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Redemption Songs April 19
The Message Behind This ‘Hamilton’-Style Prison Rap? Pride Can Be Dangerous
Written by a man at Sing Sing prison, ‘Pride’ is a highlight of the first album by famed prison program Musicambia.
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Redemption Songs April 12
The Bootlegging, Blues Singing Star of 1930s Prison Radio
Hattie Ellis was poised for post-prison fame. Then she encountered shotcallers who didn’t value her voice.
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Redemption Songs April 5
Police Used Mac Dre’s Music Against Him. In Jail, He Used the Phone to Get Revenge.
In his signature trickster style, the Vallejo, California, rapper recorded an album on jail phones — and even called out cops by name.
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Redemption Songs March 29
Stevie Wonder and James Brown Put This Prison Funk Band on the Map
The Power of Attorney played shows with superstars, went to industry parties, and wore outside clothes — all under the watch of armed guards.
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Young Thug, a Black rapper wearing a white shirt and striped pants, holds a mic as he performs in a crowd during a concert.
Closing Argument March 28
His Rap Lyrics Helped Send Him to Death Row. Travis Scott and T.I. Are Trying to Stop His Execution.
The rappers argue that James Broadnax’s case exemplifies a larger problem in American courtrooms: The use of rap lyrics as evidence.
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Redemption Songs March 22
Redemption Songs: The Music of Mass Incarceration
Redemption Songs is a limited-run newsletter that spotlights one song each week made by people in prison. Spanning almost a century, we’re telling the story of mass incarceration, one song at a time.
By The Marshall Project
Redemption Songs March 22
B. Alexis Is the First Woman to Drop an Album From Prison. But We Can’t Say Her Real Name.
She fearlessly raps about traumas like being trafficked at 13. But she’s so scared of institutional retaliation, she’s concealing her identity.
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A black-and-white photo showing a White woman with a bouffant hairstyle singing into a microphone on the left side of the frame on the dirt grounds of a rodeo, while in the background are Black and White incarcerated men, wearing dark colored jackets, black ties and billowing white pants playing guitars and a drum. The drummer is wearing sunglasses, as a correctional officer stands guard behind him dressed in white and a cowboy hat with the brim upturned on both sides. In the distance, crowds sit in the stands.
Feature March 10
When Texas Was Fertile Ground for Prison Bands
Until the 1980s, an annual prison rodeo offered a chance for men inside to perform and sell albums. Now we’re making them available to you.
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Three people stand on a small cliff, overlooking a water landscape.
Life Inside February 27
The Documentary ‘Exodus’ Paints a Nuanced Picture of Life After Lockup
Shot over two years, the Critics’ Choice-nominated film values quiet moments. “We’re trying to refuse a spectacle,” says director Nimco Sheikhaden.
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John J. Lennon, a White man with short brown hair, wears a green uniform while holding his glasses in his right hand. He sits in front of a window that has blinds covering it.
Q&A November 4, 2025
A Leading Prison Journalist Upends Our Obsession With True Crime
John J. Lennon tells Bill Keller that he “wanted to tell a different story about the guilty” in his new book.
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