Jay-Z Declares Meek Mill’s 2-4 Year Prison Sentence “Unjust”

Meek Mill was sentenced on Monday to two to four years in prison for violating his probation twice after a 2008 gun dealing and possession charge.

MEEK MILL SENTENCED TO 2-4 YEARS, JAY-Z SAYS IT’S “UNJUST”

After that news broke, the oft-quiet Jay-Z spoke out against the sentence during a concert in Dallas. “The sentence handed down by the Judge — against the recommendation of the Assistant District Attorney and Probation Officer — is unjust and heavy handed,” the rapper wrote. “We will always stand by and support Meek Mill, both as he attempts to right this wrongful sentence and then in returning to his musical career.”

The judge in the case, Judge Genece Brinkley cited a failed drug test and failure to comply with a court order restricting his travel in Mill’s sentencing. She also claims to have tried to help the rapper for almost a decade, but that Mill always ends up doing what he pleases. “I gave you break after break and you basically just thumbed your nose at this court,” she told him.

Later, Mill reportedly apologized to Brinkley. “I’m human. I’m not perfect. I’m asking for mercy,” he said. “You gave me the ladder to do what I have to do to prevail in my struggle. I made it this far, I can’t really go back and start over.”

The judge denied his plea and ordered Mill taken into custody.

During his concert, Jay-Z not only defended Mill, but condemned the current criminal justice system in this country. “I gotta say something about a young man named Meek Mill,” he told the crowd. “He caught a charge, he was like 19, he’s 30 now, he’s been on probation 11 years. F–king 11 years. Probation, 11 years. Now he got to do two to four years because he got arrested being on a bike popping a f–king wheelie.”

Jay-Z continued, “This 4:44 album is all about us moving forward, moving past things, and in order for us to move past all the shit that we’re going through we gotta address it. Everyone has to be just as outraged, you can’t look at it as a black or white issue, you have to look at it as a human issue,” the rapper said. “Black people in particular, we gotta get our shit together. You’re not second-class to anybody. We equal to everybody. We deserve everything everyone else gets. Stop selling yourself short.”