Songs from the Hole is a documentary-visual album that tells the story of a man named James “JJ ’88” Jacobs, who was sentenced to 40 years to life in prison after committing a murder. James was around 15 years old when he committed the crime, and by the time he understood the repercussions his actions could have on his and his family’s lives, it was a bit too late. James found solace in music, using his words as a tool to channel his repressed feelings, and the whole process served as a form of catharsis for him. The documentary also analyzes the carceral institutions, the legal justice system, the nature of punishment awarded, and what the judiciary aims to achieve through that. Songs From the Hole departs from the general manner in which a documentary is made, while preserving the sanctity of the medium. You’d be surprised to know that every song you hear in the documentary was written behind bars, at times when James was put in solitary confinement cells.
Contessa Gayles, through her authentic approach, makes sure that Songs from the Hole is no less than a visual delight. But with that said, I felt that a lot of things, especially the intensity of the emotions felt by the family and the frustration of an inmate who waited for an eternity to even be considered for some kind of redressal, were diluted amidst the music and the poetry. So let’s find out how James ended up in the prison at such an early age and how he and his family coped with the trauma.
How did James end up in prison?
16th April, 2004 was the day the life of James Jacob, who happened to be merely 15 years old, changed completely. All that bottled-up rage, that angst to prove his worth, and that desperation to establish his dominance made James take the life of an innocent individual. We are not given many details about what exactly happened and why James got triggered to commit the crime. The point was that, from that moment on, his life changed completely. He was found guilty of murder and sentenced to 40 years to life in prison. As James stated, every other child from the neighborhood he came from was a part of a gang. The teenagers craved a sense of belonging, and the culture was such that they aspired to be a part of a gang. Violence was the tool to prove your dominance and establish your credibility. It wasn’t hard to get your hands on a weapon, and as James said, having a gun was as common as having a bike in his neighborhood. Just three days after that incident, his elder brother, Victor, was also killed by a man named Jamal Smith. James’ father, William; mother, Janine; and sister, Reneasha, were shaken to the core, and they didn’t know how to cope with everything that had happened in a span of 3-4 days. That’s why, even now, James does not like the month of April. In a somber tone, he stated how the month revives all those memories that he wants to leave behind. There was a sense of guilt and remorse in his tone at the same time. Victor’s death made James take accountability for his actions. He saw his family grieving, he felt a hollowness within, and he knew how the family whose son he had killed might have been feeling. Every day the regret of taking somebody’s life made James feel restless. He knew that he would have to find a way to heal from his trauma; otherwise, it would become impossible for him to live.
What happened when James met his brother’s killer?
James turned to music as a source of motivation on his path to healing and redemption. Where people dreaded being put in solitary confinement, James liked when he was left alone with his thoughts. He beautifully articulated the kind of anger he felt in his bones trying to trigger him to commit that crime. He wrote about how it dawned on him that he had committed the biggest blunder of his life that has had an impact on not only him but also his family. It was important for James to understand why he felt what he did, as only then could he redeem himself. James knew that he needed to heal from within and come to terms with who he was, and only then would he truly be able to make peace with whatever had happened. James knew that running away from the situation and avoiding accountability would serve no purpose. He knew that if he really wanted to get back on his feet, he couldn’t resort to temporary solutions. No matter how difficult it seemed, he needed to do it the right way.
I believe the biggest test of the healing process that James had resorted to came when he confronted the killer of his elder brother. Janine and Reneasha spotted Jamal when they came to meet James, and they were shocked to find out that they both were in the same prison. In fact, James, on many occasions, had had chats with Jamal, and he was mighty impressed by the kind of accountability that man took. Jamal told James how the guilt of killing a man out of rage would stay with him forever. That acceptance was something that James really connected to, and now he was told that that man had murdered Victor. James didn’t know how to process that information, as from an outsider’s perspective, he really appreciated Jamal for the kind of efforts he had made, but now the issue had turned personal. James spent some time alone and then reached the conclusion that he needed to forgive the guy. James confronted Jamal, whom he had known until then as Jay, revealing that Victor was his elder brother. With tears in his eyes, he told him that he forgave him. James even agreed to be put in solitary confinement in Jamal’s stead. That actually liberated him more than anything else ever could. He felt as though a tremendous weight had been lifted from his shoulders, and he knew that he had come to terms with his past.
Where Is James Now?
Music healed James and he felt that his lyrics, his understanding of where he went wrong, the regret, the guilt, would be enough to prove to the jury that he was at least worthy of a re-sentencing. But that didn’t happen, as the jury felt that it was all just propaganda, a sham, that was made with the sole intention of putting him in good light and winning him parole. In spite of the several applications made by his mother, his fiancé (Indigo), his father, and his sister, he wasn’t given an opportunity to be heard by the court. Now it could be said that the justice system was more inclined towards being punitive rather than giving a chance to the convict to rehabilitate himself; one might also argue that James was discriminated against and he became a victim of institutionalized racism. Amidst all the chaos, James made sure that his shortcomings, his circumstances, his hopelessness, his losing faith in the judicial institutions, didn’t overpower the goodness and the hope that existed within him. In 2022, James was finally released from prison and I believe he went back to his home in Los Angeles. After 18 years, he inhaled the air of freedom and embraced his family members, who came to pick him up. Today, James works as an independent artist, producing music that is inspired by his experiences in prison. James, aka JJ ’88, is quite active on social media where he often expresses his views about the carceral institution and how its punitive nature often destroys the lives of people, never giving them a chance to heal properly. He was deeply involved in the creative journey of Songs from the Hole and he had co-written it with Contessa Gayles. I wouldn’t be surprised if the documentary gives a much needed boost to the career of an independent artist by giving him a platform where he could reach a wider audience.
