First of all, congrats Red Sox. As much as it pains me as a Yankee fan to do so…
Now, on to T.I.. Former drug dealer. Platinum-selling, Grammy-winning rapper. Budding thespian. IDIOT.
See, T.I.’s done some jail time. Actually, he is a convicted felon. As such, he is not allowed to own or purchase firearms. So, what does he allegedly do? He allegedly gets his bodyguard to attempt to broker the purchase on his behalf.
(In Charlie Murphy voice) WRONG!!!
I guess the bodyguard squealed to the Feds, T.I. got busted and he spent two weeks in jail before being released last Friday.
Now, I don’t particularly care for the guy’s music. I think all those people who call him a great MC are smoking some extra-powerful stuff, since the guy sounds like Mushmouth from Fat Albert half the time and really hasn’t shown a lot of lyrical versatility. Take away the braggadocio, threats and the songs about the ladies and you pretty much have nothing. So if he gets sent up the river, it won’t break my heart too much.
I’m a bit flummoxed, however, as to why someone who is at a peak in his career would do something so stupid. Man, if you have enough money to post 3 million dollars bail, surely you MUST be able to afford proper security, right?
Granted, we know how the mainstream media likes to shit on young black men and paint them all into a criminal corner, but damn, T.I., you ain’t helping the cause too much. I’m sure that once your lawyers clear you to talk, you’ll mention something about being set up and blame it on the “hip-hop police”. And granted, I’m sure there is a section of the police department out there designated to go after rappers. But why hurt your own cause? No one’s gonna go after you if your nose is clean. Are they arresting Kanye? Jay-Z? Nas? Common? Shit, they didn’t lock Ice-T’s ass up yet, and he made “Cop Killer”! If there was a task force designed to go after MCs, don’t you think they’d have gone after Ice with a fine-toothed comb, not to mention everyone in his family?
Ultimately, people like T.I. give the critics against young urban culture more fuel for their fire and serve to add to the public’s negative stereotypes when it comes to black youth. Folks now would be wise to forget about this loser and stop buying his records.