Kodak Black Walks Out Of Jail After Earning His GED, Legally Changing His Name
Twenty-one-year-old rapper Kodak Black has been released from a Broward County jail after serving seven months for charges that resulted from a video he posted to his Instagram account in January. Complex reports that the video showed one man smoking marijuana near Black’s child, another rolling a joint, and third handling a gun “in a reckless manner.” Initially charged with grand theft of a firearm, two counts of possession of a weapon or ammunition by a felon, possession of over 20 grams of marijuana, neglecting a child without great bodily harm, and two counts of violating his probation, Black ended up with just charges of violating probation. Those two violations were driving with a suspended license and “associating with people committing crimes.”
Black’s attorney says that the rapper made good use of his time behind bars, using the time to educate himself and even complete his GED. Cohen said that his client used his two hours of freedom each day to study. He also completed a life skills class and a 10-week parenting class. Alex Junnier handles Black’s business matters and praised him for all he accomplished during his jail time, saying that none of it was court ordered.
“The best thing was none of that stuff was court ordered. He just kind of did it because he wanted to. He reads a lot – a lot, a lot. He’ll just read a dictionary all day. He reads more than any college kid I know. He’s always trying to learn.”
What Kodak Black did while he was locked up: https://t.co/BYAfV6jubV pic.twitter.com/rXFCzGf7SA
— Complex Music (@ComplexMusic) August 18, 2018
Producer and engineer Dyryk affirmed Black’s interest in education, saying, “He was talking about online classes. Which is so left field, but he’s always been eager to learn. He’s very disciplined in everything that he actually has interest in.” Dyryk said he spoke to Black a couple of times a week on the phone, usually about music. He would play the rapper new music from other artists and sometimes recorded new work from Black on the phone.
His attorney is hopeful about Black’s future.
“We have a lot of discussions about what he intends to do when he gets out and what he sees as his future. Just from what I know, what books he’s been reading, and the types of things that he’s been doing, I think he took advantage of a very bad situation. I think that he’s trying to turn it around and trying to learn not just what not to do and who not to hang out with but also how to have internal growth.”
His first stop after leaving jail was his mother’s home to see his son according to Local 10 ABC News. He seems to be looking for a fresh start and even legally changed his name while serving time. His legal name is now Bill K. Kapri. He isn’t completely clear of legal problems as he will face multiple charges including sexual battery resulting from an incident in a Florence, South Carolina hotel in February 2016. If convicted, Kodak Black could face up to 30 years in prison.
