Performing in Meek Mill's hometown of Philadelphia Friday night, Jay-Z played Meek's signature track "Dreams and Nightmares" to show support for the incarcerated rapper. Jay has already penned an op-ed for The New York Times in which he condemned the criminal justice system for failing Meek and other black men. On top of having the crowd recite "Dreams and Nightmares" in support, Jay shared some words about the rapper's unjust imprisonment. "If you see a young man put on probation for 11 years since he was 19 years old," he said, according to The Inquirer. "That man is being stomped by the system. That man is in jail for doing wheelies and breaking up a fight."
Fans at the show were said to be holding signs that echoed Jay's sentiments including "Free Meek Mill," "Justice4Meek," and "Probation Is A Trap," the last of which comes from Hov's aforementioned NYT piece.
Jay also spoke out in support of Colin Kaepernick, whose Jersey he wore during his performance on SNL last month. "[Kaepernick's protest] is not about the flag," he said. "That shit is not about inanimate objects. It’s about people dying. It’s about young people leaving their house and never coming back home. And it’s not a black and white issue. It’s a human issue. Everybody should be fighting that."
Before the show, Philadelphia 76ers players including Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons, as well as Trey Songz and Yo Gotti were seen backstage wearing "Stand With Meek Mill" hoodies. Embiid reportedly visited Meek in prison earlier this week.