Kehlani's Trip to Prison

By Grace

Last Tuesday, Kehlani came to prison. It is one of those...if you know you know kind of things. Both of the R and B singer's parents were incarcerated. Kehlani grew up in the system without any sort of choice in the matter. Like many children of incarcerated parents, Kehlani being system-impacted from a very young age often becomes a piece of her identity outside of the high notes and fame. Kehlani's trip to prison was not due to any wrongdoing on her part but to shine light on a piece of herself she hasn't forgotten: a young girl coming to prison. While my parents have never been to prison, this was something I could relate to as a twenty-something behind bars. Kehlani was here inside the women's prison to watch, alongside the group of incarcerated women, the debut of a documentary called "Songs from the Hole." Songs from the Hole is about a man who came to prison at only 16 years old. Lost, while simultaneously finding himself, he found music. Songs from the Hole captures his journey through the arts while unloading the baggage he carried in prison along the way. Our "baggage" does not have to bring us down but can build a platform for us to connect with others. Through empathy building, Kehlani learned first-hand what it is like to be a mother in prison while inside prison. Leading up to my incarceration, I was singing the words from her hit song at the time Toxic, "And that damn Don Julio made me a fool for you," after going back to my ex-love and losing him 2 months later. Today, I feel her comforting energy across the room from me and smile. I listen to her finding God and smile. I look at her next to me flashing a peace sign for the camera and do the same. I think of the toxic bite of tequila and know, like everyone else, prison changed us.