Jay-Z Produced Amazon Docu-Series “Free Meek” Arrives August 9th [Trailer]
You may think you know Meek Mill’s story — but a new docu-series will shine a light on the rapper’s transformation from artist to activist fighting for criminal justice reform.
Amazon’s forthcoming docu-series Free Meek can be summarized best in a quote from Van Jones in the new trailer: “The system tries to put Meek Mill on trial and Meek says, ‘No, I’m gonna put the system on trial’.” Amazon has announced that the Jay-Z produced docu-series will debut on Amazon Prime Video August 9th.
The five-episode limited documentary series chronicles rapper Meek Mill’s fight for exoneration in his legal case while exposing the broader flaws of the U.S. criminal justice system. As Meek, his family and his legal team fight for his freedom, cameras capture the birth of the
#FREEMEEK movement, the launch of the Reform Alliance along with Jay-Z, Philadelphia 76ers co-owner Michael Rubin, and Van Jones, and the re-investigation of a case filled with allegations of dirty cops, planted evidence, and systemic corruption within a broken judicial system.
The investigative series will follow Meek and his supporters as they attempt to uncover the different facets of corruption that kept him under the thumb of Philadelphia’s criminal justice system for over a decade, and will feature new information uncovered in the investigation by Quest Research & Investigations LLC, led by Luke Brindle-Khym and Tyler Maroney (The Case Against Adnan Syed).
In November 2017, the hip hop artist was sentenced to 2-4 years in prison after he was arrested for popping a wheelie in New York City. Although that charge was dismissed, Judge Genece Brinkley still sent the hip-hop star to prison in Pennsylvania for other technical probation violations, marking the second time she incarcerated him for probation violations.
The ruling and Meek’s imprisonment sparked outrage and from that, advocates saw Meek’s sentence as evidence of America’s broken probation and parole system, in which members of the Black community are incarcerated at nearly six times the rate of whites. People like Lebron James, Colin Kaepernick, and Jay-Z (who is also the executive producer of the upcoming series) all gave their support to Mill, with Jay-Z even writing an op-ed in his defense for the New York Times and stating that the sentence was “unjust and heavy-handed” in a Facebook post.
After Meek was released on bail in April 2018, the overwhelming amount of support surrounded him and the Reform Alliance was established. Jay-Z and Meek were among many to pledge a combined $50 million to The Reform Alliance earlier this year, according to Rolling Stone. The organization is committed to eradicating laws and policies that perpetuate injustice in America.
After being released from prison, Meek Mill dropped his fourth studio album, “Championships,” where he raps about social justice and prison reform throughout.
Free Meek is executive produced by Eli Holzman, Aaron Saidman and Erin Gamble for Industrial Media’s The Intellectual Property Corporation; showrunner Michael John Warren; Isaac Solotaroff and Paul Solotaroff; and Shawn Carter, Desiree Perez and Patrick Reardon for Roc Nation.