Inside Cameroon’s notorious New Bell Prison, where overcrowding, violence and harsh living conditions define daily life, a small recording studio is giving inmates an unexpected path to creativity, rehabilitation and hope.
Known as Jail Time Records, the prison based music label has become one of the most remarkable rehabilitation projects in Africa, producing music videos, albums and now an internationally acclaimed documentary that has brought global attention to the lives of prisoners inside the sprawling facility.
The BBC documented how the initiative has turned inmates into recording artists while creating opportunities for self expression in one of Cameroon’s most overcrowded prisons.
New Bell, located in the port city of Douala, operates much like a city within prison walls.
Inmates have created their own informal systems to cope with life behind bars. Prisoners act as message couriers, maintain informal security roles and run small market stalls selling food and everyday items to fellow inmates.
Within that environment, Jail Time Records has emerged as a symbol of resilience.
Former inmate Steve Happi co founded the project in 2018 with Italian artist Dione Roach after prison authorities approved plans to establish a recording studio inside the facility.
Happi said music helped inmates look beyond imprisonment.
“It is an instrument of resistance where we can really share friendship, love and our voices can be heard,” Happi told the BBC.
“We do not think anymore about the four walls. We find freedom.”
The studio itself is modest.
It consists of a small recording booth connected to a room containing a single computer.
Despite its simplicity, it has produced professional quality songs and music videos that have attracted audiences across Africa, Europe, North America and South America.
One of its best known artists is Empereur, an inmate serving a prison sentence while also known as a gang leader inside and outside New Bell.
His prison filmed music video has attracted more than 24,000 views on YouTube.
Another inmate, known as Stone, became one of the documentary’s emotional centerpieces.
A former member of Cameroon’s presidential guard, Stone is serving a 10 year sentence for robbery and illegal firearm possession, charges he says he did not commit.
The documentary follows his repeated attempts to contact his young daughter by telephone while recording deeply personal songs about imprisonment, regret and separation.
In one performance, Stone raps about emotional isolation and life behind prison walls while describing feelings of despair and uncertainty.
The documentary, titled Jail Time Records, was filmed over six years inside New Bell.
Last month it won three awards, including Best Documentary Feature, at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York.
Academy Award winning filmmaker Taika Waititi and singer Rita Ora served as executive producers on the project.
Waititi said the music demonstrated the power of artistic expression to support rehabilitation.
“The music that comes out of there is amazing,” he told the BBC.
“The power of art in relation to redemption is an incredibly powerful and humane thing.”
What we know so far
The music project has expanded well beyond recording songs.
In 2022, Jail Time Records released its first album, Jail Time Vol. 1, with profits shared between participating artists and reinvested into the studio.
The organization has since launched music programs for women incarcerated at New Bell.
Its first female artist, Jeje, debuted with the song Show Me The Way, reflecting on her difficult upbringing and imprisonment after stealing money from a relative she described as abusive.
The initiative has also expanded beyond Cameroon.
In 2023, its founders established a second recording studio inside the central prison in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, with hopes of replicating the project’s success.
What authorities are saying
Prison officials have publicly supported the initiative.
Happi said prison administrators welcomed the project from the beginning and continued supporting concerts and performances inside the prison.
He recalled that New Bell’s prison director even joined inmates on stage during a recent concert held in the prison courtyard.
The cooperation has allowed the program to continue operating and expand participation among inmates.
Why this matters
The project stands in sharp contrast to New Bell’s longstanding reputation.
Human Rights Watch reported in 2022 that the prison housed roughly 4,700 inmates, nearly four times its intended capacity.
Human rights organizations have repeatedly criticized overcrowding, poor sanitation and limited medical care inside the prison.
During a cholera outbreak several years ago, at least six inmates died after the disease spread rapidly through the overcrowded facility.
New Bell has also witnessed deadly violence.
In 2008, prison guards shot and killed 16 inmates during an attempted prison break.
The documentary does not ignore those realities.
Instead, it presents music as a rehabilitation tool rather than an attempt to excuse or celebrate criminal behavior.
Roach said the project deliberately avoids judging participants before giving them an opportunity to change.
“The process we are doing is a rehabilitation process,” she told the BBC.
“Music is a way of self discovery, coming to terms with things you have done and hopefully changing for the better.”
The film concludes with a memorial honoring six prisoners who died while the project was underway, underscoring the difficult conditions that continue to exist inside the prison.
What happens next
The founders hope to expand Jail Time Records into more correctional facilities across Africa while continuing production of music, documentaries and rehabilitation programs.
Their long term goal is to demonstrate that creative opportunities inside prisons can reduce isolation, encourage rehabilitation and strengthen inmates’ chances of rebuilding their lives after release.
For many participants, the project represents far more than entertainment.
It offers recognition, dignity and a renewed sense of belonging in a place where hope is often in short supply.
