Life After Life with Corey Jacobs

Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Yeah, let's just keep a real straight shout with Jason.
I'm gonna get a little bit rougher. I'm here for it.
Those who really believe in the American process, all of
us straight shot, No Chason. What's your girl? Teslam? Figure

(00:22):
Roa on the Black Effect podcasting that word that work?
What's happening? Straight Shoot? Does this is your girl? Teslam?
Figure Road today? Very important conversation that I've been looking
forward to. I met this gentleman through the One and
only we know him as Sean Combs, a k A
Diddy a k A Puff, had an opportunity to meet
Corey Jacobs, who is my next guest. We had a

(00:45):
very interesting first time conversation that I will get into
as we move forward with this interview, but let me
first introduce him properly. He's the founder of the Burier,
the Live Project and senior advisors to the chairman Sean
Combs at comb in a Prizes. At age thirty, Cory
Jacobs was sentenced to sixteen life sentences for federal drug offenses,

(01:06):
his first ever felony convictions. On December nineteen, two thousand
and sixteen, Corps received clemency from President Barack Obama after
serving over eighteen years in prison. I brought Corey to
the show today and asked him to grace our presence
to talk about a number of different things. We won't
be able to get into it all because there's so
much that we could talk about his life one, how

(01:28):
he got into the game, how he got his time,
how we got out, what he's doing now with his
life after life movement. So there's only so much that
we can cover. So brace yourself now as we begin
to go on the Corey Jacob's journey. And when we
met for the very first time, we had a I
don't know if you want to call it a back
and forth, but we had a very strong, a very

(01:50):
strong conversation. And I said hold up and said put
your teams on so we can really have this conversation.
And ever since then we've just been tight. Best the
homie Alori Jacobs, welcome to the what's going on, Let's go,
Let's go? Yes, yes, Um and me and Tesla And
how would I say we um bump bumped heads if

(02:11):
you would say, you know, kind of right when puff
first met, you know, we met on the football field.
I was a war receiver. He was a defensive back,
and we bumped head on the football field and at
the end of the day we had to fight, but
we have been best friends ever since. Right So I
looked at the same thing like with you, like you're
very strong, wills, you're very knowledgeable, and so on. I

(02:33):
And then you know, after that bumping of heads, you know,
we kind of like got a mutual respect for each other,
which I think, might you know, ending a long lasting friendship.
I'm sure of it. Yeah, I appreciate that. You know that.
That says a lot, you know, And before we get
into your story, I just want you to tap in
on that little bit because I find that when strong
people meet other strong people, it's almost you know, it's

(02:54):
like a breath of fresh air. No one is looking
for a pushover or someone that doesn't you know, that
that doesn't stand on what they believe. We're meeting you
and you being pretty much puffs, I would say, right
hand or one of his closest by not even just advisor,
but a long time friend and a trusted friend, and

(03:17):
by us meeting in that way, a lot of people
just being honest. And I'm not saying this the big
up myself. I'm just I'm just you know, state in facts.
A lot of people would have been intimidated to share
their opinion because we're talking about Puff and anybody in
anybody associated associated with him is you know, one and

(03:41):
the same in a sense. But I felt and and
and just so the listeners though we were talking about,
you know, politics and in different political positions in the
two thousand twenty election, and I felt so strongly in
my positions that it didn't matter if it was Puff,
you whoever Jay's I mean, you name it the top
of the caliber, you know, whoever it was. Well, we

(04:03):
have to to be firm and what we believe. And
I tell people this all the time because they say,
you know, hey, you go to Fox News. If you
speak truth, they may not invite you back. And I
tell people all the time, I have to speak my
truth and I have to speak it as if I
never ever get another opportunity to speak. And so I
appreciate you. I'm saying this because I appreciate you for

(04:25):
welcoming me and to a very small intimate group of
folks UH to appreciate my opinion and to respect uh
me as a woman and as someone that believed in
what they believed in and didn't just necessarily fold because
I was around, you know, the greatest and that we

(04:48):
were some of the greatest that we've had in hip hop.
Let's just be honest about it. You know, the motown
of hip hop is how I see it, And so
I could have easily just went along, you know, going
along together a long But I appreciate you respecting that
about me and looking at that as a strength, a
postal weakness. And I'm saying that, Cory, because a lot
of women may not have opportunities. I've always been around

(05:11):
dudes me. Everybody know I'm worse. Sometimes I'm worse than
me as far as my strength is concerned. And I'm
saying that, Cory, because I want women to know people,
but particularly women that just because you know you're around
someone that's a billionaire, respected or and Puff can be intimidating.

(05:31):
I mean he is even on Zoom, he's still puff.
You feel like you're you're in the studio. He's he's
extra with it and I and he's somebody I looked
up to. I have more respect for him than I
do the average politician. You couldn't tell me, I wasn't
part of bad Boy. You can tell me I wouldn't,
little Kim. So I do. I appreciate that, Cory, because
you could have easily just went back and said, you know,

(05:52):
she talked too much, or she's too strong, or she
suit this, let's move on without here, and instead you
respected it. And I want people to know that athenticity matters.
Can't you speak just a little bit to the I
think one of the things that I do bring to
the table, you know, being that you know, um, we've

(06:12):
known each other since we was kids, is the fact
that I'm going to speak the truth. Right. I don't
think you know, I think it does as a disservice
to have people in the camp, but people around who
are fearing to, you know, say what's on their mind.
We can't win like that, right. So when you got
on the phone and you was like, yo, look, this
is what it is. And then I got into it,
you know, something that I felt passionate about, and you know,

(06:33):
you pushed back. You pushed back for me, Jacobs. I said,
oh damn, I said. We started boxing and he was like, Yo,
it is what it is. That's what it is. Smack
smacks back, you know, and I'm like, yo, check this out. Man,
you know you know how she must not know me,
you know what I'm saying. And then you know, and
I loved it. It It was a brougher fresh and we
need that on the team. You know, you was on

(06:55):
the cold because you added value your expert teams, your
experience and and and and you're no holds barred attitude,
you know, an approach, right, So you called me back,
but I felt was like really interesting. It was strengthened
our born. You called me back to see if I
was okay. You know what I'm saying on like yo,
you know he thinks you know what I'm saying, like

(07:16):
looking at the stuff. But I got about to put
my arm around him, you know what I'm saying, like, man,
I don't want to. I don't want him like you know,
like you're having a suck attack. You know what I'm saying.
That like going back like y'all ain't feeling honey like that.
You know what I'm saying. You know, I was like,
I love her. I love her. You got on the phone,
got on the phone. There's no egos involved, you know,
mutual respect. And we had an album on conversation right

(07:39):
about everything, and it was like, oh no, I have
my TIMS on, Like I have my TEMs on in
a minute, you know, I'm on the fifth. Everything I
put on it, I don't want it too heavy. I
want everything sleek and light. You know what I'm saying.
I'm I'm back. You know what I'm saying. I used
to wear TIMS in the symbol, you know. You know
when I was doing a trial. One of the main

(07:59):
points prosecute of me was kind of like was very
impactful in the jury. You know when they when they
was like and he come up with his crew then
on camouflage and Timberland boots in the summertime, and the
jury was like they was like boots in the summer.
They was like, what kind of animals and these guys

(08:19):
you know what I'm saying. But that just was part
of the culture, right, you know, that was part of
the culture. So, you know, like I said, it was
it was a mutual respect. We always tap in, you know,
you're sending some of your clips to the chat. You
know what you're doing on Fox. Dudes always give you
the fist up and you know, and we sidebar and
you know, and I think it's important to go on
Fox News because who else is gonna do it? Who

(08:41):
has the information? These people got to hear another perspective
on what's going on. And every single time you nail it,
and you nail it, you're away, you know, authentically, what's
authentic to you. And that's what I respect. You don't
care who's on it, the white people whatever, they come
with their opinion and you slapping them around every time
they jump out there. And that's what I'm talking about.

(09:02):
You ain't slapping me around, but you you had me
like I was on the hiels a little black to
like jump back on. But I said, who he thinks?
Said she look used to be on the polls like
you ain't nobody gang you feel like really like justya?
I was like, yeah, hold on, I'm ben confidence somewhere,
Like I'm like, all right, I'm going back to the nineties.

(09:23):
I say, okay, be back, We're back in the nineties.
I don't know who you are that's seen it in
a minute, you know, I'm said, I was a little
a little stunn You notice how you can catch somebody
but the job, you know, when they jump out of
the job, and you're like, oh, he's trund a quick.
You know what I'm saying, I gotta put my hands up.
You know, you know that's hilarious because that's exactly what

(09:45):
it was. Like hold up, let's go back to you.
I'm so with that, but you know when you're like
not used to seeing it and like, you know, I'm
not saying I dumb it down, though, but I pay
attention not to be, you know, that aggressive and like
how I deliver something now, I would do when the
joint like in the joint they need it hard, like YoY,

(10:05):
when you say no, you can't be like no, I
don't think so you're gonna be like nah no and
then look at him hard. They'd be like, oh he
needs no okay. You know if you do that out here,
like oh he just came back from is like you know,
they might get the wrong perception of me. Roun. I'm
very laid back from super grateful for the opportunity to

(10:25):
be back out here and to like fulfill my potential
and to have been through everything I've been through in
the journey man and just be able to come on
and live my life after life. And it's a beautiful thing.
You know, it is. I appreciate that. Man. It's not
to spend too much time on this, but it was.
It truly was a kindred spirit because I was the
only female on a lot of those calls. So you know,

(10:48):
I'm thinking, I'm in the studio, only female in my
CIP thing. I'm I'm I'm I'm a little kill I'm like,
I'm a whole my own and be mysellers. And so
I'm so grateful to you and Puffic everybody you know
that was just a part of the team of Delict
just welcoming my pain because I want people to know
that because I see, uh, you know, a lot of
comments negative, positive, whatever, and I just feel it's it's

(11:11):
my responsibility just so people know how gracious puff is
you know to me. But literally you was you know,
you was pulled in right for that reason because you're
a killer, right. It wasn't like he knew before you
got on the call, before you know, the collaboration came

(11:32):
in that like you was coming in to kill kill
people in the camp who was not seeing ship right
to advise him as well, you know on various things
that you know and and and inform him you know
two things he might not be aware of, and he
trusted you know, your judgment. So I definitely think that,
you know, we appreciate that's amazing just to let you

(11:55):
know what was happening. Yeah, man, I appreciate that. That
means a lot because again he didn't have to you know,
there's a lot of different people he could associate with,
and I just appreciate it. I just appreciate the respect
of the meetual love and I'm I'm grateful always, So
thank you Corey for saying that. And it's always nice
when you got somebody on the phone with about that business. Remember,
because we were talking, I said, I know your whole story. Man,

(12:17):
we ain't gotta I said, I already know. I already
know your type. You're talking to one of the home girls.
Let's have a real conversation. But some people but on
the stake, like you know the type, and like you said,
you might have thought of nothing that's the wrong with it.
But it's just like you can make assumptions like you
know the person I am today, this isn't the person
I was, And you know, and so it's like I've

(12:39):
learned a lot and a ten years or doing time,
and um, I lived in l a for six years
and things of that nature. So I'm just not like
the regular. You're not what you expected. Like he's from
New York. This is that he's told to slick. No,
It's like I've been through a lot. I have a
lot of respect for different culches. I mixed it up
with cats all over the United States and and like
dirty out of the fifty States. So you know, I'm

(12:59):
a little different, you know when it comes to that,
because of my journey and where I've been in the trenches.
And let's talk about that, because let's get straight into it.
You know, I heard you say a moment ago, you know,
I'm not who I was, And I hear a lot
of that from a lot of my homies that did time,
you know, and these are friends of mine have just
had to show. On a couple of weeks ago, I
was telling you about one of my homies that did

(13:20):
you know fifteen sixteen years And I want people in
the social justice space, the political space, like I know
what you mean when you say I'm not who I
was before. But I think it's really important that those
characteristics of standing on principle, on standing on who you are,

(13:42):
you know, on your name meaning something, and you know,
doing the time and and and being able to do
with a lot of these corn balls just can't do.
I want to make sure that people know that even
though you've you've grown wiser, and you make different decisions,
there's some good quality ease of ship that I got
from niggas in the streets that allowed me to be

(14:03):
able to do what I'm doing today. Because had those
g's not invested time in me, had they not spent time,
you know, shaping me on who I am today, I
wouldn't be with him today. So it's really important that
I say to the community of those who like to
look down on people who were in prison or look
before they yea, although there's been some change, I'm looking

(14:24):
for the gangsters. I'm looking for that that mindset of
structure and and loyalty and and and an attitude of hey,
I'm a risk at all of need be because if
we take that same mentality from the streets and put
it in politics, you guys are the only ones equipped
to deal with the Donald Trump. If that's just the
reality these corn balls, and no disrespect to the corn

(14:47):
balls in the squares because again, we need them to
do what they do. But your personality is the only
personality that is equipped with a mindset of what I
always say, pushing the line, Pushing no matter what standard
a firm, not giving a funk, who's on the side
of you, who's behind you. It's all about moving forward,
push the line. So I always want to highlight that

(15:07):
to say that I'm glad that you've grown wiser, but
just know that your skill set is appreciated, and it's
how we move this thing forward. So let's start there
with you know, and we can go, like I said,
a series of these conversations because we certainly won't be
able to cover it off. You you were sentenced to uh,
sixteen life sentences. How the hell does that happen somebody

(15:30):
that's never known anything about that? Because you only got
one life to live. So how is it that somebody
can get sentenced sixteen times for life? Yeah? Yeah, I
think one for me? Kind of how like you said earlier,
like it's like they kind of know who the goal
hardest are, right, and how you pushing the feelssness to
go out and just try to make your way in
the world. And that's kind of where I was at,

(15:51):
and um, you get sixteen life sentences because because of
the way the lord was set up at the time.
Right at that particular time, he was getting a hundred
to one race show for the crack cocaine. Right, so
if you had one kid crack, one kid crack, they
made it a hundred keys, right opposed to if it
was some coke it would be one to one. So
for me, they didn't have any evidence at all on me. Right,

(16:13):
I had got out the game. It was two years
I had. I had real lifed, like I had. My
mind was stronger than that. I had other ways that
I could get money besides selling drugs, And when I
realized that, I just went cold turkey, got out the
game and started just you know, getting into the culture
of hip hop, monetizing the culture and using my leadership skills,
losing my market and the ability you know to to
use it in another way. Right, that wouldn't land me

(16:35):
in prison a dead right, that wasn't good enough for
them when they seeing it. I was on the trajector
be of going up and what I was doing, you know,
ability to empower people to lead their masses. You know,
they came with an indictment that charged me with conspiracy. Now,
they didn't have a single gram of drugs, they had
no violence in the case, they had no pictures, they
had no voice calls, no sales, no anything. Right, so

(16:56):
they had to compile this case by putting the most
big hold on me so that it just looked like
I'm just says this craziest drug dealer ever ever born,
in order to get a conviction. Right, Because if you
bring me in the courtroom and you and you're charging
me with sixteen life sentences, you're like, this motherfucker was
eating people or something. He was murdering people. They they

(17:16):
they're believing that it has to be something more. Even
my kids when I was gonna win, and they're like,
there's no way that he did something more than just
whatever you know they're saying he did or whatever he's
saying he did. Right, So they take these kids, they
take this accounts, which should have been one conspiracy count
for hustling, for getting money, right, and they separated and

(17:39):
then break it up into different counts like life for
this day, I sold somebody five keys, which it wasn't
five keys because somebody came in then lied the day
that they said this the data, they said that the
data they said this right, and they add all of
that up right, and at the end of the day
only took a key and a half of crack to
get you a life sentence. So they the people come in,
they started telling right, you read it through a shold

(18:00):
of a tea and a half, which they have no drugs,
and then you get life for every count, right. So um,
basically that the concept for them is they it's like
if you put you got spitballs, and you gotta hundred spitballs,
you start throwing them at the wall. Their concept that
if we just keep throwing these life sentences at them,
eventually summer stick and sixteen stuck. And they were trying
to give me life sentences, but sixteen of them stuck,

(18:22):
and maybe you know, nine of them didn't passed through. Right.
So that was the obstacle that I had to overcome.
A nonviolent drug offender in their first time offense left
the game, and I had to go in to a system,
the most violent prison really in the federal system and
figure my way out of there, trying to crack that
code to freedom with that enormous burden on on my shoulders.

(18:44):
And this is why, folks, you know, again, go back
and listen. It's your first time listen, and go back
and listen to the many, many shows that I've done,
and prior to this, my advocacy on the ninety four
crime Bill and mandatory minimums, and why I pushed so
hard for this because the folks that I saw lose
their life, you know, behind this. I just don't think Corey,

(19:05):
that people really get it. You know a lot of
these cats were older than me, five, seven, ten years
older than me, because I was always running with people
older than me, and I saw, you know what that
meant to to get that type of time. And I
don't think people really grasp it. I was listening to
a recent interview Sister Soldier was she came out with
a book, uh, and she was doing the follow up

(19:26):
to The Colts Whenever, and Charlottamagne asked her, or somebody
on the show Breakfast Cub asked her what took her
so long to come out, and she said that the
character was sentenced to fifteen years and she said she
wanted people to feel that, and I thought that was deep.
I never heard you know, and Arthur say that, But
she said, I right, She said, I didn't want to

(19:52):
just come out two years from now or three years
from now. She said, I really wanted the hood to
miss her to know what it meant for somebody to
to do that type of time. And I thought that
was just I mean, it just blew my mind because
I know what it means to see somebody fifteen years later,
ten years later, seventeen years later, but a lot of
people don't. And I thought that was powerful. In fact,

(20:13):
I think that's the most powerful thing that she can
do when marketing that book. So tell us one second,
one second. That was the first book I read when
I got to prison, when I balked up my reading journey,
which is over two thousand books in the course of
our time there. So I'm gonna shot up the Sister Soldier,
you know, but right in that book, right and really
inspiring me, you know, taking me on that journey, and

(20:33):
you know, still in my day up, you know, where
I can like utilize my day wisely, right, And I
just like dove into books from there, like, So that
was my first book and and a lot of people
share that story. A lot of people, you know, read
her work and it really took them, you know, over
two thousand books. That's amazing, that's amazing. Just here you said,
and that's the sting. They don't understand what our brothers

(20:53):
are doing with their time. So a little bit on
doing that type of time you read two thousand books.
You just mentioned you had to figure out how to
get yourself out that situation. Can you tell us a
little bit about that journey and how landed you to clemency. Yeah. Yeah,

(21:17):
it's like it's like I knew right that the government,
you know, they classified right, they are always watching you.
So you have Corey Jacobs, right, and Corey Jacobs is
in there, and Corey Jacobs has a mind, and Corey
Jacobs could come out and do great things, you know,
And so that's why you're imprisoning this being that's just
one of the things, just a stifle. I'll pretend you right,
locked the way through the the way the key, right.

(21:40):
So while I was in prison, I knew that, um
I had to show them another side of Corey, which
was very difficult. Right. So when as soon as I
got in prison, I started programming. And people will always
ask me like your why is your programming you have
life now because now we have to do the propaganda,
you know what I'm saying, to go against the proper
that they're putting against us. And I only in a

(22:02):
way that I knew at the end of the day
after looking at the laws, looking at you know, and
the ambiguous nature of the law, you know, and how
they play all these games. You know, that I had
to present an image of Corey Jacobs other than what
they was presenting, right, And I went on that journey
from the day one that I went in there. That
was a very difficult journey because I was what it

(22:23):
is is that they try to trap you. Because for me,
it was my first time in prison, and I'm at
the most violent prison in the entire federal system, right,
which is called Pollock Louisiana USP right as a as
a maximum security prison, and they called it bloody Pollock. Right.
So when I got in there, you know, in the
middle of me like you know, doing classes, I created

(22:44):
programs while I was in there. I was trying to
do everything they showed it. I'm a conservational asset. You
have to deal with the violence that's in that's that's
going on in the population. You know, so how how
I looked at it, I just try to always say
gold conscious on what the goal was, which was freedom,
and anything that went against freedom wasn't a part of
that goal, right, So like basically basically because there's so

(23:09):
much Yeah, and I'm glad you Pauls right there, because
I want to you say something very powerful. I was
over writing notes. You went in with the mindset to
get out. I think that it is so powerful. You know,
a lot of people go in, you know, at least
it takes them a couple of years to kind of
just are. They go in like I'm gonna fight, I'm

(23:29):
gonna do whatever I gotta. I got ten years, I
got fifteen years. I'll deal with that when I get
closer to my date. Because they can't see that date,
you know, it's not realistic to them to get out.
So I thought that was powerful that you went in
with the mindset to get out. Even though life sentences
are typically I mean they're they're designed to be life sentences.
So my question was, is how do you have the

(23:52):
mindset going in with the idea to get out? In
other words, you couldn't predict you would get You didn't
know that those things would happen. You didn't know what
kept you grounded. I mean, I'm sure you got tested
like everybody. You know that due time, you know, multiple
knife fights and anything like that, because at the end
of the day, you have to survive. It doesn't matter
if I end up in a box. You know what

(24:12):
I'm saying. You know, I'm not lettingbody putting a box
for this. So it's like a catch pointy two. It's
like if I when I have to stab somebody to
protect my well being, right, I know that's putting me
farther away from freedom because now you take a person
that was a non violent individual, and now they put
you in these situations. They put these people together, knowing
how people are classified, and then they get you to

(24:33):
do these things that you know you can't help but
to do, and then I put you further you know,
buries you even further into your sentence. Right, So if
I had a chance to get out, you know what
I'm saying, After I understand a couple of people and
they put that on my on my record and they
start classifying me as a dangerous person, They're like, yes,
we got, we got and we gotta to jump out there,

(24:54):
Korey Jacobs, you would never see you know, daylight ever again. Right.
But I still even after that, I still didn't believe
that because what was the motivation was like I always
believed I had a higher calling all my life, you
know what I'm saying. I always believe My grandmother always
used to tell me, like Corey, that you're you're special,

(25:15):
You're one of God's favorites, and you're gonna do something amazing,
and you know, and I always looked at my grandmother
even to this day. She passed away right before I
got out. And then you know, my slogan is like
we did it Grandma, you know what I mean. And
it's like part of it was, you know, her spirit
staying with me throughout the journey, right, you know what
she taught me or she sacrificed to take her only
grandson and when her mother, you know, when his mother

(25:36):
or her daughter wasn't handled her responsibilities. You know, at
the end of the day, I was upset because I
feel like I knew my heart right, I knew my
hand didn't called for spending the rest of my life
in prison. So the journey I was at balking on
was to not let these people win. And and another
part of it, while I went to the program because

(25:56):
I knew it was important that you know that whatever
you engage, anybody's gonna feed you. Right. So if I'm
programming and I'm doing a lot of positive stuff, although
I have to deal with the negativity that's in my surroundings,
you know, saying, it's gonna help balance me out, right,
So I never not program And at the end of it,
I had over a hundred programs, you know, under my belt,

(26:17):
with four or five resident you programs, and you know,
when my lawyers seeing it, it was like, we've never
seen nobody that programmed this much. And that ended up
being a deciding factor, one of the deciding factors for
for them to not just be able to be like
this guy, you know, attempted to better himself even when
he didn't have to, from the day when he got
to prison all the way when I got out, I

(26:37):
was in a program, you know what I'm saying. So
I had to look at the long game, right. It
wasn't a short game, and I think that's where a
lot of people mess up. A lot of people come
in and it was like, oh, they did this on
my case, Oh they didn't have no drugs, and they
harper on that, right, they harper or the fact that's
they don't care about that, you know, at the end
of the day, and then you get burnt out because

(26:57):
you get your hurt because you you know, you have
actually you have your appeal is just supposed to win
and you don't win. That's the one thing I always say,
keep your helmet on, right because people are put emotion
in it and it'll be like, Okay, I got these people.
They shouldn't have did that. They wasn't gonna do that.
But I always knew that, you know, never, you know,

(27:17):
never over I said, keep your humblet on because if
you don't keep your helmet on and you have an accident,
you're gonna bust your heads, you know what I'm saying.
You're not gonna be prepared to just keep fighting. So
even when I put emotion and I was hopeful, but
I was always ready to get back, you know, and
start fighting some more because I know they just wasn't
gonna give it to me, you know what I'm saying.
So I love to learn that wasn't one thing that

(27:39):
helped me. I dove into books. I love to learn.
I love to better myself. So I think that actually
helped me in the journey because I was always growing
and I knew that what they was trying to do,
in my opinion, was washed us up. They was trying
to wash me up. Right, So I said, when I
get out, because I'm gonna get out one day. I

(27:59):
don't want to the shadow of my old self, right,
I don't want to because it would be useless to
do a t years and it come out and I
can't add no value nowhere. Right, I'm not that, do
you know what I'm saying. I'm great, you know what
I'm saying, and you know, And I felt like I
went in there. There was a reason I went in
there because there wasn't many people that can, like, you know,
really handle that situation as far as in you know,

(28:20):
in my surroundings and then come out better and then
and come out and add value and contribute to the
legacy that was started. Right. So so I always had
that in my mind. I'm like, I'm gonna get out, right,
I'm gonna I'm gonna learn, I'm gonna be a beast,
and then I'm gonna come out. You know, and I'm
and I'm and I'm gonna change the narrative or what
it looks like for a person to have going what
I went through and get back into society, because for one,

(28:44):
you know, changing the Narrative's plenty ways to fight, right,
There's plenty ways to go out. And you have the
the you have the congressional you know, following motions, you
have going at the um Congress, you have you know,
changing up the laws. But then you also have perception.
And I think perception is one of the biggest things
that allow these people to do what they're doing to us.
You know what I'm saying, how they're looking as how

(29:05):
they demonize the black man, you know what I'm saying,
the way that they do so that you don't even
care that I got sixteen life sentences and I got
three kids and they're out here without a daddy where
I can come out maybe in five or six or
ten years and be in their life and and teach
them the things that about the mistakes that I made
and help them, you know, you know, grow which asks
to society, which that rips away from the fabric of family,

(29:27):
which I feel is one of you know, one of
the goals, right, one of the goals put you in
a prison way out from where you're from, so people
can't visit. You charge your three dollars and fifty center call.
When phone calls are free, you have the internet calls everything,
charge you five center call, I mean for emails, and
charge you enormous amounts of money for the food. And
and you know that breaks the most individuals. You know

(29:47):
what I'm saying, That breaks most individuals. And it hurts people.
You know, it hurts you to be down down there
and stripped of everything, not even a way to make
any money for yourself, right, So the system system, and
it hurt. Yeah. Yeah, if you know, I have like
for me, like you know, if you you know, a
lot of people just feel like, like, yo, we're gonna

(30:08):
never see Corey again. We're not gonna see him again.
I'm gonna see him as the government, you know what
I'm saying. So people just live on their lives. You
call them. You know, you did so much for so
many people, and you you start to see you learn
so much about friendship, you learn you learned so much
about loyalty, You learn so much about yourself, right, you
learned about who you valued as friends, who you put
your energy into, who you put your faith in, and

(30:29):
then everything becomes clear. It's clear now who you're Oh
that was my friend because we hit chicks together. Oh
oh because oh I I used to do this and
I you know, anytime you called me, I would do
this and I'll pass you a few dollars and I
and I'm pushing the movement. I'm doing X Y Z. Oh.
But you was never I called you my brother, but
she wasn't really never my brother. You was just like

(30:50):
you know, it was just using me for what you
could use me for. When you no longer was useful,
you know, you went on and found another friend. Right,
So so those you come into those other standings, that's
what it's about. That's when you say about you come
and you want to talk to individuals that you know
that the old gs and different things, that these lessons
that can get past the long right to people that

(31:10):
are of value. Right, how do and people were in
a pandemic? Right? How do I do eighty years three
years in solitary confinement and keep my mind in attacked?
What do you do? What are your methods? What are
your tactics? What are your tools and your toolbox? You know,
how did you meditate? How did you come acrourse meditation?
And how did that help you? How do I go
about it? You know, for me, it's easy to be
in a pandemic. It's a kate walk, you know what

(31:33):
I'm saying. You know, we're there getting no hugs. I
got a guy in going to the back food in
the room with me. You know, it's light out with
thee that I'll sell at nine o'clock and it's still
sunny out, and you the doors are locked, and you know,
people out there driving in the droptop hugging they vives
and you know, picking their kids up from school. That's
that's torturous. Let's go over with for year after year

(31:54):
after years. So it's all about how you look at things, right,
you know what I'm saying. As bad as it was,
I never tried to focus on those things, the people
that wasn't there for me that I was there for.
I never focused on that, you know, um Um. I
looked at you know, though my situation was what it was.
I knew that there was people starving somewhere, you know,
in third world countries, right that I was eating. I

(32:15):
wasn't the best food that I was eating, But you
know what, I am eating right, and I have an opportunity.
I didn't do anything so drastic that I don't have
an opportunity at freedom. Right. I knew in my heart
some people know you know what you did. You know
you know that you went and did something you can
A lot of people can say, oh, I adn't do nothing, No,
but the day you did that that nobody knows right.

(32:36):
The universe knows, and if you believe in God, God
knows right. So so for me, I knew in my
heart I never did anything to die in prison. And
I went. I rocked with back and I said that
my last breath. You know what I'm saying, that I'm
gonna get out of here. I don't know how I'm
gonna get out of here. I don't see no light
at the end of the tunnel. A matter of fact,
I didn't even see a tunnel. You know what I'm saying.
It wasn't even a tunnel. Look at I don't care

(32:58):
for the tunnel. I'm gonna make the tunnel and then
it's gonna be something like what I'm saying. I don't know,
you know what I'm saying, And that was my approach.
I figured, if I go in there, I beat myself.
I never changed who I was, and I always try
to impact people in a positive way. Everywhere I went.
I always made time for people, always passed through on wisdom,
always passed on information and knowledge, and I always promoted unity,

(33:21):
right and so I did that and a lot of
times I did that when I was in the streets
and I and although you don't always get you don't
get rewarded in life either or in prison for being
a good dude. That's the one thing it took me
like five or six years to be like yo, like
you know, because that's if you said a guy am
then be like, oh, if you're too good, you know

(33:44):
what I'm saying, Oh, beloved that you know what I'm saying.
The game, he's a good dude. I got to I
got the devout with you. You know what I'm saying.
So one of the one of the biggest things I
had to learn was just how to say no, you
know what I'm saying. And once I learned how to
say no, I love no. I love no, it was
like yo, see king it clothes me seeing there you'll

(34:05):
see kill we do? Can I get a you know,
saying for whatever and you love you like the smoke
if you when you stop smoking, you're just smoking money
to get that. You know what I'm saying, I'm not
speeding your smoking habit. No, they'd be like okay, then
they'd be my best friend. You know if I gave
it to him, don you give it to him? Your here,
no matter whatnot no, And I mean it, And I
brought that no out here with me because I feel

(34:27):
like that was like one of the like weakness is
a kind of not not just to be like no, no, no,
no no bound you know, say no for things that
ain't good for you. That's not you know, that's not
beneficial to your well being and standing doing that. You
know what I'm saying. That was something that that I
had a hard time doing. I was the only child
growing up, and you know, my grandmother always was very

(34:49):
giving it. I'll give it, I'll bring clothes down for
my friends. Do you know when I started getting money
out of podcast watches and I buy you a car,
and and when I got out the game, I gave
away cars. I left the game and just gave it
anybody everything, and I was like, I'm out of the game,
you know what I'm saying. And that was just to
say a guy I was, you know what I'm saying.
So I had to adjust. You know, it's an adjustment.

(35:09):
You know, you learn, you know, you're live and you learn.
And I was tested on every kind of way. You know,
like you said, with the government, you're coming across and
having to go, you know, go to trial and you
knowing that you could potentially, you know, lose the rest
of your life. A lot of casts ain't cut for that.
They're not making they're not making them people work, you
know what I'm saying. They're not they're gonna get. Even
the guys who was tough, they're all told like the

(35:33):
tough guys is the ones that really told because they
like they they're selfish, you know what I'm saying, And
they're not. They're not taking responsibility for what you did,
you know what I'm saying. And that was just it's
never something because really it's all about the heart. So
so let me ask you that because I always tell
people this when I'm advocating for drug offenses. First time,
none body offenses that people that I know, most people

(35:54):
that I know. It's not that you didn't take responsibility
for what you did. The issue was as being over sentenced.
The issue was I knew that whatever I did, I
didn't deserve to be in prison the rest of my life.
Or I knew that whatever I did, I didn't deserve
to spend the next twenty or thirty years. So you
have taken responsibility, and I just want to make sure

(36:16):
we put that pen in there. Because you have taken responsibility.
Our issue has always been the over sentencing. And because
look when I go in right, there was no options.
It's ever put twenty people in prison or do life right? Okay?
And if I just said, you know I didn't, I
had no problem. Yo, I did that. I did it, Yo,

(36:38):
I'm willing to do that. No, there's no reasonable sentence,
but life in prison. It wasn't like no lesser sectors
for saying I did it. And that's wrong, right, So
so you have to go all the way, you say,
but said, Look, I went all the way, and what happened.
I banged out with the people. I used my mind right,
and I was able to figure out a way. You
know what I'm saying it'd be blessed for the right

(37:00):
people to come in my life in order to get
back out here, right, And that's just a beautiful feeling,
Like that's a beautiful feeling to be able to do that. Yeah,
And I just want to make sure that people really
understood that, because that's one of the misconceptions. You know,
when I navicat no they deserved no how manies they're
saying they didn't is that they didn't do nothing wrong.
What we're saying is this is a big difference for
taking somebody's complete life away, especially for some ship that

(37:22):
you really didn't do your job and catch me with
you just this is all based on three niggas getting
on the stand right. You're actually they're getting people to
come in their live to get to get the number,
how to give me the most time, knowing their life.
You're going in there, giving them the swift to tell,
knowing they don't even know me, knowing other guys are

(37:43):
fading the numbers so they could get less time. You
are breaking the law, you know what I'm saying, as
you're breaking the law. M damn. So Barack Obama was
toly criticized, you know for not doing more. A lot
of homies that was doing time when he was elected

(38:05):
really thought, you know, he would have the opportunity to
even out the crack cocaine disparage. A lot of them
just misinformed how it works, so on and so forth.
But for you his presidency, you did get clemency the
day you find out. Kind of tell us a little
bit about, you know, when you found out, you know
that you were granted clemency, and also you mentioned, you know,

(38:29):
your grandmother didn't get a chance to see that, and
I know that's painful for you. And and clearly you
believe in God, so I know they mean that you
believe in an afterlife, so you know that she knows now.
But tell us a little bit about because I definitely
want to get into the barrier project, but I think
this is important that people know what that meant for
you to finally get clemency and how that affected, you know,

(38:51):
the the joy of getting out, but also the sorrow
of you know, your grandmother who raised you, who didn't
get an opportunity. Yeah, my grandmother, she was just such
a sweetheart, you know, and she and I said, she
raised me, you know, put me through school, always had
biggest hopes for me, you know. She wrapped her arms
around me when you know, really my mother, like I said,
a band and her responsibilities, you know, and so wait

(39:12):
before she passed away, she was just like almost ninety
and she just couldn't really her fire was burning out,
you know, she really couldn't um. But she tried to
wait for me. But the last thing she said, God
always answers my prayers. And I don't know why he
hasn't answered them, you know, but whatever you do, like
do not stop fighting, Corey, Like you know what I'm saying,
You're done. Not Remember I told you, like you're great,

(39:34):
you know, and you're gonna do great things in this world.
And I said, I want Grandma. And I was like
the last time I talked you know what I'm saying,
before like the the the the chaplain came to my door,
you know, like two weeks later, and he was like, um,
I want to I have to talk to you the chaplain,
you know, but he was the head of the program,
so he wasn't. He said, I'm being I'm in my
role as a chaplain right now. And I was like, oh, wow,

(39:56):
that's grandma. He said, yes, it's your grandmother. You know,
that's tough, you know, So you know at the end
of the day, right at the end of the day,
you know, that was like more motivation as things got harder,
as you're going to year fifteen, sixteen seventeen and things
of that nature. So so I had did the clemency
run Brittany, Brittany who was my lawyer, she took my

(40:19):
case and um, we went on this mission to fight
for my freedom, and um, it was getting close to
the wire and President Obama, Um, it was in the
final hour. Like it was December nineteenth. I remember being
December nineteenth. On the sixtieth of December, which was a Friday,
I remember seeing President Obama on CNN and he was
about to go to Hawaii and he had Trump had

(40:40):
already won, and I still hadn't got clemency, so I had.
It was a little fair there, a little bit like,
oh my god, we're getting such to the wire and
my new A list was coming out and um, and
I seen him leading on the podium and he's like
looking very unpresidential, you know what I'm saying. I was like,
he's talking slicky, He's not He's he's slouting down. He's like, oh,

(41:01):
I'm out of here. I told you big is the vote.
You know what I'm saying. You know what I'm saying.
I said, Oh that that moment I realized, but he
was coming to the final moment right, and that Friday
hadn't came out. He went to Hawaii right to deliver
his best life. And that Monday, that whole weekend, I
just couldn't sleep. And I was the guy that when

(41:21):
I was in prisoned, people used to always say, like,
I can't believe I go to sleep. That's one thing
which kind of preserved me. When when I'm ready to
go to sleep, I'm out. I'm not talking to you.
I'm getting my sleep. I'm not looking at the ceiling,
I'm not having nightmares about this ship nothing. I'm going
to sleep. You're not gonna take that from me, you
know what I'm saying. So it's Monday morning comes and um,

(41:43):
I hear my name being called over the loudspeaker and
like six thirty in the morning, which is unheard of.
They never called my name. Because I have life, You
have no reason to talk to me. I don't stab nobody.
You know what I'm saying. I ain't selling nothing. You know,
I ain't did nothing, you know what I'm saying. So
when they call him on at I'm like, I hear
it and I'm bawled up in the bed. I get
up five thirty every morning. This day I was, I

(42:06):
was sleeping, I was bowled up in the bed. I
was like, Oh my god, what's gonna happen? You know
what I'm saying. And I hear my name, Corey Jacobs
while I'm in the fetal position, and I'm like, oh,
ship to call my name. So a buddy of mine
ran in the room. He was like a bit advocate
for me. Every time you see me, said, you're you
a good dude. See you're gonna get that ship. You're

(42:26):
gonna get it. Every time you see me to always
be like you're gonna get it. You're gonna get it.
And I was like, y'all say, yeah, no doubt. I
always try to keep it humble, you know, preparing myself
it's the case I didn't get it. And and so
he comes he's like, yo, looking get up, thinking they
call me your they mess it. I was like oh,
and everything just slowed down like slow motion. I couldn't

(42:46):
even get out the bed. I got out the bed
and I had hung my clothes up and I had
it pressed because you have to wear browns when you
go back there to the administration. You can't wear a sweatsuit.
So I like, I like started putting my clothes on,
and he like, hurry out there. You know what I'm saying,
what you're doing. Then it calls it again. So I
put my stuff on. I took my shirt and you know,
I put my butt in my pants and I fixed

(43:07):
my thing. I looked in the mirror, you know, like
one good time, and then I just walked out of
there and he was right by my side, and he
was bold and he was jumping like like he was
like like you know, I'm with you, you know. So
as I was leaving my cell going downstairs, it was
like six thirty in the morning. And usually this is
like the loudest time because they opened the doors. It's
like you know, animals, you know, you're letting out of cage.

(43:28):
You know, basketball was on, dudes is better and then
they might be like yo, lebro lebro some ship, like
my money up down and down. It's just mehem in
the unit. Everybody's waiting to go to breakfast. But when
I walked out, it was literally not one person talking.
Literally it was guys like on the rafters, like on
the top of the range on the bottom and and

(43:49):
like leaning over the railings and it was looking at me.
And I was walking by and it was like Yo.
It was like Yo, good luck, bro, you're gonna get that.
Things like you're gonna get that some casts like you're
gonna get that hit in their chest just looking at you,
you know, kind of stolen, not really like you don't
really care. They they their lives might be over. They
like get in a night. But there. But what you're

(44:11):
saying is so important. I don't want to but I
want to put a pin right there because I want
to weave these stories together again. I'm just mentioning Spuds story,
who told the same story, and he talked about the
support system of people saying you said, tell him, man,
you're gonna get that book. There, You're gonna get that book.
And I think what you're saying is so important, Like
there was somebody who did not have freedom but still

(44:35):
had the capacity capacity, meaning what had the heart space
heart wasn't so black that he wanted you to have it.
And I think the reason I want to put a
pin there is because we don't hear a lot of
that Corey, particularly with black men supporting each other, especially
black men in harsh environments. You know, they show movies

(44:59):
where you ah, you see brothers support each other or
fight each other in prison. But I think that's so
important that somebody solve for you what you didn't see,
even though his conditions we're not. You know, he didn't
get a blessing, and that's so important. We have so
much hate on each other and we don't want to
support each other. You know, Puff talks a lot about
love and brother love and it's all about love. And

(45:21):
I just think that's so important that that people. I
try to get people a lot of my homies that
don't believe in I don't want to say don't believe
in it, but don't practice the mindset of you know,
life and death being in the tongue or what energy
you you put out you get back. Because a lot
of people have been so broken and it's hard to
keep breaking a vase over and over and over and

(45:42):
keep putting it together and keep saying that's okay, we
can put you together, but some people are just broken.
And that's so powerful core to that just to tell
that story, to make sure that you included him in
that story, in that journey that somebody was saying, you're
about to get that ship. And I think that's important
because we don't hear enough of that. So you're you're
walking through, you walk out, You're walking through. Yeah, I'm

(46:03):
walking No, I'm walking in them. I don't know what's
gonna happen, because you know what was happening at the time,
people was going for clemency and they would call you
back there because they would have to tell you when
you're denied, right you go back there, they'd be like,
you get the call, they'd be like, I'm just want
to form me that you've been denied clemency, to have
you sign some papers, you'll walk out. So nobody was
going in there coming out happy dudes and shooting. They

(46:23):
shot at the clemency. They was getting called back there,
and it was coming back with the sad face, you
know what I'm saying, Like, So I don't know what
it looked like for somebody to come back with their
hands in the air. So although I was hopeful you
know that. I was hopeful. I was like, it could
be that, right, So I go in there. I go
in there. It was two um um case managers. It

(46:43):
was acting on fidgety and I'm like, what's going on?
I said, did I get it? They was like, we
don't know, we don't know. So they opened the room
that looked like it never be open. It was cop
webs and there it was like old chance and it
was this old rotory phone right, and they said, you're
gonna get a call in two minutes. They sat the
phone down and it made that bling sound like you
know how to sound. Didn't like it's all shaky. It's
like an older phone, right. And they set the phone

(47:07):
there and then I sat in the chair and they
said they're gonna get a call in two minutes to
answer it. So I'm like, oh my god, and the
craziest ship ever. So I'm listen, I'm on the phone,
the phone. I'm staring at the phone for two minutes.
It felt like like fifteen minutes, like you know what
I'm saying. So it rings, it rings, and I let
it ring two times and I'm like almost like I

(47:29):
pick it up gingerly and I get the phone. I
put it to my ear and I'm like hello, and
it was and it was my lawyer. She was like
hey Corey. I was like, oh, she sound a little jubilant,
you know what, man like. And then the pulpers on
the phone. He was like, what's up baby. I was like, oh,
I say, oh sick. So I was like, are we winning?
She was like, we're winning, I said. I dropped the phone, like, oh,

(47:53):
don't tell me we're winning, you know? She said, yes,
we're winning. Um, I just want to let you know
that the President Obama just granted your clemency and you're
gonna get your free well well and the wait a minute,
we gotta backup just a little bit. I know we're
running on time, but this is so bad. Because I
can visualize this, I hope people could as you're telling
the story. You're talking about the cob Wells. First of all,

(48:14):
we gotta get you a movie. Tell puff he gotta
make that happen, because this is so damn passing. Literally
every single day, somebody said that you have you have
to because you're telling the start petition. You start a
petition to get my man. Yeah, this is a big story.
This is the true story. This is, this is but
we're not making up stake characters. You're a story that's
impactful with a hell of a journey. Yeah, that tells

(48:36):
a real story and we're still here. It's a victory.
So I want to go back to just that one
part because Puff is a lifelong friend for you. But
I just want, you know, people to know to hear
him on the other line, to say that, what's up baby.
I guess it's important because I want people to know

(48:57):
that who you see, how they see him him, it's
really the energy. He brings that energy through the phone
and literally it's it's almost like like you know, you're
in the studio and so when you heard that, what's
some baby? And you heard I mean just oh we
just yeah because even cry cry, I ain't back you

(49:20):
know in his voice that he brought the energy that okay,
because he wouldn't have got he wouldn't have got on
the phone. Yeah you know, do he would? What would
he have to get on the phone for that? For
that's not something you know, I got on the phone.
We we put this work in, you know what I'm saying.
We stayed true, you know, and we got the victory.
You know what I'm saying, And now it's on what

(49:41):
I'm saying that like that that that's something I heard
of too. So you hang up the phone, what snakes?
Do you drop to your knees? Do you cry? Do
you want out? I was like, you know, I fought
so long. I felt vindicated right because so many people
was telling me like, you know, and this is if
you know, told you the whole story, you'll see that

(50:02):
that I don't have a chance. You have people who
didn't do nothing that I got life and and or whatever,
didn't get no money, you know what I'm saying, or whatever,
and don't have a couple of violent you know, you know,
instances in prison and they still can't get out. What
it makes you think you can get out with sixteen
you know, life levels of this ship that you have
to overcome, you know know what I mean? So I

(50:24):
kept telling people, I said it can happen. I was
tired of getting on people on the phone and trying
to give up my story and tell them what we
need to do and that is possible, and tell people
in prison that was also fighting. But it was like
so hopeless that that was hurry and then you did that.
Did that all feed? Of course we could get back
because I mean, what if the power of belief can

(50:45):
move mountains. You know what I'm saying, You can attract
how you think, attract the blessings into your life and
and the circumstances that you need to order to get
when you gotta go, if you put your attentions and
I believe that you said so. It was very frustrating.
Their here, I can't so when I even puff, You'll
tell you when when the lawyers and the visional lawyers

(51:05):
we had and he was like, yo, yeah, bad he
got too big in the prison. He's a leader. He's um.
They was lying, said I was a gang leader. Was lying.
He was like, and then you have stabbings or violence.
He was like, you can't get out. I have to.
I have they making me tell you, Corey, And you
know what I'm saying that He's like, I have to
tell you. He's my friend. To keep it real with you.
I cursed him out. He even no. I said, Yo,

(51:27):
my nigga family. You know what I'm saying. You're the
guy that says anything's possible when they hit. Yeah, like
kids stop, won't stop you know what I'm saying. I
had to slap him around a little bit like yo,
and he was like yo, you know, And then I
told him to push. He was like yo, you know what?
You right? He was like you right, we could do
whatever you want, what you want me to do. We're

(51:48):
going to get him back on the square. That's amazing.
Even the government. He was like the sixty late citizens.
I don't know nobody who's getting sixty Like, like, yo,
the best lawyer in the Clutchy's said you can't get out.
Who am I to say? You know what I'm saying,
that's what I do when I got the best bing
cross like this for that one the best lawyers saying it,
I'm not trying to be the one, you know, So

(52:10):
I did that. He got re energized. You had something
just some people here that you had to rehype one
of the biggest hype man in hip hop. Like there's
nobody else that hip Nobody else said because I'm your friend,
I thirteen, I ain't know we can do any This
is what we said when we was little. You know
what I'm saying, that's why we're friends. We're friends because

(52:32):
I'm the guy that could do six tea life sentences
and get out. You're the guy that could go through
everything you went through and still be on talk with
the guys. Like So, if I can't, if I don't
have to win an energy, if I don't have ability
to shrimp so to fight through that sentence, I'm not
even pump Daddy's man. Yeah you know what I'm saying.
Good bore us together for a reason, right. So when

(52:54):
I got on the phone just to explain, you know
why that that philing came over me. It wasn't tears
because I hadn't cried to like after I got home
at twenty something year, twenty five years, I hadn't even cried.
One time. I almost trinkled down my grandma fire, but
I had prepared myself for it, like you know when
I got because she told me it was gonna happen,
that the fire was going out. So it wasn't like

(53:15):
an abrupt thing, right. So when I was on the phone,
and we haven't recorded, you know, I was like excited.
I was. I was, I was hyped, and I felt like, yeah,
oh tell us what we can't do? You so listening
to these people, I told you that they didn't know
what she was talking about. Told you, these cats don't
know what we talk. We could do whatever we would.

(53:37):
That's the energy that I had. That's the energy that
I felt at that moment. You know what I'm saying.
That I kept fighting and I didn't give up and
I got my life back. That's what I felt, you
know what I'm saying. Yeah, And so you take that
energy and a lot of people get out and say,
fucking I did my time. I'm moving on. I mean,
I've heard people say that, Hey, that's I don't they

(54:00):
try to just remove that part of their life. They
don't want to be affiliated with it. They don't want
to associate with it. You come out and say, you
know what, I was blessed, but I'm not gonna forget
about everybody else. So you became co founder of the
Bard Alive Project. I know we're running on time, but
this is so important and I'm positive everybody's gonna listen
to this from beginning to end. Tell us why you

(54:22):
co founded that and what is that movement about? You
here the Bird of Live Project. Yeah, we co founded
that after I got my clemency. You know, my lawyer
Brittany and I was saying, like what could we do?
You know, And I'm gonna be honest with you, like
like I prayed. I said, God, you know my heart right,
if you please give me a second chance. You know
what I'm saying, I'm gonna be the best. I am

(54:44):
gonna say people, I'm gonna come back and bring people
back with me. I'm gonna do X, y Z and
so just the integrity and me, you know, putting those
attentions in the air. I got the blessing, and so
now it's like following it through on the blessing. Right,
So it's like all right, man, Really we was excited,
you know, like what are we gonna do? So we
um said we was gonna co found the Bird Alive project. Right,

(55:06):
I always felt like we was buried alive. Brittany, myself
and Sheranda Jones. Move was our first client. And you know, basically,
you know, um um um, serving people that are buried
alive under these unjust sentences and these drug laws. That's
basically the goal, right and right now, um we're at
sixty lives saved, you know, since I've been home. You know,
what's are very proud that we're going to get a

(55:27):
lot of our men and women. There's a lot of
the real cast that's left in there that could come
out and share these stories that have an impact. You know.
Machine we excited about that, and that was just something
that I felt like was authentic to me. It was
authentic to me. I've always been a giver. I've always
been I felt like that was part of my story,
a part of my journey. If there was one thing
that I can do is a fight for freedom, because

(55:48):
I know what it feels like to be, you know,
have a life sentence over your head and and languish
in the dying in prison. And as many people as
I can help pull out of that so they could
come and be a part of their families lives and
share these stories and show and you know, and show
these people a different way and change the narrative that
this this means the world to me, right, So we
start at that base to bury the Live project. You know,

(56:09):
I'm extremely a proud proud of it, um and I
just you know, and then to get bigger, we just
need to get more resources, more lawyers, and and we
I'm just so thankful for all of the help for
the lawyers, for Brittany and all the different lawyers that
came on board and you know, help fight these cases
and and for free right, you know, for free having

(56:29):
charged not one person ever and my lawyer never charged
anybody to do their case, you know. And people don't
understand that. Cory like to do this work. You have
to talk about consequences of consciousness all the time. And
one of the consequences is you don't make the money
that you would if you just stayed in the private sector.
And you do it. And I'll tell people all the time,
I did well in corporate America this social justice space.

(56:52):
I've lost more than I've gained. There's been some blessings,
but I've lost more than our gain. So I'm I'm
glad you pointed that out. And anybody want to like
actually like check out the story and reading a credible
story of tear jerker, you know, you you go to
like read The Knock at Midnight. That's that's a book
that on my co founder of the Bird of Live
project vote it was, you know, voted the number one
book on Amazon in two thousand twenty, which is amazing.

(57:15):
Um It's up for end double a CP Award, UM
and a whole bunch of other stuff. Right, It's an
amazing book of very well done and and and and
and it shows like the level of fight you know
that that that that this is you know, and and
and inequities and injustice. We need your book next for sure.
So you yeah, you go from getting a life sentence

(57:38):
to the Bearer to Live project to life after life.
That's something you have tag all the time. As we close,
tell the people what life after life means to you
and why you hash tag that phrase so much. You
have on the life after Life shirt. Yea, yea, yes,
we do this interview and it's a part of your
whole swag, your whole you know, your whole being, and

(58:00):
tell the people what that means as we're close. You know,
for once, for everybody who's overcame something and made it
through the other side, something that they probably felt that
was imprisoning them, that they felt like, you know, what's
shackling them down, could be drug a music, could be
whatever it is, and you've made it to the other side.
For me, life after life is I had life and
this is my life after I had life. And I

(58:22):
think it's kind of ironic that Biggie had, you know,
life after death. So this is like an a evolution
of it. Right, life after life is like me always
having an affirmation right to to always be grateful, you know,
for the opportunity to be out here for what the
opportunity of freedom is. Right, So if you have life
after life, is your affirmation every day that I get

(58:42):
up in the morning, every time I eat some food,
you know, I feel blessed right when the sun rises
and I get up and I'm able to work out,
and I'm able to, you know, whatever I'm doing seeing
my kids or travel or go to destinations and in
these various things. You know, I'm living my life after life.
You know, I'm living my life after life. And and
and how I look at it, I lost a lot obviously,

(59:03):
eight years in prison, six years on the run, all
these various things. But what I'm not gonna lose is
not one more moment of of of this existence that
I'm living now, right, so that although I lost that,
I'm gonna milk every single miller second out of the
rest of my life. And this is something I probably
wouldn't have ever done, you know, had I not gone

(59:25):
through this journey, had that type of awareness. So that's
where I hacked the system. I had the system by
appreciating every moment of the day and not taking it
for granted. Yeah, of course you are a gem. I mean,
I mean you really you can touch so many different
I know so many men that got out and complain

(59:46):
about things that and only you can speak to them.
You know, I can only say so much, but I
didn't do time, so only a voice like yours can say, hey, man,
why are you bitching about? You know, you can remember
my friends complaining I gotta get on the bus right,
but in that better than being locked up. And then
when you get a car, you complain about the car
you complain about, Just complain, complain, complaint, And I could

(01:00:07):
only be a support system. But it's only a voice
like yours that can speak to that. You know, it's different.
It is so many you know, they always say that
the closest thing to the solution, that there are the
people closest to the problem. And you were close to
it and you locked in with it, and your voice
is so so so very important. Cory and I just
want to so we let's just start going. It's kind

(01:00:29):
of like transition and living not doing a lot of
this that you know, and these type of things and
these type of talks because I'm so busy living life
and get these ship done. I'm going to get ship done, crue.
You know what I'm saying, Like, I really like I
get ship done. But the story is something that we
shouldn't let go and we should start to like amplify.
And I'm gonna say another thing, like even in the
position that you might look at it, okay, see advisor,

(01:00:51):
the ditty different things, and he'll even tell you like
it's like all the friendship in the world, wouldn't um
wouldn't really matter, wouldn't put you on all these phone
calls os, you know, in all of these meetings and
being able to devise and advising business and personal life.
If I hadn't put the things inside of me that
I can come out of add value, right, you know, say,

(01:01:11):
everybody that's on the call, and you know you're on
a lot of these calls, have to be bringing it
because this is a billion dollar company, right, So I
always knew it was impotant. And I say this to
a lot of people who are in prison or or
whatever they're doing, and they think they don't need to
like elevate themselves or you know, if you you prepare
yourself and put some stuff in your mind, you can
come and bring some added value right out here in

(01:01:31):
society that where as much needed right now. You know,
the perspective due to the fact that I haven't been
here for for the eighteen years, gives me an advantage
because you know what, like I'm not jaded, I'm seeing
things clearly. I'm not overlooking things right, you know what
I'm saying. So sometimes the answer is right in front
of you. But just so in the water of you
know of what's going on. You're following trends, you're doing this.

(01:01:53):
You know, you're not taking risk, you're not doing whatever.
You know, I'm here and I can see things clearly,
like I'm slow down, I see things clearly. I'm not
I'm thinking like a child. You know. My my mind
is like I'm out here in the world and it's
like a child's mind. And there's a lot of advantages
to be having that innocence right now, you know. So
what I really feel like I did. I went in
and I was you know, I was found guilty, but

(01:02:15):
I reclaimed my innocence. Right. I reclaimed my innocence in
every way imaginable. Wow, this is deep. I knew, I
knew I had to have you on. But I'm telling you, brother,
you really went there today. I mean, you really did.
I I certainly want you to come back to talk
about the time on the run. I want to talk
more about the other things that you do to manage

(01:02:36):
man other just so that people can follow you. I mean,
there's so much that we we can talk about it.
When we talked about get ready for this interview, you
were like, where you want to go to is there's
so many different things. And that's what I want people
to see, the multi layers and the different dimensions and
and and how colorful you are, because it really gives
people a snapshot of how many of our brothers are

(01:02:59):
lit up that are not you know, similar to you,
just like you, but so many different can pump you know,
pieces that are similar to you. The scholars and the
entrepreneurs that are locked up. You know, the mental health adviser.
You're talking about mental health, you're talking about scholar, you're
talking about theory, you're talking about really, I mean, you're
breaking it all down and there's just I mean, I

(01:03:23):
just want people to grasp that, and you have really
brought that today, Corey. Before we get out of here,
where can people find you? And is there anything because
I know you work with some artists, I know you
do some other little stuff. Is there anything else that
people should just know that you've got coming out that
you want people to support before we close? Well, you know,
my Instagram is at coreys Jacobs on Instagram. My LinkedIn

(01:03:43):
is Corey Jacobs. I mean, I have so many things
going on. Manage artists, I manage talent, I have different
business ventures. I have a consultant company called Corey Jacobs Consultant.
You know, I found that, you know, a lot of
people reach out to me, you know for a lot
of things. I mean high performing people were companies like
just for the energy, right. But I've noticed a lot

(01:04:04):
of people they could kill it for somebody else, but
would have happened and they're not killing it for their self,
you know what I'm saying. You know, I just think
Jacobs Consultant it's important, agent about life, coach about that.
It's just about adding value, connecting culture with brands. And
I'm I'm definitely a great marketer. I'm a creator and
I'm a great brand person, so you know, I think
I think that's why I had a lot of value.

(01:04:25):
My experience and what I've been through and the times
that we're in. That's what I mean about the coaching
comes into play because I've been down this road, and
I've been down to the road that was way more
like tragic than what's going on now. People can still
go hug their dogs, hug their kids, you know, being
in bed with their wife, although it's hard. I just
tell everybody, like to never give up because I didn't. Yeah,

(01:04:45):
I heard that. I tell you about time. If you
if to if two thousand and twenty, if you're just
now going through something and shock, you ain't never been
through nothing, because you really have to experience what it
means to not have a job or not have money
or try to figure it out every thirty days. That's
what bounces me, you know, just kind of having did
prison time. But two thousand and twenty wasn't my first

(01:05:06):
I know, you know, I know what it means to
live in a pandemic, you know type situation. I thought.
I thought a matter of fact that the pandemic made
me look around like them, what's wrong with me? Because
this is my normal, you know, not having the six
or seven months. Yeah, I love it knocking back the
pandemic that people are hurting. But I also think you
see what a lot of people have made up and

(01:05:28):
test you and sometimes like we need to get tested, right,
you know, we need to get tested. It makes and
it makes us stronger, you know what I'm saying. And
then a lot of people that I've noticed, like they
they've been forced to take meets in life, like to change,
to pivot no occupations, to go out and do that
business that they always wanted to do, but they could
not get out the shackles of corporate America. And you know,

(01:05:49):
I think that I think that for a lot of people,
they're gonna excel. No different than when Puff got fired
from Uptown, right he got fired, which I was there
that day. He got fired, right, and and and and
and he could have like laid down, right, but what
he went and did that was a blessing in the disguise.
It made him greater than he's ever been. So you know,
all the people that's out there that you know that's

(01:06:09):
hurting right now, they don't know what to do. You
know what I'm saying, like, Yo, there's there's some greatness
on the other side, and just look at my journey
and be inspired by that and see that I had
sixteen life sentences that a t is and I made
it out and I in my heart, I feel good,
I feel in shape, I feel amazing, and I'm happy.
That's the that's the key. And I hope folks check

(01:06:32):
out the documentary. Yeah, it's crazy. It's crazy, man, yea.
And because it just reminded me when you said, you know,
and Puff had to tell Biggie we can do this,
you know, and then you ended up having to tell
Puff we can do this. So the energy transfers the
energy man. Yeah, my manage the credible inspiration and he
inspired you know, so many entrepreneurs, you know. You know,

(01:06:54):
I'm proud to be able to say, you know, that's
that's that's that's that's my god, you know. And they
have that type of relations and ship, you know, even
after this. That says a lot about him. Obviously. I
think it's like, you know, stuff that they don't know
how hard he goes, how extra black he is. He's
like black and he's black and he just might look
at it as like you know, obviously the poisona and
things of that nature. But but he goes hard, and

(01:07:16):
I'm saying he goes harder than a lot of people think.
And another thing, he he opening a lot of doors,
you know where we're banging out in these poor roles.
You know, it's stuff that people aren't seeing, you know,
when you're looking for that. You know, that ownership and
that equity and all of the things that are breaking
the ceiling. They don't they don't see that fight and
how that affects the people that's coming after us, because

(01:07:36):
at the end of the day, after this is saved,
it was the spirits industry. You know, if he can't
get a fair deal after having eight to ten years
of success of exponential growth, right, how do you think
other people are gonna come behind him in the spirits
industry and get the proper deals that they deserve, right,
you know what I'm saying. So, so all of these
fight is that's happening, whether it's in fashion, whether it's
in music, whether it's in the spirits, you know, whether

(01:07:58):
it's in media. Would comp asked and you know, trying
to get like you know, a better deals and more
carriage and you know more, you know, getting more households
and not be pigeonholed. Right. You know, people gotta see that,
like the support black owned businesses, whether it's Delhi on
or these things. Don't look at it like that look
at it. I'm supporting this product, this brand. Although there's
some flashiness going on, dudes to living their best life.

(01:08:20):
It helps you to to to contribute and play a
role in this whole push, right because it's gonna just
open more doors. And if we all start thinking about
that and we all start getting closer and unifinding that way,
you know what I'm saying, we'll be a force to
reckon with. Man, you inspired me, Corey. I gotta end
it now. I don't want to end it because I
can go on and on, but you are on the opeome.

(01:08:45):
I just want you to know you are at the
epitome of hip hop. When we say hip hop the culture,
you know, like what what it means to be street
and norm where you come from and not losing that
that that balance and that foundation which a lot of
people in hip hop have. Understanding your past, but more importantly,
understanding your future. You know it was all a dream.

(01:09:05):
You are true and I want you to know that
and I'm blessed by you brother. Today for real, I'm
looking at people don't know. I'm looking at my producers.
She's all emotional. I can tell what she gets, you know,
moved by certain things. And I'm telling you you are
a blessing in the gym and anything I can do.
I'm not puff. He got way more resource than me.
But anything that I can do to to keep pushing

(01:09:26):
the line. I want to thank you for being a
comrade with me in the Just keep going. Let's keep
going because there's any opportunities and things that I can
share the story, I'm more open to it now. I'm
just I feel great. I'm fully transitions. All my business
situations has lined up. I have more space, you know,
to do a little more, have a more conversation to

(01:09:48):
impact people. And another thing, support the Buried Alive project,
you know what I'm saying, you know, support the people
that got their head down. That's not just talking, but
doing the work right, you know what I'm saying. And
fighting for these cases, fighting for all people and fighting
for our people obviously takes resources and resources. It's just money.
It's people's time and and we're here putting in the

(01:10:10):
time and come on and get with us and for
some time and with us, you know, for a good cause. Absolutely,
and I will certainly continue to do what I can
support you on social media, always available to you. Thank
you again for helping me what I call push the
line politics until something happens to bring that same energy
to politics to say that we can do this ship.
We can control our narrative, we can have influence with

(01:10:31):
the black vote, we can know our influence in the community,
and we can demand that we get something as a result.
And that's the type of energy that you bring, not
just in this interview, but in the boardroom meetings. And
because just to be clear, we would never be from
with each other. We were always wanting to push betterment
for our people. How do we make sure that black
voices are heard? And so I am grateful again to

(01:10:53):
you and your energy and everything you bring. My friend.
Thank you for being a blessing. I mean really just
thank you for being but your life is a blessing.
I hope to see your book one day. Let's get it.
We're gonna now, we're gonna, We're gonna get all of that.
And I appreciate you for being like one of the
like few voices like yo. When I hear your voice,
I don't hear no other person like you. That's a guarantee.

(01:11:16):
Fat Are there other people that have an impact or
speaking the truth, that come up with some real talk
as far as for what they know, But there's nobody
like you. Oh man, I appreciate that. I don't hope
you mind me sharing when we talk. You said something
first time we talked, and it really hit me here
and you said, I don't really talk like this to everybody,
as you said, this is wow, I'm telling you everything.

(01:11:38):
I don't really do that, and I remember, I don't
know if you remember, but I told you. I said,
that's because Corey, this is probably the first time you
really felt heard. And he was like, wow, that's deep.
And so I try to be I just want to
do guys will and I think it's important you know
that people know that they can be heard, not just
listen to, but your story being heard. And that's why

(01:12:00):
this podcast is so important. Shout after Charlemagne and God
forgiving me an opportunity because your stories are so impactful.
You know and people need to hear that. Brother, So
I thank you for allowing me a chance to listen
and more importantly share, this is just a blessing. You're
just a blessing. Like look, yeah, just like that. It's

(01:12:24):
just too real. I gotta I gotta drink. I don't
know what this could happen again, you know what I'm saying. Yeah,
it's a blessing. It's just energy. We got the same coffee, bug,
we got the same same coffee. But that that's just though.
Your energy I appreciate, and it just affirms to me

(01:12:45):
why I've been called for this space, because I didn't
choose it. It wasn't a career, you know, I didn't
grow up in this space. I didn't it truly, it
was a calling. And Charlemagne calls me the hood whisper,
and that's what that means, being able to you know
here what maybe other people can't hear, and and hopefully
open up that door so that they can hear your
story and know the value that you bring. So, brother, again,

(01:13:07):
thank you those who are listening. Again, please follow Corey
Jacobs on Instagram and all of its social media, but
more importantly, also follow the varied a live project. Do
what you can do, donate, follow, share, share the stories.
Even if you're not doing anything but sharing it reposting
it on your Instagram, are just you know, trying to
get the message out. That really doesn't matter. When I

(01:13:27):
say push the line, we all push the line in
our own way. Push the line politics until something happens.
You do have a role. Never ever give up. Like
our brother Corey said today, know that there is always
a light at the end of the tunnel. And Corey
said that even if you can't see the tunnel, build
that bitch, We're gonna end it on that. We're gonna
end it on that. Thank you so much, Corey for

(01:13:48):
joining us. Corey Jacobs, y'all love all of If you
like what you heard on Straight Shot No Chaser, please
subscribe and drop a five star review and tell a France.
Straight Shot No Chaser is a production of The Black
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Tezlyn Figaro

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