As a person incarcerated in the state of Virginia, rapper Deon Thomas doesn’t have access to a recording studio. Instead, he’s part of a small group of artists who record songs via phone calls and distribute them through a prison-only digital music service. It's a modern twist on a long and complicated tradition. Join us as we explore the influential, exploitative and ever-evolving world of music in Southern prisons.

Featuring:

Zeb Larson, writer and historian, contributor at Scalawag Magazine
Deon Thomas, incarcerated musician
Carla Simmons, incarcerated musician

Links:

Check out Zeb Larson’s articles on JPAY and the history of Southern prison music.
You can find a transcript of the episode here.

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What it takes to make music in prison