Jay-Z writes article in the New York Times defending Meek Mill

Jay-Z has written an opinion piece in the New York Times arguing that rapper Meek Mill is unjustly behind bars.

The article is titled "The Criminal Justice System Stalks Black People like Meek Mill."

In it Jay-Z uses the rapper's recent prison sentence to criticise the American justice system.

"What's happening to Meek Mill is just one example of how our criminal justice system entraps and harasses hundreds of thousands of black people," he writes.

The 30-year-old rapper was sentenced to between two and four years in prison earlier this month for violating the terms of his probation for a crime he committed in 2008.

His sentence has stirred a lot of debate on social media, sparking the hashtag #FreeMeek and prompting hundreds of protesters to gather outside Philadelphia's Criminal Justice Centre calling for his sentence to be overturned.

"Meek was around 19 when he was convicted on charges relating to drug and gun possession, and he served an eight-month sentence," Jay-Z explains in the article.

"Now he's 30, so he has been on probation for basically his entire adult life. For about a decade, he's been stalked by a system that considers the slightest infraction a justification for locking him back inside," the 47-year-old father of three writes.

Meek Mill is signed to Jay-Z's management company Roc nation and they have also collaborated on songs together.

Meek Mill is followed by paparazzi after leaving court hearing.

"The specifics of Meek's case inspired me to write this," he goes on to say.

"But it's time we highlight the random ways people trapped in the criminal justice system are punished every day.

"Probation is a trap and we must fight for Meek and everyone else unjustly sent to prison," he adds.

He then goes on to write: "The system treats them as a danger to society, consistently monitors and follows them for any minor infraction - with the goal of putting them back in prison."

This isn't the first time Jay-Z has used the New York Times as a platform to share his views on social justice.

Last year the rapper narrated a short animated film about America's so-called war on drugs, arguing it unfairly targeted African-American men.

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