Meet Joshua..

The last person in the world I thought would be there for me has been there since day one, and that’s my mom. My mom got clean and she’s been holding me down when everyone else faded away.

Incarcerated: 5 years
Housed: Northpoint Training Center, KY

People see Kentucky on TV and think that we are just a bunch of uneducated country bumpkins, but my struggle is real. Growing up, my mom was in and out of my life due to jail, prison and drugs. I’m a victim of a flawed system designed to fail.

I’ve been bounced around between different households and I was abused mentally and physically by my Dad. When I was 16, I just wanted to be loved and to feel like I belonged. The only thing that was consistent in my life was the clock-radio in my room where I was confined by my Dad. Being in prison is better than living with that man. In my room all I would do is practice rapping. I knew at nine that music was all I wanted in my life. I

‘ve taken this time in prison to perfect my craft in every way. Prison actually sat me down and helped me focused. I’ve created over 200 verses and I write every day. I taught myself how to play the guitar. I realize that I didn’t have as many friends as I thought I had. People in here think that I’m lame and weird because I don’t indulge in foolishness. The prison system in Kentucky doesn’t care if you get out. Everyone is recidivistic and it seems as though the Kentucky correctional department wants it that way. They make up reasons, write you up and if you go up for parole with clear conduct they deny your freedom by saying you’re “manipulating the system.” It’s designed to keep you locked up.

All I do is write, create music and stay to myself. The last person in the world I thought would be there for me has been there since day one, and that’s my mom. My mom got clean and she’s been holding me down when everyone else faded away. When I get out in five years I wan to stun the world.

I want to be that example, the voice and the hope for that little boy or girl growing up in Western Kentucky the way I did through music. I have a daughter I haven’t seen in over five years and I just got custody of my son. I’ve been in the streets all my life, surviving. I came from nothing and I wanna invoke change. If I ever make it with my music I wanna give back and help people. Music saved my life. My story needs to be told. I feel forgotten. I feel like there’s no hope for me unless I chase my dreams, the music.