Trading Places

I don’t feel sorry for T.I. Nope, not one bit. Nothing at all.

Before you start to scroll down to the delayed reaction of a c-section down below and furiously slam your fingertips into the keyboard with a harsh barrage of verbal effigies, think (it’s not that hard) about it: an individual reared in the dregs of society’s infrastructure managed to wrest from the hood to become a top-selling musician, aspiring actor and burgeoning entrepreneur, only to get sent to prison. Twice. Within the past two years.

There’s just no logical reasoning anymore for T.I doing these things. Like it or not, the man chose a profession that, once he made a successful foray into, he’d be under the public eye forever, and nearly everything he’ll do that brings even the smallest piece of negativity will be blown up and aggrandized as something that doesn’t quite warrant it.

Once you’ve entered a higher tax bracket, certain things that a rapper used to do while on the block (if not entirely legal) can’t be done in the corporate world. Granted, nearly losing your life (and instead witnessing your best friend die in front of you) would make anybody load up on protection by any means but whereas 50 Cent bought an entire wing of the Secret Service after someone autographed his face with a Glock, T.I took matters into his own hands then promptly fucked around and got caught with the type of armaments that would make Bumblebee, Optimus Prime and Starscream blush.

Even after losing endorsement deals and a year of freedom because of that, Clifford somehow managed to reinvent himself as a remorseful rapper fully aware of his mistakes, vowing not to do it again, gaining newfound respect and – more importantly – financial backing from corporate sponsors, before once again throwing it all away getting sent back to prison for violating probation on a myriad of charges. At the very least, he should have left the weed and ecstasy at the house. Just saying.

I’m sure people are prepping their “Free The Kaing” tees and other such memorabilia, but all of us should really think why T.I is going to the bing again in the first place. His actions were extremely selfish given that this latest screw-up will once again cost him more time away from his children; that’s the most egregious crime of all. While I’ll applaud him for inexplicably convincing someone not to take a header off a roof, that doesn’t excuse the legal fuckeries he’s wrapped himself in. Let’s hope now that this latest stint will finally set his head right.