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Tags Posts tagged with "Jay Z"

Jay Z

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Reform Alliance

It’s been about five months since Meek Mill was released from prison, in what many called an unfair and ridiculous use of our justice system. After popping wheelies on a city street, Meek was arrested for a probation violation. The judge, who was accused of having a personal vendetta against Meek, sentence him to two-four years, for a 10-year-old drug/gun violation. After fans, celebrities, and politicians starting speaking out against the extreme sentencing for a “wheely”, Meek was finally released. Since then, Meek Mill has vowed to fight against a system that has unfairly and systematically imprisoned citizens, especially young black men, for centuries. To aid in his fight, Meek Mill, along with help from his mentor Jay Z, have created an organization called Reform Alliance.

31-year-old Meek, rap legend Jay Z, Philadelphia 76ers co-owner Michael Rubin, New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft alongside other activists joined Meek this week for the launch of Reform Alliance. The organization has one simple, yet big goal; to take its $50 million budget, and reduce the number of incarcerated Americans by 1 million within 5 years.

According to the Alliance Twitter feed, the mission is clear:

“The mission of the REFORM Alliance is to dramatically reduce the number of people who are unjustly under the control of the criminal justice system – starting with probation and parole. To win, we will leverage our considerable resources to change laws, policies, hearts & minds.”

Check out these real-life stories of men and women, and what they have suffered within the American prison system, then go and support the Reform Alliance.

View this post on Instagram

At REFORM, we #FightDifferent. Our collective disgust with the current state of the American criminal justice system is creating a powerful, growing alliance that spans different backgrounds, industries and political beliefs. We are bringing together leaders in business, government, entertainment, sports, technology, art, and culture to give voice to the voiceless. We won’t stop until we’ve changed the laws, policies, and practices that perpetuate the horrific injustice we’re seeing in America. The Alliance started with the unjust re-imprisonment of recording artist @MeekMill due to minor technical probation violations. The shocking two-to-four year sentence Meek received in November 2017 spurred the international #FreeMeek movement, which led to his release on bail in April 2018. Although Meek had the resources and public platform to fight his case, he and the other founders recognized Meek’s case is only one of millions – and that the vast majority of people trapped in the system don’t have the resources to fight back. After Meek’s release, we joined forces and committed to changing mass supervision laws (probation and parole policies) that will have the greatest impact on the largest number of people. The mission of the REFORM Alliance is to dramatically reduce the number of people who are unjustly under the control of the criminal justice system – starting with probation and parole. To win, we will leverage our considerable resources to change laws, policies, hearts and minds.

A post shared by REFORM Alliance (@reform) on

Syllabus Magazine, the Carolina’s source for Music, Culture and Fashion

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Trayvon

The Trayvon Martin story will debut on July 30th, and it’s probably time that we prepare to get our tissues out. Many of us remember the Trayvon Martin story, we remember the arguments and debates we got in online about his encounter with Zimmerman. We also remember the days of the trial, and that evening when the verdict was issued – and how we could not believe that George Zimmerman got away with cold-blooded murder. The memories of this child, this conversation, the emotion will forever be etched in our minds.

Thanks to Jay Z, Paramount, and Roc Nation for bringing us this story which will take us deeper into the lives of Trayvon and his family. Remember, Jay Z and his team also brought us the Kalief Browder story, so many are certain that the Trayvon documentary is sure to leave us shook. Check out the trailer below.

Syllabus Magazine, the Carolina’s source for Music, Culture and Fashion

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credit: NY Times Video

Over the past few years, Jay Z has been vocal about sounding the alarm regarding many social issues throughout our communities; he has especially been passionate about mass incarceration and the number of black men behind bars. From his production of the tragic documentary on Kalief Browder, to his Op-Ed piece for the NY Times, “Why The War On Drugs Was An Epic Fail“, where Jay Z shares with us the history of the drug war and asks many important questions on the reasons why this “war” was an epic fail; Jay has managed being a mogul and an activist for good, while still giving the culture great music.

“Why are white men poised to get rich doing the same thing African-Americans have been going to prison for?”-Jay Z: The War on Drugs Is An Epic Fail

Jay and Bey have taken an open stance on mass incarceration and you can frequently catch them both yelling things like “Free Meek” in songs like Khalid’s latest collaboration, “Top Off”.

Once again, Jay is putting his money where is mouth is. Jay’s label, Roc Nation has invested in technology that has been built to fight the mass incarceration problem. On March 19, Roc Nation announced its plans to back an upcoming app called Promise. The Promise App can be used with any smart-phone device and will be used with both government agencies and inmates. The promise program and app is designed to assist inmates who cannot afford to defend themselves on court.

“We are increasingly alarmed by the injustice in our criminal justice system. Money, time and lives are wasted with the current policies. It’s time for an innovative and progressive technology that offers sustainable solutions to tough problems. Promise’s team is building an app that can help provide ‘liberty and justice for all’ to millions.” – Jay Z

The decarceration app does not have an official release date, but the creators of the app, Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins and Diana Frappier, will premier the app today (March 20) at Y Combinator Demo Day. You can learn more about Promise at their website.

Syllabus Magazine, the Carolina’s source for Music, Culture and Fashion

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The story of Kalief Browder is burned in our memories forever. The thought of a 16-year-old kid being held in one of the countries toughest prisons, accused of a crime that he didn’t commit, sounds like something out of a made-for-television movie, but this was real life for Browder. You can read more about Kalief’s life in an article we wrote in January, when President Obama decided to ban solitary confinement for teens.

Even though Browder’s case has been discussed in detail in a few documentaries this past year, including the13th documentary on Netflix, directed by Ava Duvernay, Browder’s story will now get the attention it deserves thanks to Jay Z.

The music mogul, along with Jennifer Furst will be releasing a documentary in March 2017 titled, ‘The Kalief Browder Story’, a two-part Documentary Series which will premiere on Spike TV. The series will walk viewers through Browder’s arrest in 2010 at the age of 16, his three year imprisonment without having a conviction, and his release in 2013. Unfortunately, the series will also cover Kalief’s 2015 suicide due to the affects of being imprisoned as an innocent teen.

Since Jay Z landed a movie and television deal with Weinstein Company, he has been committed to telling the story of Browder; he was also one of the many celebrities that got a chance to meet Browder after he was released from prison. Jay had asked his assistant to track Browder down after his release in hopes of meeting Kalief, who was around 19 years old at the time. Jay Z spoke more about his commitment to be a voice using his new television deal:

“We’re the voice. We’re society. We affect change. We can change everything. Our voices are stronger than ever. If everyone in this room is like, ‘I don’t agree with this happening to a 16-year-old,’ then it won’t happen again. It’s that simple.”

The Kalief Browder Story will premiere during the Sundance Film Festival and will debut on television on Spike TV Wednesday, March 1 at 10 p.m. ET.

Syllabus Magazine, the Carolina’s source for Music, Culture and Fashion

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Chance The Rapper – ” No Problem”

Gucci Mane – “First Day Out”

Trey Songz – “Look What I Did”

Eric Bellinger – “Spare Time” feat Wale

VT – “I’m Just Getting Started”

https://youtu.be/oqQbgRq4gjE

Alicia Keys – “In Common”

Belly (FULL ALBUM)

Fat Joe, Remy Ma, Jay Z – “All The Way Up” REMIX

OT Genasis, TI, Lil Wayne “Cut IT” REMIX

CURREN$Y – “Supply & Demand”

Syllabus Magazine, the Carolina’s source for Music, Culture and Fashion

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