In his first interview since being released from jail last month, "I’m A Hustla" rapper Cassidy tells MTV News that he was able to endure the nine-month bid by listening to the radio, praying and writing letters to his hip hop colleague, Lil’ Kim, who was incarcerated in Philadelphia at the same time.
"Trials are crazy, especially in Philadelphia," Cassidy said. "The way they try to prosecute you, it's just crazy. Anybody can come and give a statement, and they'll just lock you up. The system is kinda crazy. [The trial] was one of the worst situations I've been through, sitting in the jail, knowing that I should be out in the street. It could go one way and you can be home again, or you could be gone forever. It was hard to go though it. But through my faith in God, I was able to go through it and come out a lot better than people thought."
Cassidy was in jail for five months awaiting the outcome of his trial in connection with the April 15 killing of 22-year-old Desmond Hawkins, which eventually resulted in his conviction on charges of involuntary manslaughter. When asked to comment on the situation leading to his arrest, the Philly rapper opted to keep quiet instead.
"I could explain it, but I'm not really interested in explaining it right now," he said. "I'm not proud of the situation. Somebody lost their life. When I think about the situation, I think about the shoe on the other foot. If I was the family of the person who got shot, I wouldn't want somebody on TV [talking about the killing]. I'm trying to leave that where it's at."
The answer, perhaps, shows the level of maturity Cassidy says he reached during his months in prison.
"I learned a lot in going through this experience," he said. "Now that it's all over, I'm happy. I can benefit from the situation, getting closer to God, my real friends, people I work with, understanding how everything is supposed to move, not taking everything for granted. When you lose things you take for granted, you realize how important they are. Like, a bottle of spring water is something you can't get access to in jail."
Cassidy says he’s anxious to get back in the studio and start laying down tracks of all the songs he created, but was unable to flush out while on lockdown.
"I've been waiting for so long to go back to the studio. There's so many thoughts roaming through my head," he said. "It shouldn't take me that long to finish the third album. I'm looking forward to having a single by the summer."
"Trials are crazy, especially in Philadelphia," Cassidy said. "The way they try to prosecute you, it's just crazy. Anybody can come and give a statement, and they'll just lock you up. The system is kinda crazy. [The trial] was one of the worst situations I've been through, sitting in the jail, knowing that I should be out in the street. It could go one way and you can be home again, or you could be gone forever. It was hard to go though it. But through my faith in God, I was able to go through it and come out a lot better than people thought."
Cassidy was in jail for five months awaiting the outcome of his trial in connection with the April 15 killing of 22-year-old Desmond Hawkins, which eventually resulted in his conviction on charges of involuntary manslaughter. When asked to comment on the situation leading to his arrest, the Philly rapper opted to keep quiet instead.
"I could explain it, but I'm not really interested in explaining it right now," he said. "I'm not proud of the situation. Somebody lost their life. When I think about the situation, I think about the shoe on the other foot. If I was the family of the person who got shot, I wouldn't want somebody on TV [talking about the killing]. I'm trying to leave that where it's at."
The answer, perhaps, shows the level of maturity Cassidy says he reached during his months in prison.
"I learned a lot in going through this experience," he said. "Now that it's all over, I'm happy. I can benefit from the situation, getting closer to God, my real friends, people I work with, understanding how everything is supposed to move, not taking everything for granted. When you lose things you take for granted, you realize how important they are. Like, a bottle of spring water is something you can't get access to in jail."
Cassidy says he’s anxious to get back in the studio and start laying down tracks of all the songs he created, but was unable to flush out while on lockdown.
"I've been waiting for so long to go back to the studio. There's so many thoughts roaming through my head," he said. "It shouldn't take me that long to finish the third album. I'm looking forward to having a single by the summer."
