By some sort of dark magic, Gucci Mane is still releasing mixtapes while he’s behind bars. Okay, it’s not so much magic as him stockpiling a bunch of tracks before he went upstate. It’s a tried and true hustle used by many a jailed rapper.
photo: WENN
While LaFlare is relegated to the struggle mixtape circuit, we hunted down 16 rappers who promoted albums from jail. It’s quite a feat considering you can’t really promote an album from the comfy confines of the penitentiary.
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photo: WENN
T.I. – No Mercy
By the time No Mercy dropped in 2010, Tip was already serving an 11-month sentence for violating his parole. It wasn’t embraced by critics, but No Mercy debuted at the #4 spot on the Billboard charts with 159,000 copies sold during its first week.
2Pac – Me Against The World
2Pac’s third album was proof that he only needed Death Row for bail money. Powered by “Dear Mama,” Me Against The World was certified gold in less than a month while 2Pac was serving time in Clinton Correctional Facility.
Lil Wayne – I Am Not A Human Being
By the time Lil Wayne hit Rikers Island for a skid bid in March of 2010, he had recorded a ton of CGI videos and planned a roll out for his I Am Not A Human Being. Six figure first sales ensured him a top five debut even if the bars were lackluster.
Lil Kim – The Naked Truth
In what was either a stroke of marketing genius or the type of move that gets record industry employees regularly fired, Lil Kim’s fourth album dropped on the first day of her prison sentence for perjury–September 27, 2005.
Slick Rick – The Ruler’s Back
Slick Rick’s sophomore set was reportedly thrown together in three weeks before he went to prison in 1991 for attempted murder and weapons charges. Surprisingly the album spent 13 weeks on Billboard’s Top 200 albums chart.
Mac Dre – Young Black Brotha
Mac Dre was able to drop Young Black Brotha in 1992 (in the midst of a five-year prison sentence) in part because he figured out how to record his vocals over the phone.
X-Raided – Xorcist
Since being sent to prison in 1992, X-raided has survived a stabbing, recorded 11 albums, and signed at least three albums. Not for nothing, but one of those albums (2002’s Deadly Game) was dropped via a partnership with Koch.
Capone (Capone-N-Noreaga) – The War Report
Capone and Noreaga met in jail, so it was sad but not surprising when Capone got sent back on a government sponsored vacation right before the album dropped. Capone helped power the album to a gold-seller, and landed an infamous call from the pokey on “Capone Phone Home (Interlude).”
John Forte – i, John
Six months after he was found guilty of possession of 31 pounds of liquid cocaine with intent to distribute, John Forte was conducting press for his 2002 album, i, John, by snail mail from Lorreto Federal Penitentiary.
Shyne – Godfather Buried Alive
The reported $3 million from Shyne’s 2005 deal with Def Jam were frozen as the former Bad Boy debuted at # 3 on The Billboard 200 in August 2004 by moving 433,000 copies of his sophomore album, Godfather Buried Alive, while in prison.
C-Murder – Truest S**t I Ever Said
He didn’t even so much as sniff the charts, but former No Limit soldier C-Murder pulled an OG inmate trick and recorded the bulk of his 2005 album over the phone.
Cassidy – I’m A Hustla
Roughly a month after releasing 2005’s I’m A Hustla, Cassidy was booked into a medium security prison on murder and weapons charges. Ultimately, Cass had his charges dropped to involuntary manslaughter. The album didn’t take off, but Cassidy served about a year and his single went platinum.
Pimp C – The Sweet James Jones Stories
In 2005, The Sweet James Jones Stories was cobbled together from a series of old Pimp C freestyles. Pimp didn’t do himself much of a favor in the promotional department by calling the album subpar, but it still debuted at #3 on the Billboard Top Rap Albums chart.
Beanie Sigel – The B. Coming
The artwork for The B. Coming tells you all you need to know. By the time Beanie and Dame Dash had the project completed, the Philadelphia rapper was already resigned to his 366-day sentence. He’d do the bulk of the promotion before the album dropped.
Prodigy – H.N.I.C. 2
By the time Prodigy dropped H.N.I.C. 2, he was four months into a three-year prison bid. Like many artists in similar situations, P took the months leading up to his prison time to record as much material and shoot as many videos as possible.
Gucci Mane – The State vs. Radric Davis
Much like he’s currently doing, Gucci flipped his 2009 time behind bars into a marketing strategy and an album title. He managed a top 10 debut of The State vs. Radric Davis while in prison on a parole violation.
