Bobby Shmurda wants to forewarn young people who are running around engaging in illegal behavior about what they'll likely face if caught.
Shmurda called into New York City's Hot 97 radio station from jail and talked about how the criminal-justice system has little tolerance for young adults like himself.
"All y'all little kids running around here, y'all better stop. This s—t ain't no joke," Shmurda said. "This s—t ain't sweet." Shmurda, who has been locked up since December, is awaiting trial for gun and conspiracy charges. His bail was set at $2 million.
Shmurda thinks that New York City law enforcement is trying to make "a big example" out of him by setting the bail so high and not allowing him to pay a portion of it. "They want 100 percent. They don't want 25 percent, they don't want 40 percent, they don't want 50 [percent]. They want the whole $2 million," Shmurda explained.
He also has a special message for his young fans who listen to his music and hear him rapping about using guns to retaliate against his enemies.
"For all the kids out there, my music is not for nobody to go react or something. It's something that I been through, it's something that I come from. A lot of people don't come from where I come from, and a lot do," Shmurda said.
"But the people that do come from where I come from, it don't make it right to take what I talk about and go outside and do it," he advised. "It's OK to be in the club reacting and we dancing, and we having fun, but that's about it. Don't take it further than the club."
"These [law enforcement people] in New York, they not playing with us right now, young black kids, young kids, period. They not playing with nothing right now. They're trying to make us an example. They're trying to take eight years out of my life right now," Shmurda said, referring to the plea deal that he was offered, and which he rejected.
Shmurda seemed to be shocked at how aggressively the prosecutor's office has been handling his case. He said that the prosecution tried to raise his bail to $2.5 million the last time he went to court. Kudos to him for letting people know what time it is, and for discouraging young people from engaging in the type of stuff that may have led him to catch these charges.
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Diana Ozemebhoya Eromosele is a staff writer at The Root and the founder and executive producer of Lectures to Beats, a Web series that features video interviews with scarily insightful people. Follow Lectures to Beats on Facebook and Twitter.
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