Inside Cameroon's Jail Time Records: Prison Beats Breaking All Bars

New Bell prison in Douala, Cameroon, is known for being a tough and crowded place, but it is also home to something unique: Jail Time Records, a music studio and record label run by prisoners. The prison is like a city within a city, with its own system for delivering messages, keeping order, and even a market where inmates can buy and sell snacks. Despite the difficult conditions, the prisoners have found ways to make life more bearable, and Jail Time Records is a big part of that. The studio gives inmates a chance to express themselves through music, and some, like Empereur, have become local stars. Empereur’s music video, filmed entirely inside the prison, has been watched 24,000 times on YouTube, and the label’s songs have reached fans as far away as South Africa, the United States, and Argentina.

Jail Time Records was started in 2018 by Steve Happi, a former inmate, and Dione Roach, an Italian artist. Roach was volunteering at the prison when she saw a group of prisoners rapping during a dance class. She was so impressed that she asked the prison authorities if she could set up a studio. They agreed, and she brought in Happi to help run it. The studio is simple, with just a small recording booth and a computer, but it has become a place of creativity and hope. Happi says that music helps the prisoners feel free and gives them a way to share their stories. The studio was featured in a documentary that took six years to make and won awards at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York. The film shows prisoners like Stone, a former soldier, rapping about his life and trying to stay in touch with his daughter.

Life in New Bell is not easy. The prison is overcrowded, with more than 4,700 inmates living in a space meant for far fewer people. Conditions are tough, and there have been outbreaks of disease and violence. But Jail Time Records offers a way for prisoners to find hope and purpose. The label has even expanded to include women, with Jeje becoming the first female artist to record a song. The project has also spread to another prison in Burkina Faso. For many inmates, music is a way to heal and imagine a better future. Happi says that before Jail Time Records, many prisoners felt like the world was against them, but now they feel like they have a place in society. The studio is more than just a place to make music; it is a symbol of hope and change inside one of Cameroon’s most notorious prisons.