The Philadelphia and hip-hop community have been more than outraged at the sentencing of rapper Meek Mill. This is not the first time Mill has been in trouble, as the 30-year-old Philadelphia rapper has been arrested before in 2008.
In 2008, he was arrested for possession of drugs and an illegal weapon. After violating his probation the first time, Mill was sent back to prison for another five months in 2014.
This time around in 2017, Mill once again violated his probation twice, causing two warrants for arrest. The first violation was for a night out Mill spent riding dirt bikes in the streets of New York City. The second violation accused Mill of getting into a fight.
Both of these modest violations would go on to ultimately lock Mill up for the next two to four years.
Cabrini freshman Hudhayfah As-Salafi believes that Mill’s verdict is excessive.
“Two to four years seems completely unfair for what he actually did,” As-Salafi said.
The backlash from not only the Philadelphia community; The hip-hop community has been huge for the rapper. A campaign titled #FreeMeekMill has gone viral over the course of the past few weeks in defense of the Philadelphia-based rapper.
Not only fans reacted but so did friends of Mill within both communities.
On Nov. 13, a rally was held in Center City, Philadelphia to support Mill.
Chris Paone, a sophomore at Rutgers University-Camden, attended the rally in Philadelphia, citing the atmosphere as electric
“What happened to him was wrong and we just wanted to make our voices heard in his defense,” Paone said.
Celebrities such as fellow rapper Rick Ross, Philadelphia Eagles Malcolm Jenkins and Philadelphia 76ers legend Julius Erving made appearances at the rally, showing their support.
In addition to the rally, a Stand with Meek Mill petition has become available online for fans who could not attend.
Many are responding negatively towards the sentencing because of the common trend of racial profiling cases. Most believe that Mill’s latest sentence was way too harsh for the crimes and it did not deserve incarceration.
“I understand that what he did may be against the law but it doesn’t warrant the time he could possibly be serving,” sophomore Miranda Anderson said.
Also to be noted, Mill’s attorney claims that the judge involved with the case has conflicting views towards his client. Because of the recent accusations brought towards the judge, the FBI has intervened and are now investigating.
“The judge in the case seems like she is being a bit rough with the sentencing,” freshman Roberto Kuehn said.
