DANNEMORA, N.Y. — Brooklyn rapper Bobby Shmurda was released from a New York prison Tuesday morning after more than four years behind bars, according to the New York State Department of Corrections inmate database.
Shmurda, whose legal name is Ackquille Pollard, left the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora early Tuesday after being granted conditional release in January. The remainder of his sentence will be served on parole.
Quavo, of rap group Migos, tweeted a video Tuesday morning of him and Shmurda getting off a private jet hours after his release. Their location was not immediately clear.
Welcome Home Gang Stayed Down We BACK UP!! pic.twitter.com/8Usmqjw6AD
— QuavoYRN (@QuavoStuntin) February 23, 2021
The 26-year-old rapper was originally sentenced to seven years after pleading guilty to conspiracy and weapons possession charges in connection to what prosecutors said was a leading role in the GS9 gang, The New York Times reported. GS9 is an offshoot of the Crips in the East Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn.
Shmurda was arrested in late 2014 after leaving a recording studio near Radio City Music Hall, only days after he performed “Hot Boy” for a national television audience on “Jimmy Kimmel Live.
Investigators found two handguns and a small amount of crack cocaine in a car in which he was riding, authorities said. He was just 20 at the time.
Shmurda was denied parole in September, in part for disciplinary actions taken against him while incarcerated, and subsequently ordered to his maximum sentence until Dec. 21, 2021.
A later review by the Department of Corrections restored the rapper’s credit for good behavior.
In the years since his arrest, Shmurda has become something akin to a folk hero in hip-hop; his release has been highly anticipated by fans and other artists.
