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Musicians Who Are Currently In Jail

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Five recording artists who once filled arenas were, as of this past summer, filling out prison paperwork instead.

Nicki Swift’s rundown of “Musicians Who Are Currently In Jail” cuts through the tabloid noise to lay out exactly why five well-known names are locked up right now, from a Grammy winner turned tax fugitive to a dancehall superstar serving life. These aren’t rumors or old mugshots recycled for clicks — every one of these cases ended in an actual conviction and an actual sentence on the books. The video breaks down five separate stories, and the details get grim fast.

• DMX was sentenced in March 2018 to one year in federal prison after pleading guilty to tax fraud tied to $1.7 million in unpaid taxes, following repeated bail violations.
• C-Murder, Master P’s brother, is serving a mandatory life sentence at Louisiana’s Angola prison for the 2002 murder of 16-year-old Steve Thomas.
• Phil Spector got 19 years to life in 2009 for the second-degree murder of actress Lana Clarkson, found shot dead in his Alhambra mansion in February 2003.

DMX’s Long Fall Into Federal Custody

Earl Simmons built a career on gravel-voiced menace and gospel-tinged confessionals, but his legal troubles stacked up for years before catching up with him for good. In March 2018, DMX pleaded guilty to tax fraud involving $1.7 million in unpaid taxes and was handed a one-year federal sentence. Prosecutors and the court had also grown tired of repeated bail violations leading up to that point, which made the sentencing less of a surprise and more of a formality by the time it landed.

C-Murder’s Life Sentence At Angola

Corey Miller, better known as C-Murder and the brother of No Limit Records founder Master P, is serving a mandatory life sentence at the Louisiana State Penitentiary — the notorious prison known simply as Angola. His 2009 conviction stemmed from the second-degree murder of 16-year-old Steve Thomas, who was killed at a nightclub in Harvey, Louisiana, back in 2002. Nearly two decades later, Miller remains behind bars with no scheduled release.

Phil Spector’s Murder Conviction

Few falls from grace in the music business are as steep as Phil Spector’s. The producer behind the Wall of Sound and hits for The Ronettes and The Beatles was convicted of second-degree murder and sentenced in 2009 to 19 years to life in a California state prison. The victim was actress Lana Clarkson, found fatally shot inside Spector’s Alhambra mansion in February 2003 — a case that took years to work through the courts before the conviction finally stuck.

A Grammy legend, a chart-topping producer, a Brooklyn breakout star, and a dancehall king — all of them sentenced, and none of them going anywhere soon.

Bobby Shmurda’s Plea Deal

Ackquille Pollard, the Brooklyn rapper who blew up off “Hot N****” and the Shmoney Dance, was arrested in December 2014 in a sweep tied to his GS9 crew. After nearly two years of legal wrangling, Bobby Shmurda accepted a plea deal in October 2016 covering conspiracy and weapons possession charges, drawing a seven-year sentence. His rise was fast and viral; his sentence has kept him out of the studio for years since.

Vybz Kartel’s Life Sentence In Jamaica

Adidja Palmer, known across the dancehall world as Vybz Kartel, was convicted in 2014 for the August 2011 murder of his associate Clive “Lizard” Williams. The sentence handed down was life in prison, with parole eligibility not kicking in until he’s served 35 years — meaning a man who once dominated Jamaican charts and airwaves is looking at a sentence that could run the rest of his working life. His conviction remains one of the most consequential in dancehall history, sidelining an artist who was, at the time of his arrest, arguably the genre’s biggest star.

Anyone curious how these five stack up against other famous names who did time and came out the other side should check out the biggest celebrity prison sentences that were cut short, or how some artists’ public personas mask darker private histories in musicians that are nothing like they seem.

Of the five, DMX is the only one with an actual release date on the horizon — his one-year federal term meant he was looking at getting out well before 2019 even started. The other four, C-Murder, Spector, Shmurda, and Kartel, are all still working through sentences measured in years or life terms, with Kartel’s 35-year parole clock the longest of the bunch by a mile.