Taxstone's Murder Trial: Verdict Found Guilty
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SeaSnake
OG
DOS_patos
Unverified Legion of Trill member
I’m still trying to figure out what he did to be so hated.
If Daryl Campbell, better known as Taxstone, wasn’t in jail, he’d probably be a top contender in our Hip-Hop Media Power Ranking list. Campbell was one of the first to present off-the-cuff commentary on life, hip-hop, and hot topics with his Tax Season podcast that launched in 2015 as part of the Loud Speakers Network, a platform founded by the late Reggie Osse, better known as Combat Jack, and Chris Morrow.
Taxstone cut through with his gravelly voice, direct yet funny opinions, and outside-of-the-industry perspective that many could relate to—along with his signature catchphrases like “Be Safe Tho” and “Beloved” that peppered his podcast and Tweets. At one point his podcast was receiving up to 300,000 listeners a week and he was starting to draw in guests like Meek Mill, The Lox, and Lil Uzi Vert until everything came to a screeching halt.
On May 25, 2016, a shooting at a T.I. concert, which took place at Irving Plaza, left three wounded and Ronald “Banga” McPhatter, rapper Troy Ave’s security guard, dead. Shortly after the shooting Troy Ave was arrested and charged with attempted murder and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon. Weeks later he was released on $500,000 bond, and Taxstone was then arrested and charged with the murder of McPhatter, which he has pleaded not guilty to, and two federal weapons charges, which he has pleaded guilty to. He’s been in jail on Rikers Island for the last five years awaiting his trial, which recently ended on March 23, 2023. He was found guilty of manslaughter in the first degree, but not guilty of murder and attempted murder. He will be sentenced on April 19th.
The trial, and the incidents leading up to it, spoke to many things, but it emphasized how the hip-hop media landscape has shifted and certain personalities, not just legacy platforms, started to become highly influential. Being cosigned by Taxstone was a stamp of authenticity that artists wanted.
Right before the trial started, we caught up with Taxstone, who was in good spirits.
“Mentally, I stay sharp and I stay on point because Rikers is a jungle. It’s probably one of the most unsafe places to be. And I’m from East New York, Brooklyn, and it’s like the wild, wild West. Being able to survive there, I feel like Rikers Island is like a cake walk. But it becomes a mental drag,” says Taxstone over the phone.
Despite being in jail, he’s well aware of everything that’s happening in the world, including the podcast space. He says he regularly listens to Gillie and Wallo’s Million Dollaz Worth of Game, and he’s heard what Noreaga has said about him, Combat Jack, and his IP on Joe Budden’s podcast.
“I didn’t really address it because that shit is not even true,” says Taxstone. “Like if you really do your due diligence to look at the Tax Season podcast, I didn’t post videos on YouTube. And that was intentional because I wasn’t getting paid from it.”
Here, we speak to Taxstone about the state of hip-hop media, podcasts specifically, his case, the importance of prison reform, and if he would return to podcasting once he comes home.
Taxstone cut through with his gravelly voice, direct yet funny opinions, and outside-of-the-industry perspective that many could relate to—along with his signature catchphrases like “Be Safe Tho” and “Beloved” that peppered his podcast and Tweets. At one point his podcast was receiving up to 300,000 listeners a week and he was starting to draw in guests like Meek Mill, The Lox, and Lil Uzi Vert until everything came to a screeching halt.
On May 25, 2016, a shooting at a T.I. concert, which took place at Irving Plaza, left three wounded and Ronald “Banga” McPhatter, rapper Troy Ave’s security guard, dead. Shortly after the shooting Troy Ave was arrested and charged with attempted murder and two counts of criminal possession of a weapon. Weeks later he was released on $500,000 bond, and Taxstone was then arrested and charged with the murder of McPhatter, which he has pleaded not guilty to, and two federal weapons charges, which he has pleaded guilty to. He’s been in jail on Rikers Island for the last five years awaiting his trial, which recently ended on March 23, 2023. He was found guilty of manslaughter in the first degree, but not guilty of murder and attempted murder. He will be sentenced on April 19th.
The trial, and the incidents leading up to it, spoke to many things, but it emphasized how the hip-hop media landscape has shifted and certain personalities, not just legacy platforms, started to become highly influential. Being cosigned by Taxstone was a stamp of authenticity that artists wanted.
Right before the trial started, we caught up with Taxstone, who was in good spirits.
“Mentally, I stay sharp and I stay on point because Rikers is a jungle. It’s probably one of the most unsafe places to be. And I’m from East New York, Brooklyn, and it’s like the wild, wild West. Being able to survive there, I feel like Rikers Island is like a cake walk. But it becomes a mental drag,” says Taxstone over the phone.
Despite being in jail, he’s well aware of everything that’s happening in the world, including the podcast space. He says he regularly listens to Gillie and Wallo’s Million Dollaz Worth of Game, and he’s heard what Noreaga has said about him, Combat Jack, and his IP on Joe Budden’s podcast.
“I didn’t really address it because that shit is not even true,” says Taxstone. “Like if you really do your due diligence to look at the Tax Season podcast, I didn’t post videos on YouTube. And that was intentional because I wasn’t getting paid from it.”
Here, we speak to Taxstone about the state of hip-hop media, podcasts specifically, his case, the importance of prison reform, and if he would return to podcasting once he comes home.
What’s your media diet currently? Are you listening to podcasts and keeping up with what’s going on?
Yeah, I still listen to Million Dollaz Worth of Game. I still listen to Breakfast Club. I’m very much into pop music right now.
Oh, really?
Yeah, so I like a lot of Dua Lipa. I like Harry Styles.
OK. Did you think he deserved that Grammy, though?
No. Not at all. Lovely song though.
What do you think of the current voices and personalities within hip-hop media?
I like where the genre is going in that people are able to be compensated more in their careers. Back when Combat Jack, Charlamagne and Kid Fury helped put me on, they were the only guys that were really monetizing from it and getting ad money and stuff like that. The genre has grown so much stronger, you know, because of guys like Chris Morrow who pushed podcasts to all these corporate companies to help them recognize that long-form podcasts could be profitable. So I like that part of it. I think that some people should not speak, but that’s just an opinion. I think some people can’t speak. I think some people might be trying to infiltrate intelligence to the masses and they are actually not smart.
Why do you think certain people shouldn’t speak? Because they’re not educated enough to speak on the topics?
No, not even that they’re not educated on certain things. Let me give Nore for instance. Nore’s Drink Champs is a legendary podcast. I still like it. I have my little issues with Nore, but I don’t hold on to shit too long like other people do. But I still enjoy his podcast because I like hip-hop and I like rap legends. But I don’t like when a person tries to act like they’re intelligent and they know what they’re doing all the time and somebody that tries to act like they’re supportive of the culture. Like if I was to interview Kanye West, once I seen that Kanye was saying everything that would destroy him, I would’ve never put it out. Yes, it would’ve helped my numbers. Everybody wants to see people say the most controversial things, but you gotta understand the impact of certain things being said. And I felt like that was like a real help to disrupt Kanye. You didn’t help him by putting that out. If you listen to what he said, you knew the words he was saying…We’re in a cultural setting where we know that there’s certain things that are highly sensitive. You can’t be sexist. You can’t be racist. You can’t be anti-Semitic. There’s certain groups of people who we know have more strength than others. And when you say certain things that could shake up the world. Some of those things that he said, it was offensive. Some of it wasn’t true. And some of it was maybe intentional, but a lot of it was out of him being a little off his rocker. So when you see that your brother is in that type of state and Kanye West has such a humongous cultural impact in the world and coming from the hip-hop world, he’s one of our top representatives. I felt like that should have been a moment where Kanye had got protected and it was like, “Yo, it’s my brother. I’m scrapping his whole interview.” And Kanye might have been mad at him for doing it and might have did it on somebody else’s platform, but that’s what you let him do. That’s what those white platforms are for. You don’t allow our culture to bring down our culture. We are here to uplift and to progress.
Yeah, I still listen to Million Dollaz Worth of Game. I still listen to Breakfast Club. I’m very much into pop music right now.
Oh, really?
Yeah, so I like a lot of Dua Lipa. I like Harry Styles.
OK. Did you think he deserved that Grammy, though?
No. Not at all. Lovely song though.
What do you think of the current voices and personalities within hip-hop media?
I like where the genre is going in that people are able to be compensated more in their careers. Back when Combat Jack, Charlamagne and Kid Fury helped put me on, they were the only guys that were really monetizing from it and getting ad money and stuff like that. The genre has grown so much stronger, you know, because of guys like Chris Morrow who pushed podcasts to all these corporate companies to help them recognize that long-form podcasts could be profitable. So I like that part of it. I think that some people should not speak, but that’s just an opinion. I think some people can’t speak. I think some people might be trying to infiltrate intelligence to the masses and they are actually not smart.
Why do you think certain people shouldn’t speak? Because they’re not educated enough to speak on the topics?
No, not even that they’re not educated on certain things. Let me give Nore for instance. Nore’s Drink Champs is a legendary podcast. I still like it. I have my little issues with Nore, but I don’t hold on to shit too long like other people do. But I still enjoy his podcast because I like hip-hop and I like rap legends. But I don’t like when a person tries to act like they’re intelligent and they know what they’re doing all the time and somebody that tries to act like they’re supportive of the culture. Like if I was to interview Kanye West, once I seen that Kanye was saying everything that would destroy him, I would’ve never put it out. Yes, it would’ve helped my numbers. Everybody wants to see people say the most controversial things, but you gotta understand the impact of certain things being said. And I felt like that was like a real help to disrupt Kanye. You didn’t help him by putting that out. If you listen to what he said, you knew the words he was saying…We’re in a cultural setting where we know that there’s certain things that are highly sensitive. You can’t be sexist. You can’t be racist. You can’t be anti-Semitic. There’s certain groups of people who we know have more strength than others. And when you say certain things that could shake up the world. Some of those things that he said, it was offensive. Some of it wasn’t true. And some of it was maybe intentional, but a lot of it was out of him being a little off his rocker. So when you see that your brother is in that type of state and Kanye West has such a humongous cultural impact in the world and coming from the hip-hop world, he’s one of our top representatives. I felt like that should have been a moment where Kanye had got protected and it was like, “Yo, it’s my brother. I’m scrapping his whole interview.” And Kanye might have been mad at him for doing it and might have did it on somebody else’s platform, but that’s what you let him do. That’s what those white platforms are for. You don’t allow our culture to bring down our culture. We are here to uplift and to progress.
Speaking of Nore, so I’m sure you heard he mentioned your name on Joe Budden’s podcast. He alleged something about intellectual property and that he’s getting paid on YouTube and you weren’t under your deal with Combat Jack.
Yeah. I heard about it. I didn’t really address it because that shit is not even true. Like if you really do your due diligence to look at the Tax Season podcast, I didn’t post videos on YouTube. And that was intentional because I wasn’t getting paid from it. So if you really see my podcast, it’s only clips of them. It’s only one full interview of Tax Season ever on video. And that’s the Meek Mill interview I did in Atlanta. So that’s false because I didn’t even post videos on YouTube of my podcast. I actually have all of my videos on my hard drive because I knew that that was a different form of revenue that I could get. But as far as getting paid and stuff, yeah. Combat got us ads. That’s how we got paid in the beginning. That was the very beginning of podcasts. You know how hard it was to even get a company to believe to put an ad [on the podcast]. But they seen these podcasts is doing 300,000 a week. And that’s when we started selling products like Casper mattresses and Bevel blades. And they seen the products really moving, and they was like, “Yo, this is another place to promote and advertise.”
I actually introduced Nore to a lot of those ads and he got in touch with them through me. So a lot of the things he says is out of frustration. You know how somebody get caught doing something wrong? Then they don’t know how to just say, “Yo, I’m sorry I did something wrong.” So now they gotta lash out ‘cause the other person is mad at what they did. And they got a right to. So it’s like with him, he’s dealing with an ego. It’s a lot of 50-year-olds that still got 17-year-old mentalities, and he’s one of them. He got like the brain of an infant. I’m happy that he has his IP and he got all his business straight because that’s what this is about. It’s about feeding your family and pushing the culture forward. But it becomes a clown show when you see stuff like, “Oh, I’m happy that all the rappers didn’t succeed.”
It’s like, wow. Why are you happy that somebody didn’t succeed? Like why would that be a part of your agenda? This is your agenda and happiness? Like when you go to sleep at night, you speak to God or whoever you speak to and say, “Yo, I want happiness. I want help for my family, you know, wealth and I want to make sure that nobody else survives in this genre?” That just seems like one of the weirdest parts to be happy for. I have such strong opinions that I deal with people that try to use my strong opinions and turn them into something else. Like the notion, oh yeah, I’m a hater. No. I’m not a hater. I tell the truth. And the truth is an uncomfortable place for these people to live in. So a lie is like the best pillow on earth for these people. And it’s like when I say my truth, they get so mad ‘cause they don’t move me. It’s like I understand what’s going on. You’re not gonna insult my intelligence. What’s the point of enlightening yourself and trying to be smart if you could easily be manipulated? These guys are manipulators and they’re not even good at manipulating. It’s all see-through. It’s all transparent.
Yeah. I heard about it. I didn’t really address it because that shit is not even true. Like if you really do your due diligence to look at the Tax Season podcast, I didn’t post videos on YouTube. And that was intentional because I wasn’t getting paid from it. So if you really see my podcast, it’s only clips of them. It’s only one full interview of Tax Season ever on video. And that’s the Meek Mill interview I did in Atlanta. So that’s false because I didn’t even post videos on YouTube of my podcast. I actually have all of my videos on my hard drive because I knew that that was a different form of revenue that I could get. But as far as getting paid and stuff, yeah. Combat got us ads. That’s how we got paid in the beginning. That was the very beginning of podcasts. You know how hard it was to even get a company to believe to put an ad [on the podcast]. But they seen these podcasts is doing 300,000 a week. And that’s when we started selling products like Casper mattresses and Bevel blades. And they seen the products really moving, and they was like, “Yo, this is another place to promote and advertise.”
I actually introduced Nore to a lot of those ads and he got in touch with them through me. So a lot of the things he says is out of frustration. You know how somebody get caught doing something wrong? Then they don’t know how to just say, “Yo, I’m sorry I did something wrong.” So now they gotta lash out ‘cause the other person is mad at what they did. And they got a right to. So it’s like with him, he’s dealing with an ego. It’s a lot of 50-year-olds that still got 17-year-old mentalities, and he’s one of them. He got like the brain of an infant. I’m happy that he has his IP and he got all his business straight because that’s what this is about. It’s about feeding your family and pushing the culture forward. But it becomes a clown show when you see stuff like, “Oh, I’m happy that all the rappers didn’t succeed.”
It’s like, wow. Why are you happy that somebody didn’t succeed? Like why would that be a part of your agenda? This is your agenda and happiness? Like when you go to sleep at night, you speak to God or whoever you speak to and say, “Yo, I want happiness. I want help for my family, you know, wealth and I want to make sure that nobody else survives in this genre?” That just seems like one of the weirdest parts to be happy for. I have such strong opinions that I deal with people that try to use my strong opinions and turn them into something else. Like the notion, oh yeah, I’m a hater. No. I’m not a hater. I tell the truth. And the truth is an uncomfortable place for these people to live in. So a lie is like the best pillow on earth for these people. And it’s like when I say my truth, they get so mad ‘cause they don’t move me. It’s like I understand what’s going on. You’re not gonna insult my intelligence. What’s the point of enlightening yourself and trying to be smart if you could easily be manipulated? These guys are manipulators and they’re not even good at manipulating. It’s all see-through. It’s all transparent.
Did you have any deals on the table before you went away?
Yeah, I had a lot of shit on the table. Like a lot. Well, you know, if you listen to Drink Champs, you’ll hear Nore talking about deals that I had. I never spoke about my deals. I’m not into that part. I’m into the art. This new thing where everybody wants to be like they’re the best business person and they’re lying anyway. So you know, it’s cute. Like on Instagram everybody is like the CEO of such and such. But it’s like, yo bro, you the only person that work there. Like of course you the CEO.
So this whole thing like where everybody gotta have the LLC and I got my ownership and it’s like, yo, that is always great if you made a great negotiation. That’s what contracts are for. See Nore doesn’t like Combat Jack because he said Combat Jack jerked him or something like that. But he didn’t jerk him. He gave him a standard contract like most people get when they are new artists. So, you know, Combat was an entertainment attorney. So he always says stuff about the deal. But no, what happened was you were a kid when you signed a record deal. You can hardly read things ‘cause you read with your finger. We see it right on your show. So you signed a bad deal back then, or a deal you thought you maybe should have gotten more from, and now you don’t like the guy. But it’s like, yo, it’s cool that you finally figured it out. It took you about 30 more years. I didn’t sign anything bad. Everybody paid me like I wasn’t a podcaster for free. I came from the streets. And I came straight into a genre where I was like, I’m going to change my life forever. I knew I had a voice. I knew I had a strong opinion and I knew that I had vast knowledge on a vast amount of subjects. Tax Season was in the comedic section. Tax Season wasn’t in the hip-hop section.
Do you think the landscape would be different if you were out and able to consistently podcast? Do you even think about that?
Oh yeah. I think about it sometimes. ‘Cause I know I would’ve been big already. But big wasn’t really it for me. I just wanted to talk and put out good content. If you listen to my show, I’m having fun. I do episodes where I’m not interviewing any artists. It was never based around interviewing artists. It was based around pushing the culture forward. Whether it be events that we all like to attend. Whether it be a dope music executive just busting moves. Whether it be somebody new, up and coming. If you look at my show, you’ll see people that were on it are everywhere now. I was supporting Drink Champs when Nore wasn’t around. I had Drink Champs shirts on in pictures when Nore was nowhere around. I had no problem with promoting other shows. Even if you look at Baroline [Diaz] that just got her situation. She was always around me working with me. I had her on the show. There’s so many people that came through just on some like, “Yo, you dope and you like to work, let’s go.” You don’t need nothing else. I was not the person that was like, you couldn’t come in the room unless you got 16 chains on and stuff like that. A lot of these people that was around didn’t even have $2 for Chinese food. So to see these certain behaviors, I’m like, wow, this is crazy. Like, to become these bourgeois podcasters now? I never shitted on other people’s podcasts. I always promoted people’s shit. I didn’t even care.
Yeah, I had a lot of shit on the table. Like a lot. Well, you know, if you listen to Drink Champs, you’ll hear Nore talking about deals that I had. I never spoke about my deals. I’m not into that part. I’m into the art. This new thing where everybody wants to be like they’re the best business person and they’re lying anyway. So you know, it’s cute. Like on Instagram everybody is like the CEO of such and such. But it’s like, yo bro, you the only person that work there. Like of course you the CEO.
So this whole thing like where everybody gotta have the LLC and I got my ownership and it’s like, yo, that is always great if you made a great negotiation. That’s what contracts are for. See Nore doesn’t like Combat Jack because he said Combat Jack jerked him or something like that. But he didn’t jerk him. He gave him a standard contract like most people get when they are new artists. So, you know, Combat was an entertainment attorney. So he always says stuff about the deal. But no, what happened was you were a kid when you signed a record deal. You can hardly read things ‘cause you read with your finger. We see it right on your show. So you signed a bad deal back then, or a deal you thought you maybe should have gotten more from, and now you don’t like the guy. But it’s like, yo, it’s cool that you finally figured it out. It took you about 30 more years. I didn’t sign anything bad. Everybody paid me like I wasn’t a podcaster for free. I came from the streets. And I came straight into a genre where I was like, I’m going to change my life forever. I knew I had a voice. I knew I had a strong opinion and I knew that I had vast knowledge on a vast amount of subjects. Tax Season was in the comedic section. Tax Season wasn’t in the hip-hop section.
Do you think the landscape would be different if you were out and able to consistently podcast? Do you even think about that?
Oh yeah. I think about it sometimes. ‘Cause I know I would’ve been big already. But big wasn’t really it for me. I just wanted to talk and put out good content. If you listen to my show, I’m having fun. I do episodes where I’m not interviewing any artists. It was never based around interviewing artists. It was based around pushing the culture forward. Whether it be events that we all like to attend. Whether it be a dope music executive just busting moves. Whether it be somebody new, up and coming. If you look at my show, you’ll see people that were on it are everywhere now. I was supporting Drink Champs when Nore wasn’t around. I had Drink Champs shirts on in pictures when Nore was nowhere around. I had no problem with promoting other shows. Even if you look at Baroline [Diaz] that just got her situation. She was always around me working with me. I had her on the show. There’s so many people that came through just on some like, “Yo, you dope and you like to work, let’s go.” You don’t need nothing else. I was not the person that was like, you couldn’t come in the room unless you got 16 chains on and stuff like that. A lot of these people that was around didn’t even have $2 for Chinese food. So to see these certain behaviors, I’m like, wow, this is crazy. Like, to become these bourgeois podcasters now? I never shitted on other people’s podcasts. I always promoted people’s shit. I didn’t even care.
Where are you with Joe Budden? What have you thought about his rise, and Rory and Mal leaving?
I think Rory and Mal finally figured out that Joe was a master manipulator. They was suffering from Stockholm Syndrome and Joe manipulates everybody around him. Even them dudes sitting with him now are being manipulated. But you gotta understand some people are alright with manipulation as long as they get something out of it. So I think them dudes know that. But I think they just cool with the situation. Sometimes people don’t got nothing going on in their life. They need to be a part of something. I’m not one of those people. I always tell people if everybody jump on that ship, it’s gonna sink. So I’m always the person that’s like, I’m gonna stay with the land. When y’all get over there y’all write me and tell me what happened. I don’t jump on ships. I’m like a home ranger. I’m not the person that’s trying to be cool with artists so I can try to get an interview. If I genuinely like your music, I could pull up to you and tell you. I’ll ask to interview you or you’ll hit me up and vice versa. There’s many people that ask me to interview them and I wouldn’t. And a lot of those people are the people that’s talking about me now. I got the emails. So, I’m like, oh, you ain’t write this email to me? Oh, now I’m missing on that. I’m like, that’s crazy. Why you want to talk to me before then? So now that I don’t have the platform that I had before, it’s like, “Oh, yeah. When I wanted to get on your platform…” Get on the platform and talk about what? You have people who want to be on podcasts and talk about nothing. And that’s an issue. If you have nothing going on, why do you want to be on a podcast? It’s fools like the people who interview Troy Ave. They interview him ‘cause they know he’s gonna talk about me. He has nothing going on. This dude gets on there and puts a mirror up and describes what he has on. He’s gonna tell you, “I’m the cutest guy. I’m the realest guy. I’m the strongest guy. I’m so loyal. I’m so this.” He gives his job résumé every podcast and then talks about me. I don’t even understand what’s going on no more. And it’s sad that people are so easily manipulated by the poppycock.
Because you know, a lie told 1,000 times becomes the truth. But it only becomes the truth to whoever wanna believe it. So it’s like the podcast game when I see what was going on. Like with Nore. He was on my podcast. And then for maybe two, three months straight, we was on the phone every day, six in the morning, five in the morning, two in the morning, putting together the ideas for Drink Champs. Talking to the lawyers. Everything. Getting things done for him. So for you to put somebody on your podcast that’s insinuating that I killed somebody so they could be free from the crimes that they were arrested for. That’s fucked up. I would never do nothing like that. I would never give nobody a platform to make an accusation like that. I was thrown for a loop. At first just summed it up to Nore’s looking for numbers. He don’t care. Like, he’ll sacrifice anything. That’s why when what happened with Kanye, there was no shock.
I think Rory and Mal finally figured out that Joe was a master manipulator. They was suffering from Stockholm Syndrome and Joe manipulates everybody around him. Even them dudes sitting with him now are being manipulated. But you gotta understand some people are alright with manipulation as long as they get something out of it. So I think them dudes know that. But I think they just cool with the situation. Sometimes people don’t got nothing going on in their life. They need to be a part of something. I’m not one of those people. I always tell people if everybody jump on that ship, it’s gonna sink. So I’m always the person that’s like, I’m gonna stay with the land. When y’all get over there y’all write me and tell me what happened. I don’t jump on ships. I’m like a home ranger. I’m not the person that’s trying to be cool with artists so I can try to get an interview. If I genuinely like your music, I could pull up to you and tell you. I’ll ask to interview you or you’ll hit me up and vice versa. There’s many people that ask me to interview them and I wouldn’t. And a lot of those people are the people that’s talking about me now. I got the emails. So, I’m like, oh, you ain’t write this email to me? Oh, now I’m missing on that. I’m like, that’s crazy. Why you want to talk to me before then? So now that I don’t have the platform that I had before, it’s like, “Oh, yeah. When I wanted to get on your platform…” Get on the platform and talk about what? You have people who want to be on podcasts and talk about nothing. And that’s an issue. If you have nothing going on, why do you want to be on a podcast? It’s fools like the people who interview Troy Ave. They interview him ‘cause they know he’s gonna talk about me. He has nothing going on. This dude gets on there and puts a mirror up and describes what he has on. He’s gonna tell you, “I’m the cutest guy. I’m the realest guy. I’m the strongest guy. I’m so loyal. I’m so this.” He gives his job résumé every podcast and then talks about me. I don’t even understand what’s going on no more. And it’s sad that people are so easily manipulated by the poppycock.
Because you know, a lie told 1,000 times becomes the truth. But it only becomes the truth to whoever wanna believe it. So it’s like the podcast game when I see what was going on. Like with Nore. He was on my podcast. And then for maybe two, three months straight, we was on the phone every day, six in the morning, five in the morning, two in the morning, putting together the ideas for Drink Champs. Talking to the lawyers. Everything. Getting things done for him. So for you to put somebody on your podcast that’s insinuating that I killed somebody so they could be free from the crimes that they were arrested for. That’s fucked up. I would never do nothing like that. I would never give nobody a platform to make an accusation like that. I was thrown for a loop. At first just summed it up to Nore’s looking for numbers. He don’t care. Like, he’ll sacrifice anything. That’s why when what happened with Kanye, there was no shock.
How are you feeling about everything with your trial? When does it start?
Jury selection starts next week. I feel strong about the outcome. I feel like when people really see the evidence and all the things that people did in the case to try to thwart the attention towards me. But, you know, it doesn’t even make sense. And in certain contexts, like you’ve never seen somebody get into a serious incident of this effect and lose every single one of their friends after. Why did every single friend that you came with that night not deal with you no more? Why do you keep trying to spin the narrative that they didn’t help you and that was the reason that they’re not your friends anymore? Half the people that didn’t help you was not even in the room. So how could they help you? If you are on the outside of the room and you hear a gunshot, you don’t know who’s shooting. So you run. Isn’t that the procedure when a gun is going off? So when you try to make the narrative that, “Oh, this is why this, that, and the third.” It’s just so silly. None of it makes sense. If you really piece everything together, it doesn’t make sense. It don’t make sense. Even his own family will tell you, the family of the deceased, that he didn’t want to bail the dude out of jail. And then he gets out of jail. He wasn’t even hanging with him, but you’re going off the narrative that this was your best friend. It does not make sense. None of it makes sense.
Why would every one of your friends stop dealing with you directly after an incident of that effect? Why? You can’t explain that. And it’s like everybody would stick together at that tragic moment. Why did all your friends stop dealing with you? It doesn’t make sense. You trying to hide something. The issue here is that you got the government using a witness for the sake of just winning a case. When you are able to just sign a cooperation agreement and say, “Yo, I’m gonna tell you this. Whatever y’all want to hear to fit y’all narrative so I could be free from the crime.” You gotta understand something. My DNA is on the gun. Troy’s DNA is on the gun. The deceased’s DNA is on the gun. Then other unidentified DNA is on the gun. So when this guy says stuff like, “Oh, his DNA is on the gun.” It’s like, this guy’s crazy right here. Like yours is too. You also got caught with it and you also got caught with two other weapons and you’re on camera shooting. But I’m in jail.
Jury selection starts next week. I feel strong about the outcome. I feel like when people really see the evidence and all the things that people did in the case to try to thwart the attention towards me. But, you know, it doesn’t even make sense. And in certain contexts, like you’ve never seen somebody get into a serious incident of this effect and lose every single one of their friends after. Why did every single friend that you came with that night not deal with you no more? Why do you keep trying to spin the narrative that they didn’t help you and that was the reason that they’re not your friends anymore? Half the people that didn’t help you was not even in the room. So how could they help you? If you are on the outside of the room and you hear a gunshot, you don’t know who’s shooting. So you run. Isn’t that the procedure when a gun is going off? So when you try to make the narrative that, “Oh, this is why this, that, and the third.” It’s just so silly. None of it makes sense. If you really piece everything together, it doesn’t make sense. It don’t make sense. Even his own family will tell you, the family of the deceased, that he didn’t want to bail the dude out of jail. And then he gets out of jail. He wasn’t even hanging with him, but you’re going off the narrative that this was your best friend. It does not make sense. None of it makes sense.
Why would every one of your friends stop dealing with you directly after an incident of that effect? Why? You can’t explain that. And it’s like everybody would stick together at that tragic moment. Why did all your friends stop dealing with you? It doesn’t make sense. You trying to hide something. The issue here is that you got the government using a witness for the sake of just winning a case. When you are able to just sign a cooperation agreement and say, “Yo, I’m gonna tell you this. Whatever y’all want to hear to fit y’all narrative so I could be free from the crime.” You gotta understand something. My DNA is on the gun. Troy’s DNA is on the gun. The deceased’s DNA is on the gun. Then other unidentified DNA is on the gun. So when this guy says stuff like, “Oh, his DNA is on the gun.” It’s like, this guy’s crazy right here. Like yours is too. You also got caught with it and you also got caught with two other weapons and you’re on camera shooting. But I’m in jail.
So jury selection will start but do you know when the trial will actually start?
The trial should probably start around the 20th February. Jury selection has been hard. Trying to pick these jurors. So many people don’t do jury duty. That’s another thing that needs to happen. In the Black community, a lot of people speak on justice reform and criminal justice reform and prison reform. But a big part of reform is that we need Black people to participate in jury duty. Because if you have a 15-year-old son who just got in trouble for the first time and now he’s being judged by a bunch of 85-year-olds that aren’t of his culture, they don’t understand. This is how a lot of times people get locked up. They don’t have the full support of their community and you aren’t really being judged by a jury of your peers.
The trial should probably start around the 20th February. Jury selection has been hard. Trying to pick these jurors. So many people don’t do jury duty. That’s another thing that needs to happen. In the Black community, a lot of people speak on justice reform and criminal justice reform and prison reform. But a big part of reform is that we need Black people to participate in jury duty. Because if you have a 15-year-old son who just got in trouble for the first time and now he’s being judged by a bunch of 85-year-olds that aren’t of his culture, they don’t understand. This is how a lot of times people get locked up. They don’t have the full support of their community and you aren’t really being judged by a jury of your peers.
Yeah, it’s true. Most people do try to avoid jury duty.
Yeah. Nobody likes it. But if you understand the civil duty of you hearing something and understanding it better than someone that’s like 50 years of your age and really doesn’t understand what’s going on outside at all. It’s different. As a culture of Black and brown people, we gotta start doing it more. But that’s all a part of the system too. They know that poor people need to work and a job isn’t going to pay them to be on jury duty. So they’re gonna avoid it. And that’s also a part of the system. So mostly, you get rich Caucasians, Asians and Indians, that’s OK with being on a jury ‘cause they make $300,000 a year. They don’t even mind taking off some work.
So what is your plan when you get out?
I’m gonna be me.
Are you going to get back into podcasting?
I’m not sure yet.
Really?
It’s such a weird place. Like I remember years ago, a whole bunch of dudes were wearing the same sneaker. And I seen the dude that I knew and he was sleeping on peoples’ couches. Like couch surfing. He had the same sneakers as me. And that day I stopped wearing them sneakers. So like I told you, when I see everybody on the ship, I try to not get on it ‘cause it might sink. Not saying that podcasts are gonna sink, but I just don’t even be wanting to be put in the same group of certain people. It’s like, it becomes nasty. I’m gonna smell like you if I stand next to you too long. I know that I’m smart enough to figure something else out and do something else. I don’t really got a passion to like, really do it. Like I might talk to the people, but I don’t even know if I want it to be named podcasts. Podcasts for hip-hop have become nasty. Everybody’s copying each other. Everybody’s following the same subjects. It’s no original voices. Like it’s corny. It’s like the tweet stealers. Like y’all so unoriginal. Y’all like messing yourself up between different characters. It’s like the weirdest shit ever.
Yeah. Nobody likes it. But if you understand the civil duty of you hearing something and understanding it better than someone that’s like 50 years of your age and really doesn’t understand what’s going on outside at all. It’s different. As a culture of Black and brown people, we gotta start doing it more. But that’s all a part of the system too. They know that poor people need to work and a job isn’t going to pay them to be on jury duty. So they’re gonna avoid it. And that’s also a part of the system. So mostly, you get rich Caucasians, Asians and Indians, that’s OK with being on a jury ‘cause they make $300,000 a year. They don’t even mind taking off some work.
So what is your plan when you get out?
I’m gonna be me.
Are you going to get back into podcasting?
I’m not sure yet.
Really?
It’s such a weird place. Like I remember years ago, a whole bunch of dudes were wearing the same sneaker. And I seen the dude that I knew and he was sleeping on peoples’ couches. Like couch surfing. He had the same sneakers as me. And that day I stopped wearing them sneakers. So like I told you, when I see everybody on the ship, I try to not get on it ‘cause it might sink. Not saying that podcasts are gonna sink, but I just don’t even be wanting to be put in the same group of certain people. It’s like, it becomes nasty. I’m gonna smell like you if I stand next to you too long. I know that I’m smart enough to figure something else out and do something else. I don’t really got a passion to like, really do it. Like I might talk to the people, but I don’t even know if I want it to be named podcasts. Podcasts for hip-hop have become nasty. Everybody’s copying each other. Everybody’s following the same subjects. It’s no original voices. Like it’s corny. It’s like the tweet stealers. Like y’all so unoriginal. Y’all like messing yourself up between different characters. It’s like the weirdest shit ever.
Well that’s interesting. Because people do want to hear from you. But you are on Rikers Island right now. Do other inmates look to you for your opinion? Do they want to hear what you have to say as if you are on the podcast?
Yeah. I feel like sometimes they say I’m having a podcast in the day room. I try to just do different hustles. When I learned how to podcast and learned that it was an industry that I could eat from and not have to be in the streets… I think a lot of people don’t understand what the streets are. The streets is not a place that people like. Streets is a place that people have to deal with because of their circumstances and they’re not able to leave yet because of whatever financial circumstances they might have or any issues. When people find out how to make money legally and they can make a good amount to survive in an expensive city like New York City, that’s a blessing. Because a lot of people where we come from in our culture, we only know the quick, fast ways to get money. And our educational systems don’t really push the other places where you could use your brain to get money. Or your hands. So we have limited resources. So with podcasting, if they knew how to talk or they were funny, I always was with trying to help people do it. Like, “Yo, you need a podcast. This is safer than standing on the corner waiting to get shot. It’s cool as shit.” I remember the first time I got a direct deposit. I never had a job in my life. So that was a great feeling just like changing my life. Like, yo man, this shit feels good that I don’t have to go get the money or worry about the police trying to take it from me.
Yeah. I feel like sometimes they say I’m having a podcast in the day room. I try to just do different hustles. When I learned how to podcast and learned that it was an industry that I could eat from and not have to be in the streets… I think a lot of people don’t understand what the streets are. The streets is not a place that people like. Streets is a place that people have to deal with because of their circumstances and they’re not able to leave yet because of whatever financial circumstances they might have or any issues. When people find out how to make money legally and they can make a good amount to survive in an expensive city like New York City, that’s a blessing. Because a lot of people where we come from in our culture, we only know the quick, fast ways to get money. And our educational systems don’t really push the other places where you could use your brain to get money. Or your hands. So we have limited resources. So with podcasting, if they knew how to talk or they were funny, I always was with trying to help people do it. Like, “Yo, you need a podcast. This is safer than standing on the corner waiting to get shot. It’s cool as shit.” I remember the first time I got a direct deposit. I never had a job in my life. So that was a great feeling just like changing my life. Like, yo man, this shit feels good that I don’t have to go get the money or worry about the police trying to take it from me.
Taxstone Has Something to Say
Taxstone, the popular voice behind the Tax Season podcast who is currently in jail, speaks about the current state of hip-hop podcasts, prison reform, and more.
www.complex.com
I got tired and stopped reading after the first post and that shit kept going
I did post the link