Musicians Who Are Currently In Prison

Professional, famous, and successful musicians live big lives and, usually, good lives, weaving artistic and moving tales of the human experience — and it's their familiarity with the dark side of life that can get them in trouble with the law and removed from society for a while. They wax or code brilliant works of art that make the world happy, feel something, or want to dance. But some of those same beloved and influential musicians, be they rock stars, rappers, or instrumentalists, have also been known to commit heinous criminal acts that make the world around them, or life for their victims, significantly worse. Musical ability and accolades couldn't save them from police, prosecutors, or judges, either, as they've received long and difficult-to-serve punishments for those aggressive digressions.

Here are some of the most notable popular musicians who have been arrested over the last few years and decades, and how they're still sitting in prison cells paying their court-ordered debt to society.

WARNING: The following article includes allegations of domestic abuse, child abuse, and sexual assault. 

The hottest thing in rap in the late '90s and early 2000s was the gritty, go-hard sound of No Limit Records. Rapper Master P founded the label and used it as a vehicle to propel his own career, as well as those of his brothers Silkk the Shocker and C-Murder. The latter's first two albums, "Life and Death" (1998) and "Bossalinie" (1999), were respectively certified platinum and gold by the RIAA, although his ascent to the top of the rap world was hindered somewhat by a rap battle tragedy. In 2002, 16-year-old C-Murder fan Steve Thomas attended the event, with the aid of a fake ID, at the Platinum Club in Harvey, Louisiana. During the competitive concert, a large fight broke out in the crowd and escalated quickly. C-Murder (real name: Corey Miller) reportedly used his firearm on Thomas, who died as a result of his injuries. 

A year earlier, C-Murder was involved in a similar incident at a Baton Rouge club, attempting to shoot Club Raggs owner Norman Sparrow and a bouncer, but the gun jammed. Attempted murder charges didn't stick in that case, but in the later Thomas case, a jury found C-Murder — who altered his stage name to C. Miller during the legal proceedings — guilty of second-degree murder. A judge delivered the rapper a sentence of life in prison.

Before he formed a cult built around prophecies of a coming race war of world-ending proportions, Charles Manson was a musician bumming around the Los Angeles music scene of the 1960s. While he made one album and even got one of his compositions recorded by the Beach Boys, Manson attracted other musicians to his "Family," including Bobby Beausoleil. As a teenager, Beausoleil played guitar for the Grass Roots, which would evolve into Love, responsible for the classic album "Forever Changes." He'd also leave that band, but would continue to play for several experimental and psychedelic-tinged groups of the era, such as Magick Powerhouse of OZ and Orkustra.

In the Manson Family, Beausoleil was one of the boss's most trusted allies, responsible for luring new recruits. He also committed murders on the command of Manson, who had connections to numerous celebrities. The first death authorities attributed to the Manson cult was that of music teacher Gary Hinman in 1969. A cited enemy of Manson, he was stabbed to death, a crime for which Beausoleil was arrested (he was spotted driving Hinman's car) and convicted. His 1970 death sentence was commuted to a life sentence when the state of California banned capital punishment in 1972, and Beausoleil has been behind bars ever since. He was denied parole in 2019 when Governor Gavin Newsom blocked a parole board's recommendation to release Beausoleil, who has continued recording music while imprisoned.

R. Kelly legitimately started calling himself "The King of R&B" in 1998. He'd ultimately place 37 singles in the Top 40 of Billboard's R&B chart, and crossover to the upper reaches of the pop chart, too. Kelly was adept at stately ballads like "I Believe I Can Fly," dance music like "Ignition (Remix)," and seductive slow jams, including "Sex Me," "Bump N' Grind," and "Your Body's Callin.'"

But from almost the beginning of his career, Kelly endured allegations of impropriety and abuse involving women and teenagers. He once married his 15-year-old protege, R&B star Aaliyah, by lying about the singer's age, and in 1998, he settled a lawsuit for allegedly causing emotional stress to a woman under the age of 18, with whom he'd had an intimate relationship. From 2002 to 2004, Kelly avoided prison time after being connected with more than 30 counts of producing sexually explicit content depicting children. 

In 2017, a Buzzfeed exposé led to a slew of allegations that turned into charges for state and federal crimes. Among the crimes of which Kelly stood trial: witness tampering, racketeering, and recruiting young women in order to control and abuse them. Kelly was sentenced to 30 years in prison on state-level charges of racketeering and sex trafficking in 2022. Then a federal judge delivered Kelly a 20-year sentence for crimes against minors, to be served almost concurrently with the previous punishment.

Helping to take trap music — a hypnotic mix of rapping and singing — into the mainstream, Fetty Wap (real name: Willie Maxwell II) broke out of the collective Remy Boyz in 2014, and quickly took his debut solo track, "Trap Queen" to No. 2 on the pop and R&B charts. Fetty Wap dominated rap in the summer of 2015, trotting out more big hits like "My Way," "679," and "Again." He'd also earn two nominations, for Best Rap Song and Best Rap Performance, at the 2016 Grammy Awards.

Serious legal issues derailed Fetty Wap's career. In October 2021, FBI agents arrested the rapper at the Rolling Loud festival in Queens, New York. One of six people apprehended, the FBI alleged that Maxwell helped run a nationwide trafficking ring headquartered in Suffolk County, New York. Per the FBI's investigation, Maxwell assisted in bringing in drugs from the West Coast, and had them sold in the New York City metropolitan area. 

Accused of helping distribute fentanyl and heroin, Maxwell delivered a guilty plea to federal-level charges of conspiracy to distribute and possess cocaine. During his 2023 sentencing hearing, the rapper apologized. "I hurt my community, people who look up to me, my family, and myself," he said (via NBC News). "I am truly sorry for any pain I caused." Unswayed by his remorse, the presiding judge sentenced the rapper to a six-year term in federal prison and five years of supervision after his release.

Branding himself as an "emo-acapella" singer, teen idol-type Austin Jones utilized YouTube to launch a successful musical career. While still a teenager in 2007, Jones recorded and uploaded videos of himself covering familiar pop tunes, sometimes accompanying himself on an acoustic guitar. He'd eventually record original songs, release multiple albums, and embark on a concert tour. He remained a prominent YouTube star for the next decade, ultimately bringing in more than 500,000 subscribers and amassing several million video views for his channel.

Jones' fanbase was largely young women, and he used his popularity in that demographic to sexually exploit and victimize some of his followers. In 2017, Jones was arrested after allegedly using Facebook to encourage fans to send him explicit and nude videos and images of themselves. Some of his targets were as young as 14. After Jones agreed to a plea bargain, a Chicago judge sentenced the disgraced YouTube celebrity to 10 years in prison in 2019.

A versatile session musician and sideman in the 2000s, Pete McNeal played drums for singer-songwriter Brett Dennen, jazz-pop superstar Norah Jones, Soul Coughing leader Mike Doughty, and Ghostface Killah, a member of the historically troubled Wu-Tang Clan. Also a part of the folk-rock trio the Panderers, McNeal joined the popular quirk-rock band Cake, providing percussion on the band's albums and in live shows from 2001 to 2004.

In 2009, McNeal attended a Thanksgiving party in the Los Angeles enclave of Laurel Canyon. During the visit, McNeal sexually abused a three-year-old child. The musician avoided prison time because his initial trial resulted in a hung jury, but when he was retried, a second jury found McNeal guilty on a charge of copulation with a child under the age of 10. McNeal had once been given probation after the attempted assault of a child during a volunteer stint at a Los Angeles school; for the Thanksgiving crime, the musician earned a sentence of 15 years to life in prison.

If you or anyone you know may be the victim of child abuse, is dealing with domestic abuse or has been a victim of sexual assault, contact the relevant resources below:

• The Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or contact their live chat services.

• The National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−7233. You can also find more information, resources, and support at their website.

• The Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).