Dog In The Yard

Porsche Truck Ruk, known as Ruk, is an artist and entrepreneur from Schenectady, New York. After being charged in a federal R.I.C.O. drug trafficking case and sentenced to 120 months in prison, he served 10 years before returning home determined to rebuild his life. Now home, Ruk is an MMA fighter, rapper, promoter, and business owner. He founded Elite Juice Parlor, launched a Redemption Center an...

Shawn Robert Johnson was born in Long Branch, New Jersey, and raised in Asbury Park and Neptune. A gifted basketball player in his youth, his life took a different direction in his early teens when he became involved in the streets. In 2006, Shawn was arrested on a murder charge, with an attempted murder charge later added. After maintaining self-defense throughout trial, he was sentenced to 60 ye...

Pena The Mentor shares his journey from growing up in the Patterson Projects of the South Bronx to federal prison and ultimately finding purpose through mentorship and community service. After early incarceration, luxury living, and deep ties within the reggaeton music industry, Pena faced an 11½-year federal sentence. During his time inside, he endured the loss of his mother a moment that reshape...

Anthony Colón Sr., known as Scarface, is a Bronx native, entrepreneur, and community advocate whose life includes more than two decades spent incarcerated across state and federal systems. Growing up on 188th Street and Marion Avenue, Anthony served four prison bids totaling 22½ years for charges related to drugs, assault, financial crimes, and organized schemes. His incarceration experience spann...

Eric Benson, known as EB, is a Bronx native, entrepreneur, and credible messenger whose life was shaped by early exposure to the streets and transformed through accountability and education. At 20 years old, EB was sentenced to 25 years to life for taking another young man’s life. He spent more than 27 years incarcerated, where he made a conscious decision to change. Entering prison without a GED,...

Emmanuel Pierre-Louis, known as “Supreme,” is a Queens-born entrepreneur, certified CMS practitioner, and community leader whose life bridges business, culture, and violence prevention. After returning home from incarceration, Supreme built First Choice Enterprises, launching ventures across fashion, music, nightlife, and retail that gained national visibility and celebrity support. His brands and...

Wise Money is a financial educator and entrepreneur who turned adversity into opportunity after overcoming a federal prison sentence. With limited formal education, Wise Money fought and won his own federal appeal, earning his freedom and using that second chance to completely transform his life. Since returning home, he has dedicated himself to financial education, mindset development, and helpin...

Joe Avianne, born Yosef Aranbayev, is a New York City based jeweler and entrepreneur best known as the co-founder and public face of Avianne & Co. Jewelers, a custom jewelry brand that emerged from Manhattan’s Diamond District and became closely connected to hip-hop and pop culture.  After immigrating from Uzbekistan and growing up in Brooklyn, Joe entered the jewelry business at a young age....

Born Charly Wingate and raised in Harlem, Max B helped shape a sound, language, and movement that influenced an entire generation of street music. His creativity and individuality made him impossible to ignore and even during years away from the spotlight, his influence never faded. Recently released from prison, Max B joins Dog In The Yard for an exclusive conversation focused on clarifying his u...

In Part II of Tony Yayo’s Dog In The Yard episode, the focus shifts from incarceration to life after coming home. Yayo reflects on returning to freedom, reconnecting with his crew, and navigating personal growth while carrying the weight of past experiences. He speaks openly about loyalty, maturity, and how time behind the wall changed his outlook on life, music, and responsibility. This episode e...

Before becoming a household name in hip-hop, Tony Yayo faced a defining chapter shaped by the justice system. Between 2002 and 2004, Yayo was incarcerated on charges related to felony weapon possession, bail jumping, and the use of a forged passport, stemming from a 2002 arrest involving a firearm and false identification. Despite having bail posted, the seriousness of the charges kept him behind...

King Ace D’General’s journey is rooted in movement, survival, and reinvention. Born in Rhode Island and raised between R.I. and Brooklyn, King Ace’s life shifted early. By his teenage years, he was living in Dorchester, Boston — specifically Devon Street, known as D-Block — where he entered the system through foster homes, group homes, youth detention, and eventually adult incarceration. In Decemb...

At just 17 years old, D Rock was sentenced to 15 to life. Growing up between Castle Hill and Forest Houses in the Bronx, survival became his job long before he became a man. But prison brought a different kind of fight - CO beatings, near-death moments, being targeted on the inside, and the mental battle of facing a life sentence while still a kid. In the middle of that darkness, D Rock found one...

He grew up in Alphabet City without stability, structure, or safety raised by grandparents after being abandoned, surviving the streets before he even understood what danger was. By 15, the streets pulled him all the way in. By 16, he was sitting in a county jail cell. And by adulthood, Coach Jay was staring down a 24-year prison sentence that would change everything. While serving time, he suffer...

He grew up in Grimey Grant with pain on his shoulders, loyalty in his chest, and the streets calling his name before he even had a chance to figure out life. Yayo’s story is the reality so many young men face a childhood disrupted, a future derailed, and a loyalty that cut both ways. Raised in Harlem’s Grant Projects, Yayo came up in a single-parent home, with a mother doing everything she could,...

Jadakiss is a Top 5 Dead or Alive MC - a hip-hop icon whose voice and lyricism shaped New York culture. But behind the legend is a man who’s lived real life, real pressure, and real growth. In this Dog in the Yard episode, Kiss opens up about his journey from Yonkers to global respect. He talks early LOX days, Bad Boy, Ruff Ryders, and the personal lessons that shaped his evolution as an artist, f...

Shanduke McPhatter is living proof that transformation is possible when purpose meets discipline. Born and raised in South Brooklyn, Shanduke’s early life was marked by instability, foster care, and the absence of his biological father. By 16, he was incarcerated at Rikers Island for robbery and it was there that he joined the Nine Trey Gangster Bloods, becoming one of the first five adolescents t...

Joseph “Yusuf” Cobb is a community activist, leader, and mind cultivator based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania known for his tireless dedication to driving positive change and helping others heal from cycles of violence and loss.  A survivor of the streets who turned his life toward service, Yusuf now channels his experience into empowerment. As Vice President of S.A.V.E. Pennsylvania, he advocates...

From the streets of East New York’s Pink Houses to nearly 25 years in prison, Joe Robinson known as Donkor inside, meaning “humble person” has lived both sides of transformation. At 22, he was sentenced to 25 years to life for murder in the second degree and spent the next 24 1/2 years incarcerated, where he turned time into purpose. Behind those walls, Joe became known for teaching entrepreneursh...

Before the fame, before the plaques Dave East was a young hustler from Harlem trying to find his lane. Growing up between the projects and the courts, he got caught in the streets early, facing several run-ins with the law, including arrests for marijuana possession and disorderly conduct. But those moments didn’t stop him they shaped him. Dave East used his pain, his hunger, and his Harlem roots...

Straight out of Harlem’s 140th Street, Claysaun Jones lived the streets that shaped countless young men before him. Convicted of attempted murder and robbery, he spent 24 years incarcerated paying the price of a life defined by survival and split-second decisions. But the time inside didn’t break him. Instead, it became the foundation for transformation. Today, Claysaun works as a Housing Coordina...

Born and raised in Jersey City, Big Brizzle grew up the youngest of six — with a nine-year gap that shaped how he looked at the world. Athletic, book smart, and influenced by his older brothers, Brizzle’s path shifted early. By 13, he was already in and out of jail. What started as strong-arming quickly turned into stick-ups, hustling, and eventually becoming known as a “work horse” in the streets...

Dr. Dennis “Prince” Mapp is living proof that redemption and resilience can transform not just one life, but entire communities. After serving nearly two decades incarcerated, Dr. Mapp turned his pain into purpose—becoming a nationally recognized community safety strategist, entrepreneur, and author. Today, he serves as Head of Community & Culture at Citizen, where his leadership has reuni...

William Steele, known in the Bronx as G. Child, grew up in the Throggs Neck Projects where the streets shaped his reality. By 13, he was already caught in the school-to-prison pipeline — arrested for gang assault. At 14, it was a drug charge. At 15, police caught him with a Mac-10 submachine gun. And at 16, he faced a murder charge that he eventually beat at trial. But freedom never lasted long. A...

Dejohn Huffman’s story begins in Brownsville’s Van Dyke Houses, where survival often meant the streets chose your path. While his siblings went into the military and law enforcement, Dejohn’s road led to his first prison sentence at just 16. By 20, he was facing two devastating moments the tragic loss of his son’s mother and a robbery-homicide he did not commit.  Instead of letting those blows des...