NORIKIYO’s The Real Prison Diary Vol. 2 Is Out: A Raw Look at Hip-Hop Behind Bars

April 17, 2026 | Tokyo, Japan | Team RJHH

NORIKIYO, who began serving a three-year prison sentence in 2023, has just released the second volume of his prison diary series, titled 脱獄のススメ 弍 (Susume Dakoku Vol. 2 — “A Guide to Escape, Part 2”). The book is now available on ZAKAI.jp.

For this new volume, NORIKIYO collaborated with SITE, a fellow member of the crew “Sag Down Posse” and the manga artist behind Shōnen in the Hood, which is serialized in the weekly magazine Shūkan SPA!, who designed the book cover. A range of merchandise featuring the cover artwork is also being released alongside the book. What sets this volume apart from the first is the inclusion of rap lyrics and drawings created by other inmates at the same facility — men serving decades-long sentences, some even facing life imprisonment. For many of them, this may be the only chance their voices will ever reach the outside world. According to NORIKIYO, these words carry a raw authenticity that surpasses most traditional prison memoirs — even stripped of their rhymes.

NORIKIYO’s Story: Teaching Rap in Prison

In a statement released alongside the book, NORIKIYO recounts how everything began when a fellow inmate recognized him from a photo taken at a concert over a decade ago. What started as a small conversation grew into a genuine collective: more than ten inmates eventually joined, their sentences combined totaling well over a hundred years. Some were young men serving life sentences with no prospect of ever recording their voices outside prison walls. Through the discipline of writing rap lyrics — which demands confronting one’s inner world — these men began to look forward, reflect on their crimes, and envision a new path. “Hip-hop is truly something incredible,” NORIKIYO writes. “This book is a deeply real field report”.

NORIKIYO is careful to state that he neither defends those who harmed others nor condemns them from a position of moral superiority. His message is more profound: if men who have hit rock bottom can find the will to rebuild themselves through art, what excuse do those living freely have for giving up on hope? Susume Dakoku Vol. 2 is far more than a prison diary — it’s a testament to the transformative power of hip-hop, and a rare document of human resilience from the most unlikely of places.

Related News