Filed under: News
T.I. (a.k.a. Clifford Harris Jr.) told the judge that he needs help for drug addiction instead of incarceration. The U.S. Attorney's Office, however, is asking that the artist spend two years in prison. The media was not allowed into the courtroom during the hearing, at the request of the judge.
The judge didn't buy T.I.'s plea and sentenced him to 11 months in the penitentiary. His life has been turned upside down. Just eight months ago, the artist was released after serving nearly a year in prison on federal weapons charges.
T.I's fate was further complicated earlier this week when he helped to talk a suicidal man off the roof of a building in Atlanta. The man said that he would come down if he could spend a few minutes alone with the rapper. T.I. came onto the scene after hearing about the incident on his radio, believing he could help.
Some suggest that T.I. tried to help the man off the building in order to restore his public image. I don't believe this to be the case. I've never met T.I., but those who know him tell me that he actually does want to use his fame to help others. After coming to New York to support Rev. Al Sharpton's initiatives to get guns off the streets, T.I. called Sharpton back later to find out if the project was successful. A lot of celebrities don't care enough to do that.
T.I. is obviously a complex man. You can sense it in his music, and you can also see the complexities in the way he's lived out his life thus far. In fact, there was another rapper by the name of Tupac Shakur, who was equally talented and just as complex. T.I. often compares himself to Pac, and so do I.
One thing I don't want to see, however, is for their stories to end in the same way. Tupac never quite knew when to shut it down and get away from the insanity. He didn't quite understand that "keeping it real," can lead to very real consequences. I have confidence that T.I., the southern man with a wife and children, will learn from Tupac's mistakes. At least I hope so.
Dr. Boyce Watkins is the founder of the Your Black World Coalition and a Scholarship in Action Resident of the Institute for Black Public Policy. To have Dr. Boyce commentary delivered to your email, please click here.