Redemption Songs: The Music of Mass Incarceration

A weekly newsletter, March to September 2026, telling the story of mass incarceration, one song at a time

When you love a song, you feel a kinship with the person who made it. “Music is the most humanizing element this country has,” says BL Shirelle, who spent 10 years in prison and now co-runs Freer Records, a label that releases music by incarcerated people.

Inspired by this work, I built a list of songs recorded behind bars over the last century. At The Marshall Project, I’m sharing a song a week, exploring how music offers routes to rehabilitation, redemption and resistance.

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