The Thanksgiving weekend is a time to count your blessings, and for Meek Mill, he knows he has much to be thankful for. After serving time in prison three years ago on a parole violation, he is free, and his music success has uplifted those he loves the most.
"I've carried my family out of poverty. I'm raising two sons. Those things make me happy. Nobody in my family ever went to college," he tells Haute Living. "I'm the first generation of people who even made it to a successful status of being past middle-class financials. That's important to me, to be able to carry that weight. Obtaining that, manifesting that, is my greatest achievement."
Meek's latest album is titled Expensive Pain, and he says it was inspired by his struggles to make a better life after being incarcerated.
"It's basically everything I went through to get to where I am right now," he confides. "I made my money off of everything I've been through: spending time in prison, growing up in poverty."
Growing up poor in Philadelphia, the 34-year-old MC says he is grateful to be alive and healthy.
"That's why I always talk about protecting yourself in a dangerous environment. I grew up in Philadelphia, where there are 500 murders a year. It's worse than a scary movie," Mill says.
"I have nothing to hide about my personal life," the "Sharing Locations" rapper adds. "I ain't living a criminal lifestyle. I won't say I'm an angel, but I don't do crime. Where I come from is so bad that it's easy to talk about now, where I'm doing so good in my life."