Rapper Bobby Shmurda was released from prison today after serving more than four years behind bars. He was paroled on a conditional release 10 months early.
A post on Bobby Shmurda’s Instagram account yesterday, on Monday, February 22, led his fans to believe he was already released from prison. Twitter users posted that the rapper was free, but the celebration was premature. Shmurda was scheduled for release on Tuesday, February 23, and now, he is free.
His New York Department of Corrections inmate record shows he will be on parole until February 23, 2026.
Here’s what you need to know:
Shmurda’s Instagram Account Shared a Clip From ‘King of New York’ Showing a Prison Release & Social Media Reacted, Thinking He Was Freed on Monday
Instagram and Twitter fans of Shmurda saw a post on his Instagram account posted early in the morning Monday, February 22, 2021. It showed a video of a release from prison in a clip from “King of New York,” and fans thought this meant he was already out.
However, Shmurda was released the next day.
Shmurda, whose real name is Ackquille Pollard, is being paroled early. He was sentenced to six to seven years in prison for conspiracy and possession of a weapon, with his incarceration at the New York Clinton Correctional Facility beginning in November 2016. He was denied parole in December, and his release date was pushed to February 23. He also faced a drug charge in prison.
Here is his official release date:
The post included Shmurda’s song, “Can’t Forget About Hot,” from his 2014 Shmoney Shmurda (Shmixtape). The clip was from “King of New York,” a 1990 gangster classic. It shows the release of New York drug lord Frank White reclaiming his turf after his time in prison.
The Instagram page, realbobbyshmurdags9, has only one post – the above video. It was posted at about 3 a.m. Eastern time on Monday. Despite having only one post on the page, Shmurda had 776,000 followers in the hours after the post. On Tuesday, he had 2.5 million followers and no additional posts.
The celebration was early, but fans were thrilled Monday morning thinking Shmurda was already released from prison.
“Bobby Shmurda is finally free…. Life can rebuild again,” one person wrote on Twitter.
“bobby shmurda is finally free !!! wait till that dude sees the iphone 12,” another person wrote.
“YALL BETTER WAKE UP!!!!” another person wrote, sharing a meme of SpongeBob SquarePants and Squidward. “BOBBY SHMURDA FREE!”
“BOBBY SHMURDA IS FREE GOOD MORNING,” another Twitter user wrote.
Shmurda’s Mom Has Dinner Planned to Celebrate His Release From Prison & He Wants a Low-Key Evening
Leslie Pollard, Shmurda’s mom, told TMZ she was counting the hours until her son was released from prison. She planned an intimate dinner with family for after he gets home.
“After dinner, we’re told Bobby — who’s been locked up since 2014 — wants to keep it chill. Nothing crazy. He wants to get back to his passion, which of course is music. Leslie tells us he’ll devote most, if not all, of his time to creating music again,” TMZ reported.
Shmurda will also be required to check in with his parole officer as a term of his conditional release. He will be on parole until 2026.
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