If it isn’t obvious already, I have never been to jail and I don’t plan on going anytime soon, or ever for that matter. So, my experience with the prison system is definitely pretty narrow, but I have an understanding of the toll it can take on people through a good variety of the music I listen to. While jail might not always be a place where lessons are learned and reflection is possible for everyone, there are certainly individuals who look at their time behind bars as a way to really look within themselves and figure out what needs to change so they don’t end up back in there after being released.
I’m not going to look at someone negatively one way or the other in terms of the experience they had in the system, but I will definitely show the utmost admiration for those who do decide to make a change and help spread a message to keep others out of a similar situation. La Grange, Georgia native Junt Sosa is new to my radar, but he is turning so many heads with his honest, genuine, and compelling narrative that can be brutal and heartbreaking at times, but it gives listeners the chance to ingest key lessons that can keep them out of prison, a place that Sosa is unfortunately all too familiar with after spending over 3 years behind bars.
Instead of sulking and trying to plot ways around the system, he used this time to really reset his thought process and create a new outlook on his life with music, a talent of his that is truly commendable, especially when he incorporates so much sincere truthfulness into catchy, captivating records like his song “Empty”. His melodies are on point, his flows are as expert-level as they come, and his story is one that’s just too enthralling to overlook, and the Terrius Mykel-directed music video that just came out adds even more fuel to the unignorable fire within him.
Throughout the black and white visual, there is a rotation of clean clips showcasing Sosa spitting into a microphone in a simplistic booth, and these are mixed in with a plethora of pictures and homemade videos of the artist with his homies that he seems to be as close with as it gets. I’m not entirely sure who these other people are, but I can only imagine they’re a group of his most loyal, day one friends and family that have been through a lot with him, and I can envision that they’re beyond hyped to see how far he has come as a musician as well as a person overall.
In the press release that came with this release, Sosa discussed his new lease on life post-prison, what “Empty” means to him, and what can be expected from him in the future:
“I did 39 months in prison, I came back just like Gucci with a whole other mindset. Look different. Think different. Move different. Be different. I saw the next man and it didn’t really look good on him. He wasn’t as strong as I was. I just be trying to save the next lil bro from going to do some sh*t that I went through. But I’m still that same n*gga. Like ain’t nothing changed but the mindset and the way I want shit to go for my people…
The song Empty means a lot to me. I wrote that song when I was in a space where I was feeling alone by myself. It’s a lot of times when I’m feeling like I’m by myself, but I have help and I have supporters, I have people who are really there for me. But it’s like even though they’re there for me, it’s like my role is empty because things in my life ain’t as complete as I want them to be. Empty is for all the people out there alone when the shit gets hard man. But it’s all about staying patient and staying down. Even in a room where it feels so Empty, this song will inspire you to at least try to make progress. Empty is a song that really gets people motivated to just get up and don’t quit…
I’m from Trap County, I’ve been doing music for a minute, ever since high school. I’m a well-known artist around these country towns. I got music and merch coming for my clothing line but as far as me I’m just a rapper from La Grange, a real street n*gga from La Grange, and that has been the core of my music for several years. But now I’m coming with music on some more righteousness n*gga sh*t. I already did the wickedness. Now I’m speaking on loyalty, righteousness, brotherhood, n*ggas coming together to do sh*t for the streets and the n*ggas that’s in the streets coming together. I’m trying to make all the bros and all the people around the world that there are real bros out there understand. So instead of leading them in the wrong direction, I’m leading them in the right direction.”
Junt Sosa certainly has a lot of valuable things to say, and when his massage is shared in such an authentic, enthralling fashion, he is irrefutably not someone you’re going to want to overlook whatsoever moving forward.