PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Music producer Kenny Gamble led off a string of witnesses pledging to support Meek Mill as the Philadelphia rapper fought Thursday to stay out of jail over his latest parole problems. But it wasn’t enough. Meek Mill faces a potential prison sentence early next year after a judge in Philadelphia found the rapper guilty of probation violations.
Common Pleas Judge Genece Brinkley, who had spared him state prison in a 2009 drug and gun case, had heard it all before.
“How many times am I supposed to give him a second chance?” she asked, concluding that probation may no longer be “appropriate.” She ordered him not to work or perform before the Feb. 5 sentencing.
A jail term would presumably stall his career following a year in which the Roc Nation-signed talent has performed with Minaj, Jay-Z and other industry A-listers, and issued his second studio album, “Dreams Worth More than Money.”
Mill served short stints in jail and home confinement following his conviction, when he could have gotten five to 10 years in prison.
“The chance you gave me definitely changed my life and changed my family’s life,” Mill testified Thursday, explaining that he supports his mother, extended family and 4-year-old son. “If you didn’t give me a chance, I probably wouldn’t be at this place I’m at now.”
Mill, born Robert Williams, lost his father to violence when he was 5 and left school in the tenth grade. The 28-year-old now dates one of the most famous women in entertainment.
Mill testified that he knows his “whole life is on the line” and tried to follow the rules.
Mill says he has dropped old friends from his entourage to spend time with his family and girlfriend Nicki Minaj. She was in court with him.
Brinkley sent Mill back to jail for five months last year for similar violations.
Gamble, who co-wrote a slew of 1970s R&B hits, said it would do no good to send the 28-year-old back to prison and instead suggested he work with Philadelphia youth.
“This man is not a criminal. Putting him in jail is not going to help at all,” said Gamble, who runs several local charter schools.
His words echoed those of Nicki Minaj, Mill’s girlfriend, who told the judge last week that she hoped to bring more structure to her beau’s life. Minaj, who said the couple live together when their schedules allow, was back in court Thursday.
Brinkley believes the performer born Robert Williams has been “thumbing his nose” as she closely supervised his probation since a 2009 conviction in a drug and gun case.
“This court has done nothing but try to help the defendant,” said Brinkley, who could send the rapper to jail for a few months, as she did last year over similar issues, or send him to a state prison for two years or more.
That would presumably stall his career following a year when the RocNation-signed talent has performed with Minaj, Jay-Z and other industry A-listers. He also recently released his second studio album, “Dreams Worth More than Money.”
Prosecutors have said Mill routinely fails to stick to his stated travel plans — showing up at shows in New York, Miami or Los Angeles without permission — and recently submitted cold water instead of urine during a drug test. Brinkley has said she is concerned about a prior problem with painkillers.
Defense witnesses blame the travel lapses on the chaos of the music industry.
“The unpredictability of shows is, unfortunately, part of the business,” testified Shawn Gee, who manages The Roots and helps manage Minaj’s career. “A large portion of his income probably comes from those one-off tours that are inherently unpredictable.”
The latest rules required Mill to get travel vouchers before he leaves town and meet with his probation officer in Philadelphia every 60 days.
“He’s not a person who knows how to keep schedules. He’s not an accountant. He’s an artist,” argued his latest lawyer, Frank DeSimone. “And those people are notoriously slipshod (at organization).”
The violations include Mill’s performances at a New York benefit concert last month and, according to prosecutors, efforts to meet up in various cities with Minaj. Brinkley also raised questions about a suspicious sample during a drug test. Mill denied trying to thwart the test or taking any drugs. He also dissed the case prosecutor in a rap song, a decision he now calls “immature.”
Mill told the judge he was so concerned about the rules that he missed being at his mother’s bedside after a recent surgery in New Jersey. The state, Brinkley explained, was keeping supervised felons out that day amid heightened security for the Miss America pageant.
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