The Daily Show: Ears Edition - ICYMI - Meek Mill on "Championships" & Fighting for Criminal Justice Reform

Episode Date: August 30, 2019

Meek Mill discusses his album "Championships" and describes how his experience as a wrongfully convicted man led him to become a vocal advocate for criminal justice reform. Learn more about your ad-choices at https://www.iheartpodcastnetwork.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

You're listening to Comedy Central. John Stewart here. Unbelievably exciting news. My new podcast, The Weekly Show. We're going to be talking about the election, economics, ingredient to bread ratio on sandwiches. Listen to the weekly show with John Stewart, wherever you get your podcast. Please welcome, Meat Mill. Meek Mill! Oh, welcome to the show.

Thanks for having. Yeah, I mean, it has been quite a journey. Yeah. Like, I mean, for everybody. I mean, for everybody who's been watching your life just in what feels like the period of a year you've gone from someone who was in prison looking at spending multiple years behind bars yeah to being number one on the billboard charts and being free again yeah thank God

Are there mornings where you wake up still fearing the idea of going back to jail? Yeah, I wake up every day fearing I'm going back to jail. I'm on bell. I don't know if anybody know what that mean if the Supreme Court overturned my sentence and gave me a bell and gave me a chance to actually re-fight the case. I was put on probation for a case at the age of 18, falsely accused. And, you know where I come from, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I the the the th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th th thi, I thi, I thi, I thi, I thi, I the the the the the the the the the the the the the, I the the the, I th th the thi, I th th th th th th th, I, I, I th th th th th th th th th th th th th th thi, I thi, I thi, I thi, I thi, I thi, I thi, I thi, I tha tha tha tha tha tha tha tha tha tha tha thea tha tha tha tha thi, I thi probation. I was put on probation for a case at the age of 18, falsely accused. You know, where I come from, like, the value of getting arrested was just like the way we valued ourself, it was just like a normal thing if a cop blamed someone,

you took a deal or you went to court and you lost a case that for something you didn't do. As I got older, I got around around more powerful people and met people around the world where people violated their self more. And one day I always asked my friend like, you think I pointed a gun at three or four cops? He white. You think I pointed a gun at four or five cops and got away with it without a single shot being fired? And he always said no, but I didn't think he understood what I was really saying to them. So you know, I used to say to say to say to say to say to say to say to say to say to say to say to say to say to say to say, I to say, I to say, I to say, I to say, I to say, I to say, I to say, to say, to say, to say, to say, they, I'm, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, I, their, their, their, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, their, I'm, their, th. and, th.e, th.e.e.e. And, th.e. And, th. And, th.e. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, their, their, their, their, I'm't think he understood what I was really saying to him. So, you know, I used to say it all the time. And when I actually got sentenced to the two to four years, it stemmed back from what I actually was found guilty for,

a crime that I did not commit. I don't know if anybody watched like social media, what happens to young black men when you even have the point of gun at a police officer in America right now. And you know, sometimes them situations turn out tragic. You know, as life went on and myself, you know, I just told my friends, like, yo, let's go look at this case from the beginning. Let's go check into it. And we had investigators checking to this case top to bottom, most of the people that even arrested me, testified on me, were found guilty for lying of a criminal activity and actually a bunch of people got let out due to the investigation

investigating these police officers. It's interesting that your case and your story became in many ways what opened up a Pandora's box. People talk about how America's criminal justice system is broken. But now it had a face. Meek Mill, here he was, he was successful, he was selling albums, you know, he was rich, he was doing well, but yeah. Even he became a victim to the system. Do you think that now, without wanting it, you've now taken on that mantle of being an advocate for criminal justice reform? Yeah, I kind of think it was, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, like, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, he was thi, he was thi, he was thi, he thi, he thi, he thi, he th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. thi, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he, he was, he, he was thi, he was thi, thi, thi, thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi. thi, he was thaken on that mantle of being an advocate for criminal justice reform? Yeah, I kind of think it was placed on my lap. It was the basis of it, like people used to say like, it's not about him. No, it's not about me. It's actually about, uh, I got found guilty at 18 for a crime I didn't do. I'm 31 years old. I never been back to prison for crime ever

again in my life. So you got to a two to four year sentence at 31 years old when I'm at a successful stage in my life. So you gotta imagine people who grow up in bad environments who get put on probation probably for petty things and long-term probation. Right. A lot of people don't realize that the probation, it basically re-ups every single time. So you're basically in this world where it's like this is your probation, but then something small can happen.

You can have an altercation with the cops where you didn't do something wrong, but the cops, and now you go, now it's more and more and more, and you're basically permanently at risk of going back to prison. And in this album, I think what's really powerful is, I mean, you've always made music about your life. Yeah. But championships, their th. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. C. th. th. I th. th. I th. th. I th. thin, you thin, you thi. thi. I thi. thi. thi. I th. I th. th. th. th. thate. You thi. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. And now, th. And now, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, th. And, you, you th. And, you've, you've th. And, you've th. And, you've th. And, you've, you've th. And, you've, you've th. And, you've th. And now, you've th. And now, th. And of the most gripping albums I've ever listened to because you talk about what it's like to be behind bars and it's not funny, it's not cool, it's it's scary man. You talk about hearing the screams of people being raped in prison. Yeah. You talk about you know how prisoners are being treated behind bars by the guards and in many ways you remind people that there are humans on the other side of the bars.

We always say criminals, but there were humans suffering through this. Like does that stick with you when you leave? Yeah, it was just a big deal when I got sentenance to a state sentence. And you know, a lot of them kids in there were sentenced to state sentence. They took deals because they didn't have lawyer money. Like you know, they got a thing, a system called public defenders if you can't afford a private attorney, the state will assist you with a public defender.

A public defender would go over this case, over your case probably in four or five minutes and you know, take you in the courtroom. Right, right, right. So most of the times, these kids are charged with 10-20 charges where they're facing 45 years, 30 years, for things that they most likely didn't even do. They end up taking deals for four or five years or three years with a bunch of parole probation and they'll forever be scarred. You want to be able to get a job. You won't be able to attend certain schools. Even me myself, I try to move in certain areas just so having an embarrassing record of cops and I'm pointing a gun at a two police officers. Certain areas I couldn't move in. One time my bank account was closed because I had felonies on my record and I'm moving so so forward in my life. It just made me want to stand up and speak for people who are caught up in the system

and maybe trying to move forward in their lives. When you, this, like a lot of people, some people, I heard people say like he's not the face, he shouldn't be the face. I'm like, I don't want to be the face. I just want to help out and help bring change to the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world the world and help bring change to the world. Which is amazing. I think that's amazing. Yeah, I like to wrap. I like to take care of my family. Right. Can I ask, can ask you a question? I mean, Meek Mill for a lot of people, you know, popped into their lives because of a beef with Drake. Yeah. Right. There was a huge beef with Drake and there was back to back and this was all going on. Yeah. And then Meek Mill gets arrested, you go to prison, you come out and then you squash the beef with Drake and you guys genuinely work through it, not even like a PR thing, you work

through it as human beings. When you go to prison, does it feel like a rap beef is just a waste of time? Yeah, basically, basically prisoners. I played ping pong. I was. I. I. I. I. I. I. th. th. the th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. th. the th. th. th. th. th. th. the thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, thi, the the the the thi, thi, the the the the the the the th. the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the the th. And then, th. And th. And thi, thi, thi, thi, thrushed, thrushed thrushed, thrushed, thrash., thrushed thrushed, threaten, thrash., thrash., thi. And then thi. And then thi. And pong, I played chess, read some books. Right. Yeah, it was nothing that I could really benefit from. I already had my path where I was headed to. You know, I employed people, I'm employed myself. I do a lot of charity, so you know, I wasn't really getting into too many of the programs

they had going on. So, you know, I worked on my ping pong, learn how to play chess. Chess toard me patience. No, yeah, it was a waste of time I feel like, definitely. When you came out, you immediately went into this world of advocating for the people who spoke to you, people wrote you letters. Yeah, fans who said to you, hey, you've inspired me, not from prison, but just in life. You've inspired me to get over obstacles. And now you're fighting for America to change its ways.

What would you like to see changed in America's prison system? Probation and parole should have standards to it. Me, I've been on probation from 18 years old. I'm 31 years old. I haven't been in jail since. If I've to cross the bridge to go to New Jersey without calling my probation officer with forgetting, I could actually go to prison. If I got pulled over or got a traffic ticket, police contact is a violation. If I come in contact with the police and a judge decides that she don't like the contact that I came in with police, It doesn't have to involve a crime. It doesn't have to, you could be innocent.

Like I got sentenced to two to four years for Popin' the Willie. I got arrested in New York for Popin' the Willie, which actually they charged me with a F1 felony when I went to court, the case was thrown out. I didn't even get a traffic for ticket, the ticket, ticket, ticket, ticket, the ticket, ticket, ticket, thea, I, I, I, I, I, I, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, the, I'm, the, the, too, too, the, too, too, too, too, too, too, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm toened. toened. tooing. too, I'ma, I'ma, too, they.ed.ed. too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, too, they. Willie. I still was sent to jail for that, you know what I'm saying? And just police contact on probation is really jail time, basically. And for people that look like me and come from, the environments I come from, police contact happens on the Dully Base. I've probably been searched by police 5,000 times in my life.

Right. And not speaking, saying all cops are bad, but I just think that's a bad dynamic to put people like me in. Bell reform, at one point, I was locked up with a guy's bell was $100. He spent 28 months in prison. And that was he couldn't pay $100. And that was taxpayer money. Like we had to pay for this guy to be in jail for to be in to be in the jailed, to be in to be in the to be in jailed, the the to be in jailed, the the their, their, to be in, their, their, their, their, their, to be in, their, their, to be, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, to, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, their, tha..... I. I. I. I. I. I. I'm, tha. thae. I'm, te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. te. toe. te. toe., toe., toe., toe., to guy to be in jail for 28 months because he lorded two times in his life. He had a drug addiction. I don't think that was really the proper thing. Me being in

prison and I know a lot of people hear about prison and they're thinking like it's like the movies. No, it's really like a mental institution. A lot of people are addicts, addicts and went to prison for probation violations because they was addicted to opioids, marijuana, cocaine, and they're put in prisons. I think that some type of things should be handled accordingly. I think people that have addictions should go to rehab. You shouldn't go to a prison. People...

I don't think, like, I don't think people really realize how deep it is. I used to read comments on when I came home on internet. He broke probation, go to jail. I'm like, y'all I willy the bike. I'm like to the bike. I'm like to their bike. I'm in love with dirt bikes. That's what I like to do.

I willy the dirt bike. I went from willing a dirt bike bike to being locked in a cell 23 hours a day with shackles on my ankle on my wrist, not able to be able to contact my family and going through traumatizing things and I'm just like, yo, I'm not a threat to society and nobody that is a threat to society should be placed in these type of conditions because everybody don't make it back from the same you, you had men scream. He probably won't never recover from what happened to him in that prison. He probably was locked up for the smallest thing in the world. And it's like, in America, we make it like it's just a normal thing. Some people belong to be in jail. We have dangerous people and people who cause harm and don't offer nothing to society.

And you also have the 30%, 40% who are here for technical violations and violations and not committing crime and people who took plea deals because they couldn't afford lawyers and things like that. So you know, it's so many layers to it. Me, I'm here on shows like this to really deliver my experience of what I went through, you know what I'm saying? Because American can view me as a normal person. They know I have a job. They know I'm not committing crime. And I'm delivering my message just to the world. So we can start on a path of change.

Can I tell you, that's something I found interesting, is you have an album out. Yeah. And I've watched you go on multiple shows, and you don't seem to need to speak to speak, to speak, to speak, to speak, to speak, to speak, to speak, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, and, and, to, to, and, to, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, the, to, the, the, they.. And, to, they. And, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, to, thethe album. You don't push it, you don't. I mean, and it's an amazing album. It's at number one. I feel like I'm hot. I think I'm hot. No, I mean, it's amazing to see. It's amazing to see because I mean, many people would say, hey, I mean, there's a little criminal justice thing, but at the same time I'm tham, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, the, thin, the, thin, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, and, th.. th. the. th. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. the. th. th. th something that's close to your heart. And honestly, I admire that about you as a human being,

because it's bigger than money, it's bigger than anything else that you're doing. But at the same time, people are still buying the music and they're buying the album. I think they're gonna get around to that, you know? It's almost nerve-recking on, it's almost nerve-a-a-a-n, coming, coming, coming, coming, coming, coming, coming, trying to speak up for voices people. I have so many people that I was locked up with that are dedicated to me speaking out or trying to even get a voice for people to hear their cries of that situation. So you always know, you do a TV interview, it might be five, ten minutes, 15 minutes,

sometimes even two, three minutes. This nerve-recking to even try to think about what I have I I I I I I compensate the people who don't have a voice or even promote my album. So you know, I just try to freestyle and most of the time we end up talking about my dressive reform. So you know, I also want to talk about the album though. I want to talk about the meat the state of mind Meek Mill gets into when he gets back in the studio, where do you find your joy? You know, you come from this place where your freedom is taken away from you, something that the one thing that human beings need more than anything, they're freedom, it's taken away from you. You are reminded of how thin that thread is.

Yeah. But you still have to find your joy. Because the album is not only painful. There's bangers, as you say. People are dancing, you know, it's, they're still fun. Where do you find that joy? I never wrote a song in prison. I was so depressed and stressed out. I couldn't find a time to actually sit down and make a rap, but I always want to explain this on platforms like this. A lot grew up in these environments our whole lives. I'm 31 years old, from the age of one year old to 22 years old, maybe until I got a record deal. I grew up in a ruthless environment.

A lot of people, some people grow up in love. Some people grow up in hate. I go up in like the hate survival area where we seen a lot of bad. So now, I still know people I have family members who live in that and you know we speak on them things it's like a social forecaster and I just wanted to deliver my message in a way where the way where all America can view and see what we go through coming from and I think I'm a good representative because I changed my life

around even growing up in hate and survival mode and I speak on a lot of things like I talk about the opioid addiction in my city where like most young guys do Percocets and I talk about guys getting caught up and being influenced by other guys and going to jail and losing that freedom by making bad decisions. And I also talk about the fun side of my life actually having money, making money and living. Because sometimes that inspired people too coming from where I come from, we never had anything. The first person I seen was Alan Arson. He's the first African American I seen with a real

nice car and where I was at it nobody really had nothing and that inspired me to be bigger in life so you know if you see me on Instagram or something I'm flaunting a little bit don't take it personal I'm just trying to inspire. I just want to say thank you so much. I appreciate everything that you do man thank you so much. Championships is available now. It is fire. Nek you Eagle everybody. The Daily Show with Covernoa, Ears Edition. Watch the Daily Show weeknights at 11, 10 Central on Comedy Central and the Comedy Central app.

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