ladyyaya

South African singer Larry Joe found in solitary confinement the peace of mind he needed to develop his talent. A producer helped him make a CD in a cell-turned-studio.

Joe, 31, can see only seven stars in his small ffxiv gil slice of sky. He has spent nearly three years with those stars outside his window in a prison in Douglas, South Africa, counting the days of his sentence for housebreaking.

But he has a guitar, his songs and a wild hope.

“I want to be a bright, bright star.” His voice is wistful, as soft as velvet. “I want people, when they hear me, to see the darkness a little less.”

The first seven months in prison he thought about “everything”: what he’d done, how things had gone so wrong.

Then he asked to be put into solitary confinement, where he spent many ff14 gil months, and he started to write songs.

“I started to put my feelings in words,” said Joe. “I wanted my guitar to sound exactly the way I felt.”

He strums his guitar and sings, his voice so sweet that it’s heartbreaking.

It was December 1, 2008, and one of South Africa’s top musical groups, Freshly Ground, was in Douglas for a concert to mark World AIDS Day.

Joe was also invited to play FF14 Power leveling in the support act, permitted by the government. He stunned the audience.

Aron Turest-Swartz, Freshly Ground’s founder, noticed Joe’s music and his crazy fans.“Everyone was totally riveted. I was really blown away because I hadn’t heard a voice like that before,” he recalled.

Turest-Swartz visited Joe and listened to some FFXIV Power leveling of the 40 songs he had written in prison, and came up with the idea of recording an album there. He worked with Joe all through the freezing winter in a prison cell recording studio.

Troubled childhood

When Joe was 13, his parents moved to a small house in Douglas.

They were very poor: his sister would tell him that she had a headache for bread, but there was nothing to give her.

Joe made bad friends, who were always talking about stealing. Later, Joe slipped into crime to help reduce the burden of family. Finally, he was put behind bars.

Prison could have broken him: he couldn’t even see his family members buried. His father died when he was in prison. So did Joe’s 18-month-old daughter. Before prison, he’d see her in the hospital, medical tubes everywhere. Joe felt broken when she died.But he marks the time of his rebirth – his decision to be a better man – from that moment.

He stopped pretending there was an excuse for his crime, that he’d really been a good guy just trying to overcome poverty and stop his sister’s bread headaches.“I decided to be myself. So I started behaving like a gentleman,” he said.

On December 13, 2010, the album he recorded in prison was timed for release. He was paroled for good behavior after two years and 10 months.That afternoon, Joe gave a concert at the prison to celebrate his freedom and his CD, Crazy Life. The first song is called Let You Know.

Joe launched into a crowd favorite. One group of prisoners was dancing, hands in the air. Beside the stage, officers jumped to their feet, dancing joyfully with the cheap ffxiv gil prisoners. The night before, Joe had felt afraid. His dreams were huge. Was he good enough? But it was time to say goodbye to his seven stars. He would see them outside.