Last night, People's Champion Meek Mill came through to chop it up with Stephen Colbert. During his interview, Meek uses his platform to explain the double-edged nature of the probation system, which ultimately played a primary role in sending him back to jail. As he tells it, those hit with probation are essentially plagued by an infinite shadow. "For those who not familiar, it can be [as much as] making a U-Turn," explains Meek. "Police contact is actually a technical violation. Going over the New Jersey bridge is a technical violation. In Philadelphia, you go to the mall in King Of Prussia, you might cross a county line without knowing you crossed one, and you in technical violation. Traveling, taking your kids to Disney World."
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Meek also acknowledges the impact such limitations might have on those holding regular jobs, considering how much it affected his own daily life. "I wasn't committing crimes, I was still pulled back into the system. Being placed in jail." Last week, however, Meek caught a well-deserved break, being granted a retrial for his original case. On that very same day, he received word that he was signing a label deal with none other than the Jigga Man.
He also opens up about experiencing the "Free Meek" movement from a jail cell. "I was so stressed and depressed I couldn't feel the full effects," he explains. "I started seeing it on major news platforms, being talked about every day. That was the year the Eagles won the Super Bowl. They came out to my song, they celebrated to my song after the win." He also reflects on hearing both Jay-Z and Beyonce shout him out, but a fraction of the support that helped drive home the significance of the rising cause. "That's what motivated me to come up with something like The Reform Alliance to get back to the people who stood up for me. I believe they had people in their families caught in the same situation."
Check out Meek's full interview below.