In April, Pooh Shiesty was sentenced to five years in prison. He was indicted on four firearms charges after a shooting incident in October of 2020 at the Landon Hotel in Bay Harbor Islands, Florida. Unfortunately, his time at the United States Penitentiary Pollock (USP Pollock) has been worse than he expected, according to Gucci Mane.
Gucci Mane made a post standing up for Pooh Shiesty yesterday, December 14, bringing awareness to the prison conditions. He posted a photo of text that read: “We do not pay attention to how inmates in the US are treated! @poohshiesty has been sent to a prison over 1500 miles from his home, 23 hr lock down and given empty food trays. USP Pollack should be investigated immediately.” In the caption he called for action: “This is unacceptable! #movepooh #prisonreform @potus @vp @kamalaharris.”
Shiesty seemed rather optimistic entering prison, making a post that read, “The biggest.. I just wanna thank all my love ones. Supporters. And fans for holding me down during these hard times. I wish I could be comingg home to yall today but this couldve been wayyyy worse, I will be back sooner than yall think ! But meantime new music dropping next week, blrrrd!!!” Hopefully Mane’s post will make some change.
Gucci Mane is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Gucci Mane is speaking out on behalf of his 1017 Records artist Pooh Shiesty. The “Wasted” rapper claims Shiesty is living in cruel conditions at the prison he is currently housed.
Hitting Twitter, Gucci Mane called out USP Pollock, tagging the U.S. President and Vice President, citing they should be investigated.
“We do not pay attention to how inmates are treated!” Gucci Mane wrote. “Pooh has been sent to prison over 1500 miles from his home, 23hr lockdown and given empty food trays. USP Pollock should be investigated immediately.”
We do not pay attention to how inmates are treated! Pooh has been sent to a prison over 1500 miles from his home, 23hr lockdown and given empty food trays. USP Pollock should be investigated immediately. #movepooh#prisonreform@POTUS@VP@KamalaHarris
At the top of the year, Pooh Shiesty sidestepped a potential life sentence after pleading guilty to a federal charge of conspiracy to possess a firearm in furtherance of violent and drug-trafficking crimes. Rolling Stone reported the charge was from an altercation in Florida in October 2020. Pooh Shiesty is alleged to have shot a man in the buttocks while purchasing sneakers and marijuana. On April 20, 2022, Shiesty was sentenced to five years and three months in prison.
Big30’s exceptional run over the past two years led him to the release of his official debut album, Last Man Standing. The Memphis rapper’s latest body of work consists of 16 songs in total. Though he holds down th project on his own mostly, he brings along a few artists like Hotboii, ATL Jacob, Big Homiie G, and Lil Jairmy. However, the most significant feature comes on track 15, “Crying (Interlude),” which includes an outro from Pooh Shiesty over a jail phone.
Last Man Standing is certainly a strong statement for Big30, who has been grinding heavily since the release of King Of Killbranch.
Press play on his latest project below and sound off in the comments with your favorite track off of Last Man Standing.
The RX is Uproxx Music’s stamp of approval for the best albums, songs, and music stories throughout the year. Inclusion in this category is the highest distinction we can bestow and signals the most important music being released throughout the year. The RX is the music you need, right now.
In the lead-up to her second album Traumazine, Megan Thee Stallion repeatedly noted that it had more emotionally-charged themes and greater vulnerability than her debut, Good News. In a June interview with Rolling Stone, she said, “I want to take you through so many different emotions. At first you was twerking, now you might be crying.”
She reiterated the sentiment in an August Q&A session on Twitter. “I wrote this album for myself,” she admitted. “I wanted to start writing in a journal but I said f*ck it I’ll put it in a song.” She also confessed that “saying certain things you’ve never said out loud before is hard.” Fans understandably presumed that this meant the Houston rapper would address the various public misfortunes that had befallen her since her Tina Snow EP rocketed her to stardom.
Traumazine delivers on Megan’s promises, but it doesn’t stray too far from her established formula. Production-wise, it runs the gamut from Thee Stallion’s preferred speaker knocking Texas trap to a very on-trend detour into Miami Bass and house, while lyrically, Megan returns to the rapid-fire freestyle form that first impressed her fans, peers, and early mentor Q-Tip. The newer, more confessional attitude peppers her hard-hitting, boastful verses with lines that hide the hurt behind defiant bluster.
On songs like “Not Nice,” Megan’s gift for storytelling comes to the fore. “I kept your bills paid. You were sick, I paid for surgery,” she reminds a disloyal acquaintance. “But I pray you boo-hoo, do me wrong, where they deserve to be.” The specificity of her examples lends weight to her jabs – for every verbal right cross, someone has crossed her. Meg’s also unafraid to drop the facade of the tough-girl rapper and bluntly state a long-standing issue. On “Anxiety,” she wishes she could “write a letter to Heaven” so she can “tell my mama that I shoulda been listenin’.” I just wan’ talk to somebody that get me,” she accepts.
But even with the more vulnerable material here, Meg shines brightest when she sticks to the brash, explicit material that defines breakout hits like “Big Ole Freak” and “WAP.” “Ms. Nasty,” which pairs a thumping bass kick with an ‘80s R&B melody, offers another worthwhile inclusion to this tradition, opening with the straightforward come-on “I want you to dog this cat out, whip it like a trap house / Stand up in that pussy, stomp the yard like a frat house.” “Pressurelicious” with Future and “Budgets” with Latto match this energy, the latter pairing working best. We need more songs with these two together.
Other guests include Rico Nasty, with whom Meg displays incredible chemistry on “Scary,” Key Glock, who gifts her a suitably spiteful verse on “Ungrateful,” and Pooh Shiesty, who makes fans feel his absence from the spotlight (he’s currently locked up on a gun charge, facing a eight-year sentence) on “Who Me.” There are also contributions from R&B singers Jhene Aiko and Lucky Daye, which have the unfortunate side effect of highlighting the weaknesses of Meg’s own singing voice. She’s at her best spitting bruising bars with her gruff Texas twang as she does alongside her Lone Star compatriots on “Southside Royalty Freestyle”; when she tries to croon her own choruses, the effect feels raw and unpolished — and not in a good way.
The pop swings are also hit-and-miss. While “Her” fits in among the Beyonce-inspired post-Renaissance wave of future ball favorites, “Sweetest Pie” with Dua Lipa sounds like Meg chasing the success of peers like Doja Cat. This misunderstands what listeners want from the two artists. Meg wins because of tracks like “Gift & Curse,” “Who Me,” and “Scary.” Give her a lush, groovy soul sample and an 808 to vent her frustrations over, you get the verses on “Flip Flop.” These are the kinds of songs at which Meg excels. The added emotional depth is a bonus, adding relatability to her aspirational boldness. This will be the formula for Meg’s future success.
Traumazine is out now on 1501 Certified/300 Entertainment. Get it here.
Megan Thee Stallion is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
Pooh Shiesty, born Lontrell Donell Williams Jr., dodged a career-shattering bullet when a judge only sentence him to five years in prison earlier this month for firearms conspiracy. The sentence was handed down in connection to an October 2020 incident where Williams allegedly shot a man in the buttocks during an exchange for marijuana and sneakers. Williams was initially indicted on four firearms charges, but after he accepted a plea deal from prosecutors, his charges were reduced to a single count of conspiracy to possess a firearm in furtherance of violent and drug-trafficking crimes. That reduced his possible life sentence to just a maximum of 97 months in prison, but a judge felt that 63 months was adequate for Williams.
However, Williams won’t be a completely free man once he walks out of prison in five years. According to TMZ, Williams will reportedly be on supervised release for three years once his prison term is complete and the supervision comes with a few rules. For those three years, Williams is not allowed to associate with any of his co-defendants or alleged gang members. Additionally, the rapper’s parole officer has permission to search his home from time to time. Lastly, Williams will have to enter a treatment program for drugs and alcohol.
Pooh Shiesty is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.
This week in music fans will get new releases from Future, Pooh Shiesty, Future, Lil Tjay, and more. Future Doesn’t Like Us Future has released his ninth album titled I Don’t Like You, which comes with the new single, “Keep It Burnin’” featuring Kanye West. The Grammy-nominated rapper has Drake, Gunna, Young Thug, Kodak Black, […]
