On July 11th, the JAY Z room at the 40/40 club was crammed with bloggers, journalists and tastemakers eager to see the premiere of BET’s On Tour with Meek Mill.
The special follows the days leading up to rapper Meek Mill’s concert in his home town of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The twist of the series is that his story is recounted by his team, who he affectionately calls the Dreamchasers, comprised mostly of his family and friends. They chronicle the beginning of his career to where the rapper is now.
The series opens with Robert Williams aka Meek Mill, discussing his criminal history. He divulges his struggles with the law and says he has been on probation for 16-years of his life. But despite his legal trouble, he feels obligated to provide for his team because they all rely on him.
“I really thought my whole life would be in the streets, but Meek definitely helped me get away from it,” said aspiring rapper Omelly, first cousin to Meek Mill. “Now I don’t have to risk my life.”
As the special comes to a close, Meek Mill performs to a sold out crowd the intro to his album Dreams and Nightmares which debuted in 2012, but is a Meek Mill classic and fan favorite. As the guests begin to leave the sold out arena, the camera transitions to Meek sitting in a dark room.
“A lot of people aren’t going to understand me, and if you don’t understand me it’s okay,” said the Philly rapper. “Tupac had to die for people to understand him, but I’m not going to die before you understand me.” “I don’t care if it takes one year, two years or four, you will understand me one day.”
