“Arguably the most provocative and the most controversial spoken word artist ever.”
“What Christ Jesus was to the Jews…
What Moses was to the Hebrews…
I will be to poor people.”
After serving eight years out of a ten year sentence for the Armed Robbery and Kidnapping of a City of Milwaukee detective’s daughter, Newt Turner has finally been released from State prison to implement his prison conceived philosophies and ideologies to innovate and to conquer the literary and Hip-hop world.
“The world is about to witness something beautiful, yet cruel and unusual.”
After repeated thoughts of abortion, due to personal uncertainty, societal and family pressures, his mother gave birth to him on The University of Kansas campus, where she was a sophomore, majoring in Psychology and Human Development. Shortly after his birth, he moved to St. Louis, Missouri with his grandmother. After his mother graduated and married, they moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin to start a new life. This was the beginning of his traumatic child abuse experience.
“I never seen my real father, except for a picture of him I seen in my mama’s high school yearbook. My step-father was the only father I ever knew. He came into my life when I was like two years old. I mean, I hated this nigga for a long time. I knew I was a wild child growin’ up. I came out the womb with my own mind. A lot of things I did was perceived as me being a problem child, but in actuality I was just focused on what I was destined to be…a king. But the nigga was tryin’ to destroy me. It was like that story in the Bible when Pharoah wanted to kill all the male children. He seen my strength and he feared it.”
“Society teaches us if we are afraid or don’t understand something or someone, we must destroy it or conform it to our way of thinking. That’s what he tried to do, but he couldn’t. But it was like, the more he tried to destroy me, the stronger I was becoming.”
“Now, I know youngin’s need they ass whupped from time to time for doin’ bad ****. I accept that. But that nigga was on some other ****. The nigga used to beat me naked with belts and extension cords. Beat me up like I was some nigga on the streets. I remember wakin’ up in the morning’, looking’ in the mirror, seein’ welts and bruises all over my face and body. This was happenin’ like every other day. I used to blame myself. I thought I was a problem. I thought I was the “bad seed” of the family. But when my brother’s got older, the ones he had with my mother, started doin’ the same **** I did growin’ up, and wasn’t getting’ beatin’ for it, I knew then it was personal. I knew he was singling’ me out because I was not his real son. I remember telling’ my mother what was goin’ on but she didn’t care. She loved that nigga more than she loved me. I’m showin’ her all the bruises and ****, but she had the attitude like I deserved it. I’m like, what child deserves to beaten naked with extension cords? What parent is gonna listen to a child telling’ them their husband is abusing’ them? Naturally, they gonna believe the husband and that’s what she did. She knew I was getting’ my ass whupped but she didn’t know how. That’s was a big difference. She didn’t know about the kicks to the face and the stomach, or the times he choked me until I almost passed out, or the times he threw me up against the wall and punched me in the face, or the times he would be like, “Nigga, you ain’t never gon’ be ****!” Man…I can tell you so many stories. Like I said, he was trying to destroy me. But I was too strong. The more I resisted, the more persistent he became. I had no one to run to. I was helpless. I couldn’t do nothing’ but accept the abuse.”
With the daily tension between him and his step-father, combined with the beatings at home, he tried to find a place where he could feel loved and accepted. A place he could “get away”. Like most love deprived and confused child abused children, he found that love and acceptance in the streets.
“I found love in the open-armed hearts of the drug-addicted, the alcoholics, the prostitutes and the hustlas and the pimps in my neighborhood. That was my family. There is no greater feeling in the world than being accepted by people who are just as ****ed up as you. They don’t pass judgment. My step-father didn’t teach me **** about life. The streets were my father. I remember this prostitute name Chelle. She used to put me up on game about bitches and how they play niggas. I remember she used to be like, “Get the respect and the money then get the pussy”. The teachings and ideologies of people in my neighborhood shaped my mentality. It partly made me what I am today. I owe a lot to them…I also found love in alcohol, weed and violence. I started poppin’ Hydrocodone when I was twelve years old. I stole them from this chick’s house. Her mother was takin’ em. I was a fifteen year old alcoholic. I drank a pint of Korbel and a pint of E&J a day. I was stressed the **** out. I got this nigga at the house beatin’ the hell out me every other day. I’m dealin’ with niggas and bitches on the streets. That **** just helped me escape the reality of my situation. It temporarily helped ease the emotional and physical pain.”
Though the street life consumed most of his time and his immediate interest, he still found time for education. In his first two years of High school, he was an honor roll student, had perfect attendance, and was on the Debate and Forensics team. But he felt alienated because his peers didn’t like the fact that he was smart.
“High school was ****ed up. I went to a ghetto school where education was not a priority. Less than half of the senior class graduated. It was all about being popular. And popularity was determined by how good you dressed, how sexually active you were, how much money you had and what clique or gang you were affiliated with. The females only ****ed with dumb niggas. Niggas that skipped class, niggas that was bangin’, niggas that had “hustle”. The bitches didn’t **** with me because I was smart. They used to call me “Braniac”. That was a real ****ed up time for me, because in high school, what your peers think of you is all that matters. You want to be accepted. That was what I wanted. I wanted to be accepted so I changed.”
The summer leading up to his junior year would change his life forever.
“Man…that summer I into all kinds of ****. I mean, I was stickin’ up niggas, snatchin’ bitches purses, peelin’ up cars. Me and my homeboy started sellin’ sticks and stones. That’s joints and crack. I had this one girl sellin’ pussy during summer school. She was nothing’ but fifteen. All I was thinking’ about was makin’ money. I didn’t give a **** about nothing’ else. Money is what got you “accepted” in the hood. It got you respect, pussy and love from niggas. I needed that. Now that I think about it…every crime I committed had something’ to do with makin’ money. I had an entrepreneurial spirit. I just didn’t know how to apply it properly…in a positive way.”
After barely graduating from high school, his grades were good enough to get him accepted to The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. After one semester, he dropped out. Six months later, he was accepted at Bryant and Stratton College where he was majoring in Business Management.
“Being accepted to UWM was a big accomplishment for me. I was only the second person in my family to go to college. It made my mother proud of me. But I couldn’t cope with the academic pressures, commitment and dedication. My high school didn’t prepare me for college. I thought I could just go in there and knock it out like I did High school. I wasn’t prepared mentally. The only thing I wanted to do was party and **** bitches. That was my main focus then. I was a “hood nigga” so all the white bitches caught a likin’ for me. I got caught up in that ****. Fucked up! When I dropped out, my mama was so disappointed in me. It was hard to look her in the eyes. I felt like a failure. Now, the streets were callin’ me. I was fightin’ it. I got accepted to Stratton and things changed for a minute. I was on the Dean’s list the first semester. Then things began to unravel. My life was becoming to stressful. I was a college student in the morning and a criminal at night. Something had to give. And it did.”
In the spring of 1994, he was arrested for the Robbery and the Kidnapping of a City of Milwaukee Detective’s daughter, along with his cousin and his ex-girlfriend’s little brother and his friend. He was facing eighty years in prison.
“I was in a ****ed up situation. My cousin snitched. Rocked the mic. Bitch ass nigga! I mean, when the detectives came in there with they routine **** about he was telling’ and ****, I didn’t believe that ****. But they came back and told me **** that only me and him knew about. I mean, intricate ****. He was telling’ them pigs about robberies I did he wasn’t even involved in. When the detects came back and hollered at me about what the nigga was sayin’, I ain’t even trip. I’m like this is my cousin. This nigga is from the block. He knows the rules. I told them detects to get the **** out my face. But then my lawyer came back and showed me his signed statements. I was like, what the **** is this ****? My own mutha****in’ cousin! The bitch I used to **** with little brother didn’t say ****. He got six months in a boy’s home. His friend told though. I remember bein’ in my cell thinking’ like, what the **** am I gonna do! I had to take the weight. What was I suppose to do? Here I am facin’ eighty mutha****in’ years! I can’t take the chance of this nigga bein’ a State witness. So I took the weight. The D.A. came back with a deal. A dime. I ran with it.”
“While I was being sentenced, the only thing that was goin’ through my mind was when I get out I was gonna put a hot one in that nigga. I remember looking’ over my shoulder and seein’ my mama cryin’. Tears was just trickling’ down her cheeks. That really ****ed me up. Words alone can’t explain the hurt I felt seein’ her like that. I felt like cryin’ but my heart wouldn’t let me.”
Throughout his extensive stay in prison, he had his “drama” with family members, friends and ex-girlfriend’s, including physical encounters with correctional guards and other inmates. In the months of July and September in1996 and the months of March and August of 1999, he was charged with multiple counts of Battery to an Inmate and Exciting a Riot, where he spent a combined total of two years and thirty-eight days in solitary confinement. The charges were later dropped during the Preliminary hearing because the inmates refused to testify.
“When I first got locked up, I was outta control. I mean, I didn’t give a ****. This was my first time in prison. I mean, I been to detention centers before, but this **** was different. In the streets, older cats kinda groom you for prison life. They tell you all these stories about how to act and what to do, watch out for niggas tryin’ to rape you, not to mention the **** you see on the movies. I went to prison with the mentality…get ‘em before they get you. But can you blame me? Six months into the county, my girl got pregnant by another nigga. My homeboy gets popped six times in the head. My family is goin’ behind my back talkin’ **** about me. Nobody but my mother would accept my collect calls. I mean, I was losin’ my mind. So anytime a nigga get outta pocket, we box! You renig in a game of spades, we box! You lose a bet and can’t pay, I pay your cellie a couple boxes of Oatmeal Crème Pies to leave the door unlock while you sleep, and I snatch yo’ ass up and we do our thang. That’s the way it was. I could tell you so many stories, but you have to wait for my novel, “I Did It My Way” to be released.”
“I believe State prison was God’s plan. I mean, I was doin’ a lot of ****ed up **** on the streets. And I guess God was like, nigga it’s time for you to chill out. Now, I ain’t gonna have you killed, I’m just gonna spank ya’ ass for awhile, make you think about the **** you done. I remember a phone conversation I had with my Grannie when I was in the County. She told me God saved me. She told me God chastise those He loves. I believed her.”
“Prison taught me a lot of lessons. It showed me who really loved me and who was just pretendin’. I mean, people will say they love you when you have money, when you doin’ good, but when you’ve been stripped of everything and all you have is your naked soul, that’s when you find out who is real and who isn’t. Like my step-father. This nigga used to talk all this **** about how he beat my ass cause he loved me and was tryin’ to steer me in the right direction, but he didn’t send a single dollar, probably talked to me three times on the phone my entire sentence and seen me like twice with my mother. He said if I ever went to jail he was gonna disown me. But when my brother got sent to a group home, he went and seen him every weekend. I remember goin’ on visits with a couple of my ex-gals and I see these white boys with their fathers and ****. I mean, they fathers would drive hundreds of miles to see they sons like it was nothing’. That’s what I’m talkin’ about! When you love something or someone, you pay attention to it, you take care of it, and nobody has to tell you ****. You take your own initiative. You only know the strength of your relationship until it’s been tested. All my relationships, both family and personal were tested. Everyone with the exception of my mother failed. Now that I’m out and I don’t **** with ‘em, they like, “What’s wrong? What did I do?” My response to that…FUCK YOU!”
He states that even though prison was troublesome, he still found a positive out of a negative situation. He states that he never served time, he let time serve him.
“I wasn’t like most niggas in the joint. I didn’t sit around playin’ spades and dominoes all day, or on the phone “panty checkin’”, or listenin’ some nigga talk about all the **** he had on the streets and how many bitches he had. Fuck that ****! I read. I went to the library every other day. Sometimes I went when it wasn’t time for my unit to go. That’s how persistent I was. Anything I wanted to learn, I taught myself. Prison was my college. I used to look up the curriculum at colleges and find similar books in the library and study them. Here I am a nigga from the ghetto, reading about the ideologies and philosophies of Socrates, Plato, the Black Panther Party and Mao Tse-tung. I’m reading books by SunTzu, Nikki Giovanni, Assata Shakur, Eldridge Cleaver, Farrakhan and Malcolm X. When I went to the “hole”, I made sure the trustee kept me with books. All non-fiction. Information and money rules the world. I knew if I could combine my streets smarts with book smarts, I would be invincible when I got out. I had to have a plan. Remember that sayin’, “If you fail to plan, plan to fail”. I was planning’ my attack. I knew f I didn’t have a solid plan before I got out, I would be right back in this bitch. Most niggas in the joint waste they time on bull****. They don’t devise plans. That’s why they come back. That’s why half the prison population is filled with ex-offenders.”
“Inmates are more powerful than they think. Actually, they are more powerful than people on the streets. They just don’t realize it. Inmates have time to think. How many people in the free world have damn near fifteen to twenty hours to just think. The free world is too fast paced. They don’t have that kind of time, but inmates do. They can sit in they cell and devise plans, organize thoughts and ideas, feelings and actions, whether it’s positive or criminal. That’s why these judges and prosecutors need to re-evaluate who they send to the joint. Because there is some cat upstate right thinking’ about how he avenge the injustices placed on him by the judicial system. That’s why I’m so powerful. I had time to think. There is no one in the literary/entertainment business more powerful than me. If they are, it’s only temporary, because they had an eight year head start.”
After his release and completing his parole guidelines, he decided to move out of Milwaukee. He didn’t want to wait for the tension to build between him and The City of Milwaukee Detective Division. He states the police department in Milwaukee is notorious for murdering and “setting up” ex-offenders to back to prison.
“What happened was… I knew the date when I was gonna be off parole. I packed up all my **** the day after my last visit before I sign my final papers and drove twelve hundred miles to Orlando. The day before my final date, I took a plane back to Milwaukee. I stayed with Grannie until the next day. I didn’t go nowhere. The next day I had this chick drive me to sign my papers. I signed them. Then she drove me straight to the airport. I was smiling all the way back to Orlando. It’s kinda ironic, but I felt like a runaway slave fleein’ to the South.”
“It’s like chess…in order to win; you have to think many moves ahead of your opponent. You have to be in a position to counter-attack before and attack is even made. You have to be in a position to react when there is a threat of an attack. You have to think about all the possibilities. That’s why I loved playin’ chess so much. That’s why I’m so good at it. It’s a game of war.”
In order for me to accomplish the goals I set for myself, I knew I had to change my environment. My mentality was and still is…never go back to prison…die first…and take some people with me. I couldn’t be around the same influences that got sent to prison. That’s like an addict getting’ out of rehab and then goin’ to chill out at a dope house. You are goin’ to have a relapse soon or later. I believed the City of Milwaukee Detective Division was patiently waitin’ for me to get released so they can avenge what happened. I lived in Milwaukee. They get down like that! What was I suppose to do? Sit back and wait for something’ to happen when I know there is a possibility it will. I don’t know what’s goin’ on in they mind. Look what I did to his daughter! They’d probably pull me over at a traffic stop and murder me right there. Who knows? I’m smart though. I’m not gonna let it be that easy.”
Newt Turner is now finally free. Or is he? He is now implementing his prison conceived philosophies and ideologies to conquer the entertainment scene in Orlando. He has crowned himself “The King of the O”…the “Messiah of the Ghetto”.
“Orlando is new territory to be explored and conquered. When I first got down here, I asked the streets who was the hottest artist in the city? They couldn’t give me a single name. I scouted all the local artists and I wasn’t impressed. Everybody sounds the same to me. A lot of lame ****. I’m setting precedence in the O. These cats can no longer drop that bull**** they been droppin’ before I got here. They got to step it up! They got to bring they A game to the court every time. If they don’t, they can’t eat. I’m tyrant. That’s just what it is. My motto is “you can’t eat, unless I feed you.”
What separate Newt Turner from other artists, poets and writers are his unique spoken word delivery, the imagery behind his words, his revolutionary, provocative and controversial subject matter and creativity, and his need to “give back” to the communities of poor people. He believes its imperative artist give back to poor people. He feels we are all products of our environment. And no matter how bad we had it growin’ up, our community has influenced our creativity and our success in some shape or form. That is where his inspiration comes from.
“What sets me aside from other artists is my realness, my subject matter and my need to give back to poor people. I write about real issues that affect their communities. Fuck that materialistic ****! Fuck that **** about ****in’ bitches and that club ****! I mean, if that’s the **** you like, I don’t knock it, but I stepped it up. If you wanna **** with me, you have to be able to expand your present mind state. You have to want to see the future, feel me?”
“Look…Newt Turner is more than just a man behind words on a song or in a verse you read, or rock ya head to in the clubs or at the crib. I am the voice of poor people. I am the light for the darkened souls. I am a philanthropist. A community activist. Spoken word performer. Hip-hop artist. The Christ of G’Livin’. Songwriter. Novelist. Screenwriter. Visionary. Innovator. No one in the literary/entertainment industry is more diverse than me. I can’t be contained to one genre of music, style or “hustle”. I can attack from so many different angles. That’s why I’m so powerful. That’s why I’m the King of Orlando!”
“I don’t care what people may say or think about who I am, what I say, how I say it or what I stand for. Fuck ‘em! No matter what you do in life, people are gonna hate you. Remember Jesus, Malcolm X, and King? I don’t let the opinions and comments of others deter me from my destiny. No matter how graphic the content or how cocky and arrogant you may think I am, you have to respect my struggles, you have to love and respect my love for poor people, you have to respect the pains and miseries I went through and the victory the awaits me. Be mad. I don’t care. This is God’s plan. Shit…I ain’t even supposed to be here. My mama was at the abortion clinic with the money in her purse. I’m here for a reason. I’m here for you.”
From almost being an aborted fetus, to an abusive, traumatic childhood, to spending eight years in prison, Newt Turner has emerged impossibilities. He has used his stumbling blocks as stepping stones. His character, his words, his subject matter and his love for poor people is emotionally infectious and somewhat legendary.
