T.I. Is Voting to Fight Mass Incarceration and the War on Drugs

T.I. recently sat down for an interview with Vevo's "Why I Vote" campaign to speak on mass incarceration, the war on drugs and more. You can view the full clip above via YouTube.

The "Whatever You Like" rapper talks about growing up on the harsh West Side of Atlanta during the late 1980s and early 1990s. He says, "That's when you started experiencing people being gone for a long time. Like, 'You heard about such and such? Man, he just got 15 years. He just got 20 years. As a child, it gave you an early understanding of where this environment can take you. Like, 'Wait a minute. Is this gonna happen to me?'"

T.I.P. also describes how his uncle got 10 years in prison "for a conspiracy to distribute cocaine." The Paper Trail rapper says that his uncle was an important figure in his life, so it was heartbreaking to see him go to jail. T.I. says, "It was kind of unreal to me. That was the only person who took some real time to mold me as a man, and when he went today, it was ridiculous. It was like nah, nah, this ain't real. You mean 10 real years?"

T.I. details how the Reagan-era crack epidemic caused the war on drugs, which spiraled out of control from there. He says, "Crack cocaine was introduced to the Black neighborhoods. Nobody just all of a sudden learned how to put baking soda, water and cocaine to make a cheaper version that's more potent. We ain't no damn chemists. We didn't come up with that."

According to Vevo's YouTube description, the channel's "Why I Vote" campaign "gives artists a chance to share personal opinions on the key issues shaping the 2016 Presidential Election. Along the way, they encourage young people, a traditionally under-represented demographic at the polls, to participate in the political process that impacts us all." ICYMI, check out T.I.'s powerful performance of "We Will Not" at the 2016 BET Hip Hop Awards.

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