While working as a janitor at Philadelphia City Hall, Ron Aikens began spending his free time singing karaoke outdoors for tips, using the alias “Ronn Jaimz.” Five years ago, a record store owner ...

The 1970s were a golden age for music made in American prisons. During that decade, the composer, singer and guitarist Ike White released an album from his California prison that earned him ...

This essay is a preview of Redemption Songs, an upcoming limited-run Marshall Project newsletter that dives into the music produced in prisons over the last century. Sign up now to get a song by ...