Kodak Black is a free man — for the moment, at least.
The Florida rapper was released from jail on Thursday after posting a $100,000 bond. He had been behind bars since May after being accused of sexually assaulting a woman after a concert in February, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
Kodak Black, a 19-year-old rapper whose real name is Dieuson Octove, sent a message to fans about his release from jail.
“I’m happy to be finally going back home to my family and friends,” he wrote in an Instagram post . “I look forward to clearing my name in the near future.”
Kodak Black has been seen as one of the most promising young talents in the rap industry, releasing his first mixtape when he was 16 years old and getting his big break two years later when Drake posted a video of himself dancing to Kodak’s song “Skrt.” Kodak Black signed a contract with Atlantic Records and was named to XXL’s Freshmen Class of 2016 .
Even his time in jail couldn’t stop his rise. As MTV noted, Kodak Black released a mixtape while still behind bars and turned his own legal problems into inspiration for his music.
“The fact that Kodak is in trouble with the law provides a sadly timely backdrop to the tape’s best track: ‘Letter,’ where he describes being in prison and reading a letter from a friend. The song could be over-sentimental, but Kodak infuses it with the levity of two pals talking shit to each other. His friend — just out of jail himself — wishes Kodak the best as he keeps fighting his case, tells him how all his friends miss him, dreams of what they’ll do together once he’s free (‘I was hoping when I get out we could ride around the city’), and even offers a bit of life advice (‘This s**t just a lesson for you, bruh, pay attention / When you get out, Kodak, just keep focus and keep spitting’). It’s a novel way of presenting the familiar desire to make it out of a tough situation and to keep one’s head up.”
Even before his Thursday release from jail, Kodak Black has been in a heap of other legal trouble. In August, he was sentenced to a year of house arrest and five years of probation for unrelated charges. The sentence will have him holed up at an undisclosed location about 50 miles from where he grew up in Pompano Beach, the Sun-Sentinel reported.
As the Sun-Sentinel noted, Kodak Black is accused of sexually assaulting a woman who went to hang out with him at the Comfort Inn and Suites in Florence, South Carolina, after a concert. The assault allegedly happened when the woman went into a private room with the rapper, the report added.
“Octave pushed her onto the bed and then the floor, where he sexually assaulted and bit her, according to the allegations,” the report noted. “He told the woman he couldn’t help himself, as she screamed and tried to push him off her, the report says.”
While a warrant was issued for Kodak Black’s arrest related to the alleged sexual assault, the rapper was jailed in Florida on charges of robbery, false imprisonment, fleeing a law enforcement officer, and possession of a firearm by a delinquent. He was sentenced for the crimes and then sent to St. Lucie County for a marijuana charge before being sent to South Carolina.
Those around Kodak Black said they are confident he can beat the charges.
“We all believe he’s innocent,” Valentino Bain, CEO and founder of Fort Lauderdale-based New Era Promotions, told the Sun-Sentinel . “Everybody should believe he’s innocent.”
Though he is free for the moment, Kodak Black could be headed back to prison for a very long time. He faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted of all charges.
[Featured Image by Instagram /Kodak Black]