you need to work, you got to have a year experience.

How the fuck am I going to get the experience if you don't give me the job? And this happened 22 years ago, too. Like, your past. Yeah, this is a while ago. I think it poses a question how, when can a person redeem himself? When can they be given that second opportunity? I feel like I'm a great example. Like, we can change, you know?

Like, yeah, I got my anger. I'm not going to say I'm not angry, but, and I don't do my little shit. But, you know, I'm a good dude. I've done bench you. hell and back and I'm still able to fucking love and feel you know like I'm bored a lot of empath and I mean so you know we're not all bad in there some of us just didn't have no other choice so you were able to create a music career while you're building this life with your kids raising your kids CDL how does that come into this that came in um I met some people that you know fraud people that was

supposed to be in the music business but I'm appreciative of them because they brought me into offices that I've never been in. And while I was in there, instead of just, you know, riding the way, I was picking up things. And because of that, you know,

I got with my manager and learned so much. So once she heard me rap, because I was already doing my shit, but the people I was doing it with, kind of like funny, they were really using me for what I bring to the table.

They were using me for what I had. But they're young. I don't really knock them. But I had to get away from that. And now it's like, yeah, it's making sense. I'm doing this rap shit, making money off of it.

I have a great response. And, you know, I'm just, I'm blowing up little by little. And I'm talking about everything we talk about here. I'm not always talking about jail because it's way more than jail to my life. Yeah, what's your message behind your rapping? Like, what is it? That, you know, like, to the kid that, the kid that don't know where to go in life, I see you, you know?

There's another way. Like, there's, you know, if you're on your block all, they turn the corner, go around the corner, look past your buildings. There's other shit going on. Like, my message is, uh, yeah, we from the hub, but like, you know, what are you really, you know? What do you want to be in life? Where are you from? Why? Why, where are you now? You know, like, it's everything. My message is just positive. It's, uh, resiliency, you know, like everything, you know, like, you got to hear it to understand what I'm saying. Like, I'm all over the place, but my message is just, like, you hear the gangster shit in it,

but I ain't talking about putting you in a spliff no more. I'm talking about what happens if you get putting a spliff to the people around you. I mean? How will you ensure that your daughters, your children don't go down the same path you did? Like we said, man, is where you grow up at. You know, like if you're growing up in the projects, you're going to know the projects. But if you go to this nice little neighborhood over here, this little townhouse and this beautiful area where the schools are great.

You know, this things are always worried about, but for the most part, it's good. You know, it's like in the hood, you got a very slim chance of leaving. Where we at now, she has a very beautiful chance. And it comes a lot with her mom. Her mom is a great woman. She has a great job. She's very heavy with the school. I mean, a lot of my kids, they like the music, so they see me doing that.

They got everything they want in their life. So I know they're going to be good. Do you ever see yourself having a sit-down conversation with them to talk about your past with them so they can learn from it? If it comes to that, yeah. If it comes to that, yeah. But, you know, it's crazy how stereotype it, but they're girls, so they don't really go through

all the things the boys go through. We really go through it. Their girls, they could get manipulated by the boys most of the time, and that's what I'm teaching them. That's why I take them everywhere. I buy them flowers. I treat them like, you know, beautiful little princesses so they could want that in return.

So they know how to be treated? Exactly. Because you've seen the evil that a man could be. Oh, my God. you want to make sure that they don't get that. Exactly, bro. And, you know, people don't understand that the things that we hear and see and there, it stays with us forever.

You know what's out there. And it affects women forever when they have that one bad, you know, traumatic experience or whatever. It fucks those girls up. Yeah, men abuse you, a lot of them, you know. Women too, though. You know, but I'm just speaking for my part, yeah, a man could definitely manipulate. Yeah, they need to know that there's better out there. there's better people out there.

And it works both ways. You know, girls that, you know, abused men and vice versa, because it happens in both. Mental abuse is real, man. It's worse than physical. It really is. Now, if you could go back in time to your 14-year-old self and sit down with your 14-year-old self,

knowing everything you know now, the night before the shooting happened, what do you say to him? I would tell him, don't do it because it's not for you. It's for him. Like, he just know you're going to do it. So he asked you to come with him. Yo, you boy, yo, you're going to go road?

All right. So don't do it, you know. Don't do any of that. Stay in school. Focus on the girls. Go to them parties you're throwing. You know, like, do the right thing. Like, just look for it.

Like, open your mind more. I was so close-minded. It's ridiculous. I didn't see anything. So I would tell him to open his mind. On that note, what do you see now? Like, what's in the future for you? What's your vision?

I see that. I see that, you know, when I got locked up. up, I thought New York City was the entire New York. And then you look at the map and you see we're a little dot. So that's basically self-expansatory. There's a lot out there. So I see Cali now. I see dope Florida. I see overseas. Like I know there's places out there that I need to get to. It's just not what I'm going to eat today. What I'm going to do tomorrow. What, you know, it's none of that is expansion, growth. There's so much opportunity in this world. Too much. You just got, you don't have to do crime. You don't have to do any of that.

I didn't have to do that for money. Yeah, there's other ways. The money is just the easiest way, the crime. Look at the most successful people that got there. They didn't get there through crime. They got there from working hard and figuring something out. And anyone can do that. Exactly.

But Melvin, thank you for coming on the show today. It's been a great conversation. We wish you the best. Where could people find you at? You could find me on all platforms at Alpha M-E-L-174. That's Alpha M-E-L-174. I got the lottery single out right now, man. He's talking all that positive shit.

You know, if you're having a bad day, you put that on. The album coming out soon, it's called Gotta Be. A lot of positive in there, you know, for your people's, you know, probably put in the intro, like, I got some good, good vibes going on. You can find me everywhere. Alpha Mel 174. Awesome, man. Thank you, man.

Have a same trip back. Appreciate it.