come as no surprise that many inmates consider themselves to be rap artists. [ rapping ] santa rita is a sprawling jail complex located 30 miles outside the city. but many of the nearly 3,000 men and women incarcerated here were arrested in oakland. most have only been charged with crimes and are awaiting trial of the resolution of their cases and one is a bay area rapper who is more than a wannabe. we have an inmate come in a couple days ago, international rap artist named drew down. my kids know his songs, my daughters. they re all into the rap. he was around when 2 short
it was just like if you didn t know the streets, i couldn t make music. what would i rap about? you know, you need to be on the streets to rap about something. you need to know what s going on. robinson has been in and out of jail most frequently for dui convictions but he s never been arrested for the subject of his best known song. well, as they say, he was the pimp of the year. robinson s biggest hit was his 1994 song, pimp of the year. and he says there was some truth behind the lyrics. i had my own escort service called eye candy. in l.a. i ran for like eight years. i was doing illegal. i wasn t just on the street. i wasn t a corner guy. robinson has memorialized his former career with a bejeweled grill. says pimp. rubies and diamonds. are you proud of that? i m very proud. i m a proud man, period. are you proud of being a
even though i m up in the cell it s like [ bleep ]. for one inmate, doing time at the santa rita jail offered him an opportunity to find a collaborator and an inspiration to compose a new rap about his circumstances. yeah, i m in lockup sitting in county jail i m a star i m in the santa rita should be playing tennis with serena but i should be in my own room i wouldn t feed three dogs i m in lockup lock u-p on msnbc l-o-c-k-u-p on msnbc. dru down might have found a rap partner in ellis williams but today he gets to spend some
one of the guys. come on. that s why he s chosen to turn down the jail s offer to house him in protective custody or pc. i don t want to be treated no different. i m just the person that i am. i could be pc d up but no, that s never going to be me. i m walking the main line at all times. watch this. this is rock em sock em dano. what you going to do with it? you see that. talk to him. like that. hello. robinson is currently in jail for violating his probation by driving under the influence and evading police. but he says run-ins with the law inspired his music.
i ve done some [ bleep ]. but i ain t the only one. this is the bay area. this is where crack was invented. i m just needle in a haystack. coming up celebrity inmate known as dru drown keeps the inmates entertained and talks about his other career. in l.a. i ran for like eight years. later the truth is, there s four other killings out there that i m suspected of. they can come talk to me any time. i don t care about suspected. did you do it? eugene protsman s homicidal confessions. usy with the kids to get a repair estimate. liberty did what? yeah, with liberty mutual all i needed to do to get an estimate was snap a photo of the damage and voila! voila! (sigh) i wish my insurance company had that. wait! hold it. hold it boys. there s supposed to be three of you.