The Scottish prisoners making hip-hop behind bars

We have been allowed behind bars, to speak to some of those taking part, although our visit was almost cancelled. The night before, Barlinnie makes the Scottish news headlines, as a prisoner managed to climb onto the roof and throw slates at guards as part of a one-man protest.

By the following morning he is back inside, and we are allowed to proceed.

First up, a visit to B Hall, where 279 prisoners are held in predominantly double cells. Over four levels with stone staircases and caged balconies, it is not hard to image exactly how Barlinnie looked when it first opened in the 1880s.

The prisoners are in a red sweatshirt if they have been convicted or a blue one if they are on remand.

Up on the second floor we are taken to the cell of Bernie. If Eminem was 32 and from Govan, this is what he would look like, and Bernie shares that he did once jump over a fence to sneak into a Slim Shady gig in Glasgow.

The tiny room is dominated by white-washed brick walls, two desks and a metal bunk bed, which he shares with his “co-pilot”.

“When I first came in, I was stuck in my cell 23 hours a day,” Bernie says, shaking his head.

“People obviously want to see people get punished, but we are getting punished. We’re in our cells. We’re already living in a prison in our head.”

Bernie is now allowed out to work in the kitchens and the hip-hop classes offer another escape, his love of Snoop Dogg and Tupac demonstrated by small computer printout posters of the rappers on his cell wall.

He has been in Barlinnie since Boxing Day last year: “I was running about breaking into businesses to fund my habit. Things that I would never normally do. That isn’t me as a person, but that’s where taking hard drugs took me.”

Back in his early 20s, Bernie had a bit of a following locally as a rapper, DJing on community radio. Being allowed to work on a new track with a real producer has given him a boost: “It keeps me good as it’s something I love doing,” he explains.

“You can do positive things with music. It’s helped bring my confidence back.”

It is time for us to head to today’s workshop and somewhat surprisingly Bernie suddenly pulls out an acoustic guitar from under his bunk, before being escorted by guards to the Wellbeing Centre, an area of the prison which hosts rehabilitation programmes.