NATIONWIDE — Against the urging of people directly impacted by incarceration and criminal justice advocates to break ties with prison telecom giant Aventiv Technologies — parent of Securus Technologies and JPay — Grammy Award-winning Christian rapper Lecrae has decided to continue partnering with the predatory corporation for a hip hop contest. His team has confirmed Lecrae is being paid by Aventiv.
Two weeks ago, a Worth Rises tweet criticizing the partnership between Aventiv and Lecrae prompted an outpouring of concerned responses. In the days that followed, Lecrae was inundated with personal testimonies from directly impacted families. He and his team eventually met with Worth Rises staff to further understand the harm Aventiv, through its subsidiaries Securus and JPay, has caused incarcerated people and their families. Lecrae expressed surprise and deep concern about Aventiv’s impact on the incarcerated population. Yet, late last week, Lecrae’s team confirmed to Worth Rise staff that he will continue to partner with Aventiv.
“The executives at Platinum Equity sold Lecrae a false narrative. Aventiv and its subsidiaries are just wolves in sheep’s clothing and will never make good bedfellows. Families told Lecrae the truth about Aventiv’s predatory behavior, from its price-gouging to its systemic violation of constitutional rights, and he failed to listen. Sadly, Lecrae will fall on the wrong side of history with this partnership,” said Bianca Tylek, Executive Director of Worth Rises. “Lecrae made a deal with the devil and missed the forest for the trees. The contest will reach few, but the corporate whitewashing of Aventiv’s predation will impact millions. And for this gimmick, Lecrae will accept blood money extracted from disproportionately Black and Brown families through extortionary call rates. It’s a shame.”
Abusive and extractive corporations have a long history of using deceptive marketing and strategic partnerships to drive a wedge between communities. The use of Black celebrities, cash-strapped Black institutions, and commonly neglected populations are distinctly egregious tactics used by Aventiv to deflect blame, conceal harmful activities, and make in-roads with the very communities they are harming. Instead of being accountable to their role in driving incarcerated people and their loved ones into debt, they are grossly painting themselves as saviors.
Background:
In August, incarcerated people were invited to create songs to original beats by Zaytoven. Entries were whittled down by Morris Brown College students before a final selection will be made by Lecrae this week. Contestants in the hip-hop contest retain no rights to their content.
Aventiv and its subsidiaries Securus and JPay brought in $770 million in 2020 by charging families as much as a dollar a minute for phone calls from prisons, jails, and immigrant detention centers. Securus also routinely piles on sky-high deposit fees. As a result of this predatory pricing, one in three families goes into debt trying to stay connected to a loved one behind bars, and 87% of the people carrying that burden are women — largely women of color.
Aventiv is owned by Platinum Equity, the private equity firm of shamed billionaire Tom Gores who was removed from the LACMA Board of Trustees in October 2020 for his investment in prison telecom. After four years of ownership and overwhelmingly critical media, it is expected that Platinum Equity will look to sell Aventiv in the near term, which may be the impetus for the firm’s aggressive press strategy.