Rapper Bobby Shmurda has been in prison since December 2014 after failing to post $2 million bail on multiple drug and gun charges. LA Reid, who is the CEO of Epic records where Bobby was signed to before his travails, explains why they haven't bailed out their artist.
Asked about criticism for leaving Bobby locked up LA Reid tells Rap Radar,
“…It’s not the industry that it once was. We seriously don’t make the money we used to make. That’s a fact of life, right? “Bobby Shmurda is not the same as Snoop Dogg and Murder Was The Case, who’s coming off The Chronic and his first album. It’s a different era, ya know? And, we’re a publicly held corporation. We just aren’t in the same position we were in back in those days. So, it’s a different day.”
The ‘Shmoney dance’ rapper got his girlfriend to bring a knife to him in prison, where he awaits trial on gang charges, prosecutors say
Shmurda – real name Ackquille Pollard – pleaded not guilty to felony and misdemeanour charges of promoting prison contraband, perjury and criminal possession of a weapon, according to the Bronx district attorney’s office, the New York Times reports.
Prison guards allegedly caught his 18-year-old girlfriend Kimberly Rousseau pulling a “sharp metal object” from her bra to hand to Shmurda during a visit last month. Prosecutors say he then lied about the incident during a grand jury hearing. Rousseau had also pleased not guilty to promoting prison contraband.
Shmurda faces seven years in prison if convicted. His next hearing is due in October. If convicted on the earlier charges – prosecutors claim he ran a drugs gang that stretched the length of the east coast – he could face a 25-year sentence.
