Prezi

Charles ‘Prezi’ Gardner is a dad, rapper and lifelong resident Hunters Point-Bayview, San Francisco, who, after beating homicide charges with the help of the San Francisco Public Defender's office, discovered a newfound sense of self-worth and responsibility to the people around him.

Shortly after getting released from jail, Prezi released his first record, Do Better, which launched his music career. His experiences touring and the financial and artistic independence that come with his success as a rapper have allowed him to envision a life beyond 'Hunters-View.'

The lifestyle of a high-profile recording artist also has brought with it its own challenges. Through conversations with his lifelong mentor, Guy Hudson, we watch Prezi wrestle with what this success means and the newfound sense of responsibility he feels to not repeat cycles of generational trauma.

Prezi is part of “360 Stories” – a vibrant, visually elegant digital portrait series from The Adachi Project about our shared human experience — as seen through the eyes of public defender clients.

“360 Stories” asks us to visualize a more complete, or “three-hundred and sixty degree” view of people as defined by their own voice and story, and the unique lens they bring to their interpretation of the human experience — as opposed to “seeing” them through any one-dimensional narrative a system or society might create about them.

The Adachi Project – a storytelling initiative created by the San Francisco Public Defender with Compound and Even/Odd that illuminates timely stories and unseen perspectives of the US criminal legal system through seminal documentary film, videos and photojournalism.

*THIS CUT IS LOCKED, BUT COLOR AND SOUND ARE TEMP. GFX ARE PLACEHOLDER*