A man speaks in front of the camera. He is in prison. He does not say his name, he does not say the crime. He says only one thing that matters to him: his 12-year-old son has changed.
“My 12-year-old son loved Peppa Pig. Now he idolizes NBA YoungBoy”, he says, and the phrase went viral on Instagram.
NBA YoungBoy, the rapper from Baton Rouge, is serving his 23rd month today in the federal prison in Talladega, Alabama, on a weapons charge. The same place the man in the video knows from the inside.
There is no shouting or sermon. There is a father who saw his son change heroes, and knows exactly where that path can lead, because he has already walked it.
“Leave the streets alone”, he asks.
Sometimes the strongest warning does not come from an expert. It comes from someone who has already lost.