Watts Rapper 03 Greedo Is Scheduled To Be Released From Prison This Week

03 Greedo, the Watts-born rapper who was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison at the height of his career, is scheduled to be released from prison this week. According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice website, Greedo's scheduled release date is Thursday, January 12.

Jeff Weiss, a well-known music reporter and editor who interviewed Greedo in 2020 for the Washington Post, all but confirmed the news on Twitter. "Out of respect for Greedo's right to break the news however he wants to break it, I can't officially confirm anything. But this Texas parole info is accurate. 03 should be coming home at some point this week."

This morning 03 Greedo and Mike Free dropped an unannounced 14 song mixtape with tracks featuring Drake The Ruler and OHGEESY. "We going to party and celebrate me coming back on this," Greedo says on the intro.

According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice website, Greedo became eligible for parole back in August of 2020. The website notes that Greedo’s last parole decision was “approved” in June on condition that he completes “a program prior to release.” His projected release date is currently January 12.

The 34 year old rapper known for his hit record ‘Substance,’ has spent the past four years in a federal prison system in Texas, where some inmates still pick cotton. Greedo was convicted in 2018 on two charges related to a 2016 arrest for weapons and drugs possession.

Doug Smith, a senior policy analyst with the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition, described the facility that Greedo was being held in at the time as “an indescribably awful hell,” during an interview with Weiss. Smith also noted that during the pandemic there were issues with getting people released who were parole-approved. 

Greedo's arrest appeared to be a classic example of a pretextual stop (when police use a minor infraction, such as busted headlight, in hopes of discovering a more serious crime). Greedo was a passenger in a vehicle when they were pulled over for a vehicle infraction. Officers claimed they smelled marijuana and subsequently searched the car, revealing multiple pounds of methamphetamine and stolen guns, but no marijuana was ever found. 

Historically, pretextual stops have proved to be ineffective and have had a disproportionate impact on people of color. In some cases they violate people’s civil liberties. Greedo blames two incomptetent lawyers for not fighting harder against what he believes was an illegal search, like his co-defendant’s counsel did. Greedo has new representation now working to make sure he’s home before 2038.