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But in person, after a long day of filming, celebrity micromanagement wasnt necessary.
I was just out of control at that point in my life.
Getting high and doing whatever I wanted how I wanted to do it.
In front of the world, not behind the scenes, he says.
(Mill recentlyrevealedhis past opioid addiction.)
I dont know his writing situation or how he really carried it.
I just jumped out of anger and what I thought was the truth at the time.
Me and Drake have actually been communicating for the last year.
Even before I went to prison.
It was based on the right time.
I think it took both of us going through some ups and downs, me in my career.
It made me stronger.
He adds of the potential for future collaborations with Drake: I think thats possible.
What we did was genuine.
We didnt just do it for the love of the people cause we couldve been done that.
We waited until we were ready and did that.
For the record, Mill says he did no such thing.
I aint get no heads-up [about the song], but I definitely wasnt in nobodys DMs.
And definitely wasnt nobody ducking me, shit.
Thats a fact, he says.
Truth aside, hes willing to take a joke.
I actually was laughing at it, too.
Cause theres no limits!
I felt it and I liked it.
Thats a dope rap.
His album samples Beyonce.Meeks new album,Championships, arrives on November 30.
That would never hold me back from working with someone.
Even Kanye admits to using writers and working with people.
And Dr. Dre, he continues.
He wouldnt claim he was a fucking all-time lyricist.
Even Michael Jackson, I assume he had people like Teddy Riley write for him.
But hes still one of the greatest of all time.
Its just all about what your aim is.
I have no right to judge the way anyone makes their money and creates.
There aint no lines in rap beefs, never been.
When I was going through it with Drake, he was up, he recalls.
He was holding it down to a very high level.
There wasnt no limit.
You speak on girlfriends, moms, dads, anything.
Cause it wasnt too much really crazy shit you could say about me.
Im a street rapper.
We know I came from being broke, from the bottom.
Hes never voted.For as long as Meek Mill has been of voting age, hes been on probation.
I dont think Im even able to vote.
(He was eligible,per a state rule change enforced in 2000.)
Never voted in my life.
Ive been a felon my whole life.
But Im so used to seeing the other thing.
Politics I never even gave a fuck, really.
It was a good feeling for that day, but it was still …
I had a lot of people paying attention to my case.
I just came out lucky.
The person who dont have attention on their cases like me wouldnt come out the same way.
Ive always been into riding.
I fell in love with that, he says.
Acting didnt exactly come easy for him.
For his acting debut, Mill faced a bit of a learning curve his first week on set.
It was harder than I thought it would be.
Rappers make our money a little bit easier.
And Im finishing my album at the same time.
Im at a very fragile part of my life where Im going into over-grind.
T.I., who originally signed Meek, also served 11 months between 2010 and 2011 for violating probation.
Meek questions the validity of both their cases.
Their cases may have been unjust.
But when youre found guilty, how can you speak on that?
With T.I., his friend was shot and murdered while he was in the car.
Hes a felon so he cant carry a gun.
What do you do?
After his latest prison stint, Meek recalls trading war stories with his rap peers.
What about the protection of your mental [health]?
We talked about how that shit was crazy.
Mental health, he notes, wasnt a subject broached easily where he grew up.
(Where Im from, we just be like, Oh, he crazy.
They dont tend to shit like that.)
Hes considered therapy, but the idea of it feels overwhelming.
Im not really into pouring myself out to strangers all the time.
I do it for a living all day, he says.
And this shit Im telling you in this interview aint even the real shit that bothers me.
There are so many levels to growing up in the streets.
I still got family in the streets.
Itd go so fucking far with therapy.
Most rap careers [would find it] hard to make it through the things Ive been through.
