Kalief Browder's Tragic Story Is A Must Watch & Jay Z Explains Why

Part one of Jay Z's gripping six-part docu-series on the arrest, wrongful imprisonment, and death of Kalief Browder premiered Wednesday night, and it's a must-watch if we want to prevent such injustice from happening again.

Back in January, Jay himself explained why it's so important to tell the story of Browder, the 22-year-old Bronx native who was accused of stealing a backpack when he was 16 and subsequently imprisoned at the infamous Rikers Island jail for three years without a conviction.

When he met Browder for the first time at Roc Nation in 2015, "I was actually in awe of his strength. That he was standing there, he was proud," Jay recalled while discussing The Kalief Browder Story at this year's Sundance Film Festival.

"He was sitting up straight, he was talking, he was laughing," the 47-year-old rapper said. "And it seemed that his life was gonna, like it happens in the movies, that he was going to get his life together and he was going to keep moving on."

The day after their meeting, Jay received the news that Browder committed suicide, according to Revolt.

"It took a while to really come to terms with what just happen to this young man," Jay said. 

But after learning that then-President Barack Obama and New York Mayor Bill De Blasio had enacted policies to prevent Browder's horrific experience in the justice system from repeating itself, Jay came to a profound realization.

"Everything just started happening in a way where I was like, 'Oh, he’s a prophet. His life was meant to make sure other kids don’t have to go through the same thing,' " Jay said. "This is not like some type of outlier. This happens a lot. I know many people."

"I just view Kalief as a prophet," he continued. "And I hope we spread the word so we all could see this thing. I know it’s difficult to watch. It’s hard to watch. It’s real life. It’s us. The power of us. We are the people that can change this and make sure this doesn’t happen to someone else’s 16 year old child."

You can catch The Kalief Browder Story on Spike Wednesdays at 10 p.m. EST.