Rapper and activist Common has equipped a prison near Chicago, Illinois, with a state-of-the-art recording studio.
Statesville Correctional Center has been blessed with a music studio, complete with mixing boards, musical instruments, microphones and sound panels.
“The gentlemen who are incarcerated deserve access to better things in life so that’s why I fight for my city,” Common said via CBS Chicago. “And that’s why my heart is always with Chicago. Being from Chicago is one of the greatest gifts and assets to me in my career and my life.”
He said the initiative was sparked by a conversation her had with attorney Ari Williams, who reached out to him with the idea.
The inmates will learn music production via a 12-week course provided by Common’s nonprofit, Imagine Justice.
“The gentlemen who are incarcerated deserve access to better things in life so that’s why I fight for my city,” Common said. “And that’s why my heart is always with Chicago.”
According to Vera.Org, in Illinois, Black people constituted 15% of state residents, but 49% of people in jail and 56% of people in prison.
“I know music brings us all together. I want them to be OK,” he said. “I want them to do something they’ve love to do. And I know many of them are rappers. They love to rap and they love to sing.”
Learning a skill is not the only incentive for inmates to join the program.
“Everyday they’re in this program they’ll earn a day credit off of their sentence, as long as the statute allows for that,” said Alyssa Williams of the Department of Corrections.
