Views of the New York City jails on Rikers Island, as seen from a departing flight from Laguardia Airport on December 10, 2022 in Queens, New York.
Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images.
Tay627 Music Video Filmed At Rikers Island Shows Inmates’ Grim Reality
Tay627 music video, "NYC's Boldest,” was filmed at New York’s notorious Rikers Island, showing inmates getting into violent altercations, brandishing shanks and showing graphic head wounds.
A Tay627 music video filmed inside Rikers Island exposes the grim issues that occur inside the notorious New York City jail. Titled "NYC's Boldest,” the rapper shows inmates showing graphic head wounds, violent altercations, shank brandishings and a DIY dispensary that sells marijuana.
Although the music video was released in May, former G-Unit member Tony Yayo brought it to light during his recent appearance on podcast Drink Champs. "The Island [staff] don't even have control. The inmates control that s***,” the 45-year-old said.” You seen the video of the n***** on Rikers? N***** had the weed store! ... N***as had knives, all that s***. It was a video, a music video!"
Yayo added, “That's why they wanna shut down the Island, man, that s*** crazy."
Tay627 - NYC‘s Boldest Part 2 (Shot in Rikers Island) (Official Music Video)www.youtube.com
Tony Yayo On G-Unit's Rise, Challenges, Jay-Z, Diddy, Eminem, Untold Stories & More | Drink Champswww.youtube.com
Shortly after the interview, Tay627 followed up with “NYC’s Boldest 2,” showing similar footage as its predecessor, including new video of flooded jail floors. Some politicians and protestors are calling for Rikers Island to be shut down due to inhumane conditions and mismanagement. In 2017, former NYC mayor Bill de Blasio predicted that the institution would be defunct in a decade, with New York representatives Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Jamaal Bowman, Jerry Nadler, and Nydia Velȧzquez calling for its shutdown just four years later.
Last week, federal monitor Steve J. Martin, filed a report to a federal judge to determine whether NYC Department of Corrections, and its commissioner Louis Molina, should be held in contempt. Martin cited inmates gathering in high-security areas, unsecured doors, abandoned posts and conducted searches where weapons were not seized. Now, eyes are on current NYC Mayor Eric Adams, who federal prosecutors are urging to be relinquished of his power over Rikers Island.
