¼ª²ÊÍøÍøÕ¾

Bringing The World Home To You

© 2025 ¼ª²ÊÍøÍøÕ¾ North Carolina Public Radio
120 Friday Center Dr
Chapel Hill, NC 27517
919.445.9150 | 800.962.9862
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

What it takes to make music in prison

Ways To Subscribe

As a person incarcerated in the state of Virginia, rapper Deon Thomas doesn’t have access to a recording studio. Instead, he’s part of a small group of artists who record songs via phone calls and distribute them through a prison-only digital music service. It's a modern twist on a long and complicated tradition. Join us as we explore the influential, exploitative and ever-evolving world of music in Southern prisons.

Featuring:

  • Zeb Larson, writer and historian, contributor at Scalawag Magazine
  • Deon Thomas, incarcerated musician
  • Carla Simmons, incarcerated musician

Links:

  • Check out Zeb Larson’s articles on  and the .
  • You can find a transcript of the episode here.
Charlie Shelton-Ormond is a podcast producer for ¼ª²ÊÍøÍøÕ¾.
Jerad Walker is ¼ª²ÊÍøÍøÕ¾â€™s editor of narrative audio and podcasts. He joined the station in 2022 after nearly a decade at Oregon Public Broadcasting.
Latest Episodes