“These men are behind bars…but their voices have to be heard.” – Speech Thomas hip hop godfather

16Bars opens 11.8 NY 11.15 LA and more cities 11.22

16 BARS offers a rare glimpse at the human stories and songs locked away in our nation’s jails and prisons. The documentary follows a unique rehabilitation effort in a Virginia jail that encourages inmates to write and record original music. In the jail’s makeshift recording studio, four men collaborate to produce an album with Grammy-winner Todd “Speech” Thomas of Arrested Development.

Two-time Grammy-winner Speech Thomas is widely considered one of the godfathers of conscious hip-hop. Speech continues to tour the world with his band and seek out opportunities to use music to address issues of social and racial justice. The film, and this album, documents his journey to the Richmond City Jail, where he conducted music workshops with inmates. His goal was to shed light on the complex issues in our criminal justice system by bringing the voices and stories of incarcerated people to a larger audience.

The four featured artists are: Teddy Kane, Garland Carr, Anthony Johnston, and Devonte James. All the basic tracks, rapping and singing were recorded in the Richmond City Jail.

The first music video, for “Inspire,” is here: