Skip to Content
Los Angeles

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,Ā is scheduled to be released from prison this week.Ā 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 Greedoā€™s last parole decision was ā€œapprovedā€ in June on condition that he completes ā€œa program prior to release.ā€ His projected release date is currently January 12.

The 34 year old rapper known for his hit record ā€˜Substance,ā€™ 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 ā€œan indescribably awful hell,ā€ during an interview with Weiss. Smith also noted that during the pandemic there were issues with getting people released who were parole-approved.Ā 

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.Ā 

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

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from L.A. TACO

Why Waving a Mexican Flag at a Protest in the U.S. Is a Form of Resistance

Raising Mexican flags is not an act of anti-Americanism. Quite the oppositeā€”it is an expression of cultural pride, dignity, and resistance in the face of racism and intolerance. In the United States, waving the Mexican flagā€”or any national flagā€”can be an act of defiance against oppression, a declaration of oneā€™s humanity and rights in response to relentless denigration by movements like MAGA that seek to marginalize entire communities. Even Trump would agree...

February 18, 2025

Tens of Thousands of Angelenos Flock to L.A.ā€™s Flower District for a Valentineā€™s Day Flower Free-For-All

Tens of thousands made their way to the city's wholesale flower capital, jamming the streets and sidewalks with countless flowers and people. L.A. TACO'S contributing photographer Kemal Cilengir was there to capture it all, including street vendors getting fined and the dystopian-like flower free-for-all being had by lovestruck customers and hustling vendors eager to offload their prized plants.

February 14, 2025

This Weekend: A New Bar-Setting Indian Restaurant, Duck Laab Pizza, and a Filipino Breakfast Diner Pop-Up

Have a three-day weekend full of chai cheesecake, black garlic cocktails, egg pie, and famous flour tortillas.

February 14, 2025

Self-Defense Against ICE: Community Groups In L.A. Are Uniting to Protect Themselves

More than 50 organizations have joined the call to join this coalition, making it one of Southern California's largest immigrant rights coalitions. The group aims to extend from the San Fernando Valley to the U.S./Mexico border. The coalition is organizing training sessions to prepare its members for community tactics to defend their neighbors from ICE raids and deportations. Their first mass protest is taking place on Monday.

February 13, 2025

Tacos Before Vatos: 13 Tacos In L.A. That Will Make You Forget About Him

For L.A. TACO, love is always in the air, and it smells like charcoal burning on a sunny day under carne asada and tortillas hot off the comal, with vibrant salsas, caramelized onions, and thick guacamole.Ā Forget him, and spend time with things that matter in life: tacos, forever.Ā 

February 13, 2025
See all posts