Marshall Project staff writer Maurice Chammah is the author of the newsletter, "Redemption Songs: The Music of Mass Incarceration." The newsletter shares stories of songs made by incarcerated people. BL Shirelle is one of its subjects, a formerly incarcerated musician who now runs the label FREER Records, which releases music by prison-impacted artists. Chammah and Shirelle discuss their efforts, share some of the songs featured by the newsletter and label, and explore what the tracks suggest about mass incarceration in the U.S.

Album cover courtesy of FREER Records

Music from Behind Bars