How Did Bobby Shmurda Maintain Relevance Through a 7-year Jail Sentence?

By Jack Crawford

Bobby Shmurda is an interesting figure – people usually react to his name with a smile of instant recognition or a blank face of incomprehension. I’ve found that anyone under the age of about 20 seems less familiar with him, and that’s probably because he’s spent the last 5 years behind bars. However, despite only having released a couple of mixtapes and an album, all within the space of a few months in the second half of 2014, Shmurda seems to have maintained relevance.

Of course what really propelled the rapper to fame was his single ‘Hot N****’, released in July 2014, a certified platinum track that made it to no.1 on the US Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and no. 6 on the US Billboard Hot 100. I remember I was 18 at the time and just finishing school and the song seemed to play every time we went out at night, sometimes more than once. Undeniably the track was (and still is) straight fire, but what really helped solidify its status was the accompanying music video that was released on 1st August 2014. It showed the fresh-faced 20 yr old Shmurda – and other members of the GS9 ‘criminal enterprise’ who would later become his co-defendents – hanging out on the streets of Brooklyn and featured the iconic “shmoney dance”. 

It was an instant viral hit and the song and accompanying dance became a meme, partially helped thanks to its popularity with viners – it was even performed by the likes of Beyoncé, Jay Z and Drake. Soon Shmurda had signed with Epic Records and released remixes of the track, and had his first album scheduled for release in 2016. However, in early December of 2014 the rapper was arrested and charged with conspiracy to commit murder, reckless endangerment, and drug and gun possession, along with 14 other members of his GS9 rap-group.

At trial, prosecutors attempted to use Shmurda’s lyrics against him – in particular lines in Hot N**** such as “I been selling crack since like the fifth grade” – despite a recent New Jersey Supreme Court ruling stating that lyrics could not be taken as evidence unless they displayed a “strong nexus” to a crime. The rapper’s incarceration from December 2014 until his actual sentencing in September 2016 saw regular flurries of memes emerge on the internet, most notably the Free Bobby Shmurda hashtag campaign. Various images and slogans calling for his release were spread around on social media platforms, and Martin Shkreli (the so-called “Pharma Bro” who hiked the price of an antiparasitic drug he had purchased the rights to by a factor of 50) even offered to pay Shmurda’s $2 million bail on the condition the rapper made an album for him. It was perhaps the proliferation of these memes that helped to keep Shmurda in the public eye.

In an interview published on youtube by the channel VLAD TV dated to 8th March 2019, Shmurda discussed his experience in jail, suggesting that he expected to serve 20 more months. The New York State Department of Corrections has set Shmurda’s parole date for August 2020, and stated that he could be released as early as 11th December 2020. Shmurda threw cold water on the idea that jail time would be desirable to his young fans as 

a method of increasing their credibility or earning them ‘stripes’, calling it as ‘wack’ and ‘corny as a mother*cker’ – for him, rap was a way of breaking free and being positive; ‘that’s why I tell the young kids you gotta learn from the older n*****s, and older people in general, and learn from them and not make the same mistakes. Be smarter.’ 

When asked what he made of Tekashi 6ix9ine (aka Daniel Hernandez), who is currently embroiled in a legal case of his own facing RICO and gun charges, Shmurda exhorted listeners to not glorify the prison lifestyle. 6ix9ine is set to be sentenced on 24th January 2020 after having pled guilty to 9 charges in February of this year – potentially facing up to 47 years in prison, the rapper entered a plea deal which has seen him testify against the Nine Trey Bloods (a New York gang), a turn of events which spawned an explosion of memes across the internet mocking Hernandez as a snitch. Shmurda had previously collaborated with the rapper on his track ‘stoopid’ released in November 2018, recording his lines from a prison phone. As Hernandez’ case has some parallels with Shmurda’s, it invites comparison; Shmurda’s refusal to testify against co-defendants apparently ensuring that he and any music he produces upon his release will likely be well received. 

Even after his sentencing in 2016, there have been sporadic reoccurrences of the Free Bobby Shmurda campaign. A “Free Bobby Shmurda Walkout” was planned for April 19th, 2018, the day before the National School Walkout for gun control, and the event was advertised with more memes. The enduring popularity of the shmoney dance can also be seen from time to time on social media platforms – one post in particular I have noticed several times is a short clip of Shmurda dancing, set to various songs, and sometimes with a caption, usually intended to display a high level of appreciation for that particular song.

It appears that Shmurda’s sudden rise to viral fame and his lengthy, high-profile trial captured and held the attention of his fans and the internet more generally. The subsequent production of memes throughout the trial and into Shmurda’s 7 year sentence have ensured that the rapper has not been forgotten, and suggests that upon his release he will have little trouble in establishing himself as an artist once again.