

Rapper Busta Rhymes attended the Families Against Mandatory Minimum’s 25th anniversary gala on March 24. (Enrique Huaiquil)

Celeb: Rapper and record producer Busta Rhymes.

Cause: Rhymes calls prison sentencing reform — particularly advocating against mandatory minimum sentencing laws — his passion.

The O.G. of MCs came to the cause, he says, when one of his closest friends, reggae music exec Horatio Hamilton, was sentenced in 2006 to a mandatory 20 years in prison for dealing marijuana. “Our policy shatters lives, devastates communities and robs families of their fathers and mothers, sons and daughters,” Rhymes said.

Scene: Rhymes met with White House reps on Thursday to discuss how sentencing laws result in increased prison populations and take a toll on the economy.

At night he attended the D.C. advocacy group Families Against Mandatory Minimums’ 25th Anniversary Gala with pals Spliff Star and DJ Scratch, where he spoke about his friend’s experience and the need for change.

Soundbite: “Inmates may have made mistakes, like becoming addicted to drugs, but it shouldn’t cost them their lives,” Rhymes said. “The stories of so many people in prison for these unbelievably long periods of time, people like Horatio who I know doesn’t deserve to be there, keeps me up at night.”