New Bell, a severely overcrowded prison in Douala, Cameroon, operates with informal internal systems that include prisoner-run security forces, delivery services, and markets. Within this environment, Jail Time Records has emerged as a music production studio and record label that allows incarcerated individuals to create and perform music.
The project was founded in 2018 when Dione Roach, an Italian artist volunteering with a nonprofit organization, witnessed prisoners freestyling during a dance class. After securing permission from prison authorities, she partnered with Steve Happi, a former inmate, to establish a recording studio. The operation has since produced multiple artists whose work has reached audiences across Africa, South America, and North America. A documentary about the label, directed by Roach and Happi over six years of filming, recently won three awards at the Tribeca Film Festival, including best documentary feature.
Artists associated with the project include Empereur, a gang leader whose music video garnered tens of thousands of YouTube views, and Stone, a former soldier imprisoned for robbery and illegal firearms possession who uses music to express his emotional struggles. The label released an album in 2022 with profits shared between artists and reinvestment into operations. The studio operates from a modest facility but produces high-quality music videos involving prisoner participation as actors and crew members.
New Bell faces significant humanitarian challenges, including severe overcrowding—housing approximately 4,700 inmates at four times its intended capacity—along with documented instances of disease outbreaks and violence. Prison authorities have supported the Jail Time Records initiative as a rehabilitation tool. The project has expanded beyond New Bell, establishing a second studio in Burkina Faso’s capital in 2023, with plans for further expansion. Supporters, including Oscar-winning director Taika Waititi and singer Rita Ora, have highlighted the value of creative expression as an outlet for incarcerated individuals.
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