Maybach Music Group’s Meek Mill knows a thing or two – or three and four – about the conditions most prisoners experience. The hip-hop star has come forward with a must-read New York Times article about prison reform.

In a newly released op-ed piece called “Prisoners Need a New Set or Rights,” Meek calls out the current state of criminal justice in Philadelphia.

“I’m blessed — I’m busy recording an album and catching up with friends and fans as my family and I make plans to celebrate the holidays. It’s a far cry from last year, when the season passed with me behind bars. I send my prayers to all those who are still in the web of the system: Please know you are not forgotten. Like many who are currently incarcerated, I was the victim of a miscarriage of justice — carried out by an untruthful officer, as determined by the Philadelphia District Attorney’s office, and an unfair judge.” (New York Times)

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Meek also explained how his 2017 motorcycle incident in New York City where he popped a wheelie ultimately put him behind bars for months.

“Even though the charge was dismissed in a New York City court, a Philadelphia-based judge still deemed my interaction with the police to be a technical violation of my probation — stemming from a 2007 arrest — and sentenced me to two to four years in prison despite the fact that I didn’t commit a crime. The judge also refused my motion for bail, calling me a “danger to the community” and a “flight risk.” The ordeal cost me my most precious commodity: my freedom. I served five months. With the help of friends and the intervention of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, I was released on bail this past April and was able to resume my life.” (New York Times)

Last month, Meek penned an open letter to his teenage self about his rise to the top.

“My question to you, Meek, is: Are you willing to travel those rocky roads towards your throne? Most importantly: Are you sure you want this responsibility?” he writes. “Like our old heads used to say, ‘Heavy is the head that wears the crown.’ It’s free to dream but nothing is more expensive than achieving them. I repeat: Nothing is more expensive than achieving your dreams. Trust, you will get yours. You will set the rap game on fire. What if I told you that you will record with Mariah Carey? Or that you’ll buy a Ferrari after coppin’ the Rolls-Royce? That fly sh*t is cool but you wanna know what tops it all? Mom never having to worry about money again because you believed in yourself. The countless times she risked it all to feed you and Nasheema won’t be in vain. But I can’t stress enough how much it costs to be a young leader. Costs even more to be a young Black leader.” (XXL Mag)

In the same fall 2018 letter, the 31-year-old also references the current struggles blacks still face today.

“I’ll be honest—same as African-Americans in this country—things are about to get both easier and more difficult for you,” Meek continues. “Over the next decade, you and your people will make major moves—you, professionally and Black people, politically. We’ll all begin to realize that our culture is our most valuable product. Unfortunately, on the streets, not much will change. In 2018, Black lives won’t matter much more than they do in 2006. You saw what happened last year with Hurricane Katrina. You saw how the administration didn’t care whether we drowned or ended up homeless. We could have a Black president and they’d still disrespect them like they were just another n*gga. And just like it will cost you to claim your power, the same goes for our race. For upping our stock in this country, we will pay like a muthaf*cka.” (XXL Mag)

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