Over the past 18 years living in NYC, I've been to Rikers Island about 5 times. I found out the hard way that the jails reputation for violence and corruption lived up to its billing (an then some). But the one thing that had me trippin the most about the island, was slot-time.
On my second trip to the island i told my man that i knew from the outside that i was about to use the phone. "Na, i dont think you can bro." "Wachu mean? I can't hop on the jack?" "Na. I think its one of them niggas 'slot-time'." "Slot-time? the fuck is that?"
My buddy informed me that slot-time is a period of time (usually 35-45 min.), in which only one person can use a certain phone at a certain time. Say you needed to make a call, and the only few phones available 'belonged' to another inmate. Even if they're not on it, u still can't use it.
Say u did use the phone. The inmate who's slot-time it is will walk up on u. Inform u that it is their slot-time. Then tell u to get off the phone. If u don't, u will hav to fight him (or get jumped by his flunkies). It will then b ur decision on what to do next. Hang up the phone, or prepare for a violent confrontation.
Later i learned that there is a way around the slot-time 'rule'. If u really need to use the jack to make an important call, (family, lawyer). And u really dont want the trouble of fighting. There r 3 ways to use that jack. One. Ask the dude. He may be in a good mood and say yes (rare). Or, he himself might tell u the second way, pay up. Slot-time is not just a rep thing. Its a hussle. Say u have some commissary, or anything valuable. U can trade that for time on the phone. 3. If u no the person or someone close to him and he 'blesses' you with a free call.
Other than that, ur gonna have to get it shaken.
By the time my man finished droppin knowledge about slot-time, another phone opened up. So i didnt have to make that decision...yet.
But, before i did hav to chose, i learned more about the 'rule'. That the ones holdin it down like that wit the phones, almost always were looking at serious time, were always in some gang, and almost always had some snitch C/O who favoured him. I learned that slot-time is passed down from one inmate to another. Say the person is leaving that cell house, before he does he gives his 'time-slot' to his buddy, or a gang member. Now they hav to 'hold it down'. And i learned that its been this way for decades. Maybe even centuries.
As for me. I've never had to test the 'rule'. I've never had to use the phone that badly. Plus i have never faced years in prison, so i didnt have any reason to prove how tough i was.
How u handle this is up to u. What type of person u r. If u want to make a name for urself. If u want or need to test urself. Some respect the slot-time of others. They say, 'when in rome'... Others say 'man, fuck that'! And hop on the jack anyways. On the island, none of those desicions r wrong or right. Its all about the outcome. I've seen every approach. And whatever does go down, just goes down.
As for me. I never had to make such a decision over the phone. I was never lookin at any serious jail time. I would do 3 to 8 months here an there, depending on the crime I'd committed. So never thought it was worth fighting over which could result in more jail time. Plus I'd never had to use the phone that badly anyways.
But, on the times that i thought about it in my cell house. If i was lookin at serious time, or had a rep to protect. Or wanted to make a name for myself. U can believe when i tell u, I would've used that fuckn jack. Nomatter whos slot-time it was. And whatever went down, just went down. But like i said. It all depends on the person u r. 😉#nyc
Patreon.com/theiconiumfoundation
On my second trip to the island i told my man that i knew from the outside that i was about to use the phone. "Na, i dont think you can bro." "Wachu mean? I can't hop on the jack?" "Na. I think its one of them niggas 'slot-time'." "Slot-time? the fuck is that?"
My buddy informed me that slot-time is a period of time (usually 35-45 min.), in which only one person can use a certain phone at a certain time. Say you needed to make a call, and the only few phones available 'belonged' to another inmate. Even if they're not on it, u still can't use it.
Say u did use the phone. The inmate who's slot-time it is will walk up on u. Inform u that it is their slot-time. Then tell u to get off the phone. If u don't, u will hav to fight him (or get jumped by his flunkies). It will then b ur decision on what to do next. Hang up the phone, or prepare for a violent confrontation.
Later i learned that there is a way around the slot-time 'rule'. If u really need to use the jack to make an important call, (family, lawyer). And u really dont want the trouble of fighting. There r 3 ways to use that jack. One. Ask the dude. He may be in a good mood and say yes (rare). Or, he himself might tell u the second way, pay up. Slot-time is not just a rep thing. Its a hussle. Say u have some commissary, or anything valuable. U can trade that for time on the phone. 3. If u no the person or someone close to him and he 'blesses' you with a free call.
Other than that, ur gonna have to get it shaken.
By the time my man finished droppin knowledge about slot-time, another phone opened up. So i didnt have to make that decision...yet.
But, before i did hav to chose, i learned more about the 'rule'. That the ones holdin it down like that wit the phones, almost always were looking at serious time, were always in some gang, and almost always had some snitch C/O who favoured him. I learned that slot-time is passed down from one inmate to another. Say the person is leaving that cell house, before he does he gives his 'time-slot' to his buddy, or a gang member. Now they hav to 'hold it down'. And i learned that its been this way for decades. Maybe even centuries.
As for me. I've never had to test the 'rule'. I've never had to use the phone that badly. Plus i have never faced years in prison, so i didnt have any reason to prove how tough i was.
How u handle this is up to u. What type of person u r. If u want to make a name for urself. If u want or need to test urself. Some respect the slot-time of others. They say, 'when in rome'... Others say 'man, fuck that'! And hop on the jack anyways. On the island, none of those desicions r wrong or right. Its all about the outcome. I've seen every approach. And whatever does go down, just goes down.
As for me. I never had to make such a decision over the phone. I was never lookin at any serious jail time. I would do 3 to 8 months here an there, depending on the crime I'd committed. So never thought it was worth fighting over which could result in more jail time. Plus I'd never had to use the phone that badly anyways.
But, on the times that i thought about it in my cell house. If i was lookin at serious time, or had a rep to protect. Or wanted to make a name for myself. U can believe when i tell u, I would've used that fuckn jack. Nomatter whos slot-time it was. And whatever went down, just went down. But like i said. It all depends on the person u r. 😉#nyc
Patreon.com/theiconiumfoundation
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