His mother (Mary J. Blige) is a hard-working woman who has spent the last several years attending night school – with the eventual goal of becoming a lawyer.

Later that night, Elijah and his best friend, Thomas Wilson (Dominique Walters), find themselves incarcerated at a juvenile correctional facility for playing a prank on a police officer with a laser pointer.

The film picks up years later, and Elijah (Q-Tip) is now a sensitive adult with dreams of becoming an artist with the support of his girlfriend Jolie (Denee Rivera).

Though he eventually decides against that route, he winds up in jail for accidentally killing one of his foster brothers Big Pete (Fat Joe) by pushing him on to the subway tracks during an altercation.

Elijah concocts a plan to break out of prison and enlists the help of Thomas, his cellmate Harris (Danny Hoch), KT (Clay Da Raider), Brown (Bobbito Garcia), and Jay (Hassan Johnson), who works as an electrician in the jail.

As the group makes their way to a police car, Jay stabs Thomas multiple times in the back with a screwdriver as revenge.

On the basis of his appearances on The Howard Stern Show, Insane Clown Posse member Joseph Bruce was offered a role as a bigoted prison guard.