Gregory Giddings,
Age 24

I grew up with my mom until I was about 8. Then I moved down to 18th and Cumberland. Now, down there it was rough, way rougher down there. Shootings every night. I lived with my dad and his girlfriend, my stepmom. She basically raised me until I was about 17, when I felt I could get on my own. I just started getting into the street life. I just tried to get little jobs, with the demolition, tearing down houses and stuff like that. But then, again, I was out selling a little drugs, trying to keep money in my pocket. Know what I’m saying? Basically I found myself getting deeper and deeper in the hole. Started to get in trouble a lot.

I’ve been out for 6 months. I’ve been doing alright. I’m working. Like I have my little guys, my little rap group thing I was trying to put together. We slacked up a lot, but we trying to get back on our feet. Just need more motivation. I got a lot of things that’s in my head that’s flipping around, like so much I want to do. I’m trying to stay out of trouble. Definitely trying not to go back to jail. Basically just trying to work things out, find out what I really want to do with myself. Have a nice future, have a career. I see my music as my future.

Once I went to jail, I read a lot of those music books about how these little independent labels with these guys… I got a few guys that was rapping, they was kind of hot. So I was saying we need to get some stuff out there instead of just doing it in the house all day. So when I did come home I was a little motivated. I got a little CD together, feeling good about it. A lot of ‘em copies out on the street. Did a couple shows. Then it’s like fell right off in no time. But now I’m working back to get it up. We just got to pick up the pace a whole lot, a whole lot. I’m the guy that push it together

I do demolition basically, like tear down houses or gut them out. I’ve been doing that on and off since I was about 15. So I’m trying to stick with that, keep my head above water. Trying to stay away from the streets, but that get hard at times too. I just need to basically get away from the environment, for real, that’s how I feel. The environment that I’m living in, it was easy to get pulled into it. A lot of guys I hanging with, you know, it’s like… they my homies, I love them, they my homies, I’m going to be around, going to be there for them. You know what I mean. But it’s like I ain’t trying to live like that no more. I’m trying to move it on. But I find myself still in the mix with ‘em, stuff like that. So the best thing for me to do is just to get away whenever I can. Get away from it.

This was my first time serving time. I’ve been arrested probably 6 or 7 times. I beat a lot of the cases, but this last case like it just stuck on me, surprised me. Found me guilty. So, yeah, I’ve been in trouble a lot. Know what I’m saying. I been locked up for fighting, drugs, getting caught up in weed, stings buying weed. Shit like that. Drugs, weed, buying weed, fighting. That’s the regular. None serious. Never been so bad, not serious or nothing like that. I ain’t going to lie, I shed a couple of tears. I was surprised what went down. I really didn’t think I was going to get locked up. It was like, damn, it can happen to me too just like everybody else. Anybody listening to this, to pray for me. So I can say I’m trying to hang in there, trying to do good.