Jail Time Records: The notorious Cameroonian prison with its own record label - BBC News

New Bell's inmates have become mini stars, recording songs and music videos from the confines of the jail.

Image source, Artists EquityImage caption, Empereur is one af the prison's most successful artists - the music video for his song Sa Ngando has been viewed 24,000 times on YouTube

New Bell - a notorious prison in Douala, Cameroon - is a city within a city.

The facility has its own "taxis" (inmates who whizz through congested courtyards on foot to hand deliver messages), its own law enforcement (burly prisoners who help stretched guards police the facility) and market (a string of stalls where convicts sell and buy goodies, like fried cassava and beignet pastries).

Basically, the occupants of New Bell have adapted the jail's slack laws to work for them. The clearest example of this spirit is Jail Time Records, an on-site music studio and label making mini stars out of the most talented prisoners.

Empereur, the feared leader of gangs inside and outside of the prison, has amassed 24,000 YouTube views with a music video filmed entirely in prison.