New York, NY (Top40 Charts) Five months after his sentencing, Philadelphia-based rapper
Meek Mill was released from prison Tuesday afternoon, according to multiple reports.
Mill, also known as Robert Rihmeek Williams, was freed after the Pennsylvania Supreme Court overruled Judge Genece Brinkley's prior decision to deny Williams bail last week.
Upon his release, the Maybach
Music Group star issued a lengthy statement about his ongoing case. "I'd like to thank God, my family, my friends, my attorneys, my team at Roc Nation including JAY-Z, Desiree Perez, my good friend Michael Rubin, my fans, The Pennsylvania Supreme Court, and all my public advocates for their love, support and encouragement during this difficult time.
While the past five months have been a nightmare, the prayers, visits, calls, letters and rallies have helped me stay positive," he added. "To the Philadelphia District Attorney's office, I'm grateful for your commitment to justice — not only for my case but for others that have been wrongfully jailed due to police misconduct."
He went on to say that he hopes to make a difference in others' lives moving forward. "Although I'm blessed to have the resources to fight this unjust situation, I understand that many people of color across the country don't have that luxury and I plan to use my platform to shine a light on those issues," he said.
Taking to Twitter, Mill continued to thank his supporters with a similar message of gratitude.
Although he's free for now, Mill's case continues. "In the meantime, I plan to work closely with my legal team to overturn this unwarranted conviction and look forward to reuniting with my family and resuming my music career," added the rapper who was serving 2-4 years in prison for probation violation.
Many people are celebrating Meek's release. Philadelphia 76ers co-owner Michael Rubin picked Meek up from Chester
State prison after announcing the news to his Instagram followers. "Meek Mill is free," he wrote. "Just left visiting Meek with
Kevin Hart and I'm on the way back to pick him up as we speak #MeekIsFree #GoSixers."
T.I. shared a phone conversation he had with Wins & Losses MC. "You really walked that shit down better than I could have had," he tells him in the video. "What happened was, you became a household name…Before a motherfucker felt like you had to be a fan of rap to know who the fuck you was. Then, you became a household name."
Rick Ross also posted a series of muscle flexing emojis alongside Meek's name, while Roc Nation also celebrated his release on Twitter. "As we have said all along," they wrote, "Meek was unjustly convicted and should not have spent a single day in jail.
