Robert Rahmeek Williams was born on May 6, 1987 & raised in a drug infested, crime plagued section of North Philadelphia, where the neighborhoods are vastly similar to the 'hoods across town, in the city's most infamous section, "The Badlands". North Philly in itself is the bottom of the bottom, and when you're a young black male coming from the devil's mezzanine it's extremely difficult to navigate through life without running into problems, whether minor or major, with the law. Robert Williams was no different.
In 2008, he was arrested & convicted for drugs & gun possession, and was eventually sentenced to 11 to 23 months in one of Philadelphia's county jails. He was released in the early parts of 2009 with 5 years of parole hanging over his head. By this time Robert Williams was a local rapper who went by the name Meek, Meek Mill to be exact.
During the years of 2003 through 2008 Meek Mill was the most talented rapper in a crew of MCs that dubbed themselves "The Bloodhounds". The crew stayed together long enough to put out a few mixtapes, which created the little buzz Meek needed. he had his eyes on something way bigger than just being a decent local rapper from Philly, there are plenty of those. Meek Mill wanted to be known on a national level.
He released a slew of mixtapes. His 4th mixtape, "Flamers pt. 2 The Hottest In Tha City" gave people a real glimpse of what was to come from the burgeoning flame spitter. Singles like "I'm So Fly" & "Hottest In Tha City" grabbed the attention of Philly native Charlie Mack, founder of 215 Aphillyated and one of Will Smith's closest friends. Mack says, "signing Meek to my management company was a no-brainer." That same year, Meek had the chance to meet T.I., who flew him out to LA & offered him a deal on the spot. Being signed to Grand Hustle looked like it would be the opportunity of a lifetime. Just as things began to look promising for Meek Mill he was arrested & sentenced to 7 months in a Philadelphia county jail. Due to Meek's & T.I.'s problems with the law, Meek never got the chance to release an album under Grand Hustle. He was released from the company in 2010. A blessing in disguise.
In Feb.. 2011, Meek Mill was signed to Rick Ross' Maybach Music Group. later that year, he made the cover of Axle's's "Freshmen Class of 2011" issue. Then he released his debut single, "Topic Back", feat. Rick Ross, where Meek claimed Philly to be the "new Iraq". On Meek's 2nd single that year, "Im a Boss", we caught him riding through his old 'hood in his new whip. Approximately one year after signing with Rick Ross, Meek landed at #7 on MTV's annual "Hottest MCs In The Game" list. When Meek released the second installment of his "Dreamchasers" mixtape series, it was downloaded 1.5 million times. In less than 6 hours!
But you know success rarely comes without the controversy. Following the release of the lead single, "Amen", from his debut album, "Dreams & Nightmares", a Philadelphia based Pastor called for the boycott of Mill's music of "the lyrics he used in the song". The Pastor, a self-proclaimed fan of hip-hop, wanted Meek to be boycotted until he acknowledged his blatant disrespect for religion. Then there was the feud between Meek and fellow Philly MC Cassidy. The two "Tweefed" (beefed over twitter) when Meek offered to battle any underground MCs, including Cassidy. Make no mistake about it, Cassidy is, by far, the better battle rapper but Meek Mill definitely makes better songs. Needless to say, that feud didn't last too long.
And more run-ins with the law. In May of 2013 Meek refused to report his travel plans to his parole officer and left the state of Pennsylvania without permission. On top of that, his instagram postings led to death threats being hurled at the judge, the assistant district attorney, and the parole officer on his case. Meek was ordered to take etiquette classes. Then in the latter part of 2014, Meek's probation was revoked due to "questionable behavior while on parole". He was sentenced to 3 to 6 months in a county jail, and was released last December with 5 years of probation over his head, so the system still has a leash around his neck.
But things aren't all bad for Meek Mill these days. He's home from jail & putting the finishing touches on his 2nd studio album, "Dreams Worth More Than Money". And the boy is making some real good music with his new girlfriend, Nicki Minaj. Nicki says that her and Meek are super-compatible, and "you know how it goes when the kid do it, the kid gets it done, you know what I mean?"Nicki's words, not mine. Amen!
Written By :Larrima "Reema" Davis
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