Why Did Remy Ma Go to Prison?

Why Did Remy Ma Go to Prison? In this article, we have discussed everything you need to know about Remy Ma.

Why Did Remy Ma Go to Prison?
Why Did Remy Ma Go to Prison?

With the rise in female rappers over the past decade or so, it is perhaps hard to believe that in the early 2000s, there weren’t many good names that could be taken in this regard. Remy Ma is one of the ones that were still doing pretty well even back then.

Remy Ma is an American rapper, discovered in 1999 by Big Pun, who became her mentor. She made highlights through her work as a member of Terror Squad, a hip-hop collective formed by Fat Joe. Remy is one of only four multiple winners of the BET Award for Best Female Hip-Hop Artist, alongside Nicki Minaj, Mega Thee Stallion, Cardi B, and Missy Elliot.

She holds two of them, which she won in 2005 and 2017. She is also the recipient of two Vibe Awards and two Source Awards and has been nominated for four Grammys.

Ma has had to deal with quite a lot of legal problems; some of them even landed her in jail. Find out below: Why did Remy Ma go to Prison?

Who is Remy Ma?

Reminisce Mackie was born on 30th May 1980 in The Bronx and grew up in Castle Hill Projects. She was exposed to her family's drug abuse at an early age which forced her to take care of her younger brothers and sisters at a young age. Her only retreat from her home life issues was through writing poetry. Her reputation soon spread around the Bronx, and eventually earned the attention of Big Pun, an American Rapper.

After a meeting and freestyle session, Pun saw her talent and took Ma under his wing, becoming her mentor. Ma began her singing career using the name "Remy Martin" on Big Pun's album Yeeeah Baby, where she was featured on two tracks, "Ms. Martin" and "You Was Wrong."

Early Beginnings

After Big Pun passed away from a heart attack on 7th February 2000, rapper Fat Joe signed Ma to his imprint label under SRC and Universal, where she became a member of his hip-hop collective called Terror Squad. It was through their single, "Lean Back," that Ma was able to earn herself her first Grammy nomination.

On 7th February 2006, Ma released her debut album named; There's Something About Remy: Based on a True Story. Although the album was a critical success, it was a commercial failure and didn’t earn enough, which disappointed Ma.

She wasn’t happy about how Universal promoted her album, which led to a clash between her and Fat Joe, and she decided to part ways with him and Terror Squad.

Imprisonment of Remy Ma:

On 13th February 2007, Ma told Billboard in an interview that she was working on her second album, Punisher. She also announced a collaboration album as part of the all-female rap supergroup 3Sum, alongside fellow female rappers Shawnna and Jacki-O.

In July 2007, Ma was arrested. She released the mixtapes The BX Files, Shesus Khryst, and Blasremy during her incarceration. She returned to music soon after her release from prison and released a mixtape called I'm Around.

Why did Remy Ma go to Prison?

On 13th July 2007, Remy Ma turned herself into the New York City police in regards to a shooting that took place early that morning outside a Manhattan deli. Police reports state that while Ma was with a group of people outside the Pizza Bar, a nightspot in Manhattan, a verbal confrontation broke out at around 4 a.m.

As the argument grew heated, Makeda Barnes-Joseph was wounded in the torso by a gunshot. She had been accused of stealing three thousand dollars from Ma.

Read Why are The Chrisleys Going to Prison?

Police sources reported that Barnes-Joseph later identified Ma as the shooter. Security tapes from inside the club didn’t show any evidence of any altercations or arguments. Ma pleaded not guilty to any charges of attempted murder, assault, or criminal weapon possession. However, she was later charged with witness tampering and assault after an incident in August 2007 in which she was accused of inciting several male friends to attack a witness's boyfriend.

Ma’s Sentence

On 27th March 2008, Ma was convicted of assault, illegal weapon possession, and attempted coercion and incitement in connection with these charges.

She was immediately put into custody pending her sentencing scheduled for 13th May. At her sentencing, the judge noted her disregard for the victim following the shooting, commenting that Ma continued to rifle through the victim's purse looking for the alleged stolen money while Barnes-Joseph sat seriously wounded in the car.

Ma then went on to exit the vehicle, jumped into a waiting car, and drove off, abandoning a bleeding Barnes-Joseph in the front seat. There wasn’t any money in Barnes-Joseph's purse.

Aftermath

The shooting resulted in Barnes-Joseph needing to undergo several surgeries. In 2007, she filed an $80 million civil lawsuit against Ma for damages and pain and suffering.

According to Barnes-Joseph’s lawyers, Ma was serving an eight-year term at a women’s prison named Bedford Hills Correctional Facility in Bedford Hills, New York, located in Westchester County, and was expected to remain there till 2015.

Read Why Did Robert Downey Jr. Go to Prison?

In February 2014, Ma’s husband Papoose, a rapper she married while she was incarcerated, confirmed that Ma should be released in July 2014. On 1st August 2014, she was released from prison after serving six years.

Ma was again investigated by the NYPD for allegedly assaulting Brittney Taylor, one of her co-stars from Love & Hip Hop, she turned herself into the authorities on 6th May 2019. On 2nd December 2019, all charges against her were dropped due to a lack of evidence.

Return to Industry

On 28th April  2015, Ma released a compilation of various tracks from her mixtapes named Remy on the Rocks. On 7th July 2015, Ma announced that she was joining Love & Hip Hop: New York (an American reality television franchise on VH1). She joined the show for its sixth season along with her husband, Papoose.

On 2nd March 2016, Fat Joe and Ma released a joint album which was named Plata O Plomo, which translates from Spanish to "money or bullets". It was named after a phrase used by Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar.

The album's first single, "Up," was a critical and commercial success and received two Grammy Award nominations. The album received generally favorable reviews from music critics, although it managed to be only moderately commercially successful.

Ma continued to release collaborations and successful singles from 2017 to 2020, with a new album coming up.

Other Ventures

On 20th August 2017, Ma opened a women's clothing store named Conceited located in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Since 10th September 2018, Ma has appeared as a host on the talk shows State of the Culture with Joe Budden, an American media personality and former rapper.

In March 2020, Ma announced during an appearance on the radio show The Breakfast Club, hosted by DJ Envy, that the title of her new album had been changed to Reminisce. A release date was being decided. In 2021, Ma starred in the horror film 6:45, directed by Craig Singer, as the character Cassi.

Read more related articles.

On this page