Meek Mill Leaves Prison After Serving 5 Months

On this day, Dec. 2, in hip-hop history...

2014: After serving out a five-month sentence for a probation violation stemming from a 2008 drug and gun charge, Meek Mill is released from jail.

In July of that year, the Dreamchasers MC was given three to six months behind bars after a judge revoked his probation as a result of behavior that was deemed "questionable" by the District Attorney.

The jail stint threw a wrench in the release of Meek's album, Dreams Worth More Than Money, which was supposed to drop in September, but ended up having to be pushed back. Eventually, the album did drop to much critical acclaim, earning Top Rap Album of the Year at the 2016 Billboard Music Awards.

A couple days before Meek's release from prison in 2014, label boss Rick Ross broke the news he would be coming home soon. "You know, the big homie, he was sentenced to six months off the rip," Ross told Hot 97. "We done got our hopes up a couple of times so I said I wasn't going to feed into that again. When he come home, he come home. At worst it won't be more than a month at this point, you know what I mean? So we just ready for the big homie to get to the crib. Hopefully, he can spend the holidays with us, you know what I mean, and kick 2015 off."

On the morning of Dec. 2, Meek emerged from behind the wall, making fans go crazy and sparking a hilarious meme craze off of the first photo of the rapper jogging out of jail.

While staying away from the law was an issue for Meek for quite a while, the Philly MC has had a triumphant 2018 for the most part. He was released from prison back in April amidst a series of events that involved appeals and claims of corruption within the legal system.

In the months since, Meek has certainly made the most of his freedom, most notably becoming an important advocate for criminal justice reform, squashing his long-running beef with Drake and having released his highly-anticipated Championships album this past Friday (November 30).

Earlier in the fall, the "Uptown Vibes" spitter was featured on a XXL cover story in which he penned an open letter to his younger self about perseverance and race in America.

See Photos of Meek Mill's Different Looks Over the Years