1,700-mile “Walk4Life” across the US
Advocacy
He will set out from Trenton, New Jersey, where he lives, and travel through 10 of the 12 US states where most prisoners have been executed since 1976. He is scheduled to arrive in Huntsville, the home of Texas’s death row, mid-May.
Activists from World Coalition member organisations such as Journey of Hope and the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty will walk part of the way with him.
Born in a Puerto-Rican neighbourhood in New York, Latallade was in and out of prison for two decades for drug-related offences. “It didn’t make me a better person, it made me get worse”, he said in an interview last year.
He managed to exit the crime-to-prison circle a few years ago, when he realised that music, combined with education and religious belief, could give him a better life.
Since 2004, he has become what he calls a “raptivist”. While becoming a full-time rap singer, he has used his lyrics to denounce prison conditions and the death penalty.
“You’re born alone, to die all alone”
For example, his song “999330” is about Texas death row inmate Anthony Haynes:
Sitting on the row, it’s almost time to go
Now you know the whole fucking world is cold
You’re born alone, to die all alone
Now you’re nothing but a number 999330.
“I love music, it’s my life, but I can’t just walk away from my past and just do music”, he said, adding: “I am living proof that prisoners can reform with the proper attention and guidance.” He believes that his music can lead people to join forces and take action.
Watch Capital-“X” explain the reasons behind Walk4Life on Onloq.com
Keep track on the Walk4Life blog
Visit Capital-“X”‘s MySpace page
Watch the Walk4Life launch video below
