Taxstone sat down with Complex for a phone interview while he was in Rikers awaiting his trial, and the interview was recently released. The interview took place before Taxstone was found guilty of manslaughter in the first degree (he will be sentenced on April 19th).
During the conversation, Taxstone revealed that he's not sure if he'll get back into podcasting once he's out of prison. He explained, "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."
Taxstone added, "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 sh*t ever."
When asked if he would focus on prison reform after his release, Taxstone revealed that as of now, that's his focus. He explained, "Yes. One of my goals is to come home and really fight for those who can’t speak. And be around guys that are around 40 years old and have good spirits but they can barely read and they gotta take care of their kids and their family."
Taxstone went on to state that a lot of the people being labeled criminals are actually dealing with untreated mental health issues, and he believes that putting them in jail isn't the answer to rehabilitating them. He explained, "So it’s like a big homeless and mental health issue going on in New York City that’s out of this world. And like all of these homeless people are sitting here on Rikers Island right now. It’s like a humongous shelter."
During the conversation, Taxstone opened up about his experiences at Rikers, and he revealed that while he stays mentally sharp, there are still difficult aspects.
"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." Taxstone added that he's experienced not having hot water, the heat being turned off when it's below freezing outside, but they turn it back on when it's 85 degrees outside.
"You get harassed by the staff. Nothing gets done here. Like we go without tissue sometimes for two days. Then they telling you to wipe your ass with the hardest paper towel they can find. It’s so crazy the type of stuff that goes on here that shouldn’t. The most minimal things. The hot water not on or the heat off for two days. They turn the heat off when it’s 2 degrees. It comes on when it’s 85 degrees outside. Everything is so bad. It’s so many complaints. I don’t even know where to start."
Source: Complex
