Meek Mill sat down with NBC’s Lester Holt for his first interview just 18 hours after his release from prison back on April 24. The Dateline story titled Dreams and Nightmares: The Meek Mill Story aired in its entirety on the Philly native’s birthday Sunday night (May 6).
The conversation includes a phone interview with Meek while he was imprisoned in addition to his first extensive discussion outside the confines of the Chester, PA institution.
The 40-minute special also details his journey from being picked up in a helicopter by good friend and Philadelphia 76ers owner Michael Rubin to getting to ring the Liberty Bell just hours later at Game 5 of the Sixers-Heat game where he sat courtside as the love poured in. Cameras caught his first conversations over the phone with his mother and sister who claimed his release to be a “national holiday.”
The 31-year-old admits he struggles with actually feeling free while still out on bail. “I ain’t feel free since I caught this case at the age of 19. [I’m] 30 now,” he says. “Me, I just pray. I believe God is my first lawyer — I’ve always believed that. I don’t feel free at all.”
With the spotlight on his case, the Philly rapper plans to use his platform to help other minorities who suffer from the same injustices in hopes of major reform as a catalyst for change. “This is the same thing that thousands of other minorities are going through on a daily basis,” Meek says. “They just don’t have the platform for anybody to speak on their behalf.”
Check out a trailer for the Dateline episode below. Catch Dreams and Nightmares: The Meek Mill Story in full over at NBC.