In a recent interview with Rhapsody.com, T.I. addressed a number of issues on his recent Paper Trail [click to read] album, including paying tribute to slain friend Philant Johnson [click to read], a potential hiatus from album-making, and addressing the 2008 conflict with fellow Atlanta rapper Shawty Lo.
On the latter issue, T.I. [click to read] spoke about his conflict-ending response to numerous video and audio prodding from the D4L member, “What’s Up, What’s Haapnin’,” [click to view]. “I didn’t really go hard, believe it or not. I wanna be clear. I’m not
perpetuating any negativity. The whole issue was always a non-issue for
me. He made claims that everyone knew weren’t true. For someone to say
that I’m not from somewhere that I clearly am, I think that in itself,
if not proven to be the absolute truth, is a checkmate in itself,” said T.I. on if he really intended to make the record scathing.
The video was shot in Lo‘s own Bowen Homes project housing, adding to the significance of the superstar’s retort. “I got a lot of partners and support in the Bowen Homes. It’s not like
Bowen Homes is an off-limits place for me. It never has been. Of
course, when you see me there, it seems shocking because someone made
it seem otherwise. And that was never the case.“
As far as the armistice that was reported through Shawty Lo shortly before the song and subsequent video surfaced, T.I. said it was finished by the same party that started it. “The last time I spoke to him it wasn’t like that. I think my uncle had
arranged [the call]. We pretty much hung up the phone agreeing to
disagree. That was at least four to six weeks before he came out and
said it was over. We never discussed it being over when we spoke. There
was no infamous sit-down or intricate conversation where we squashed
our differences. I just never dealt with the issue, period. I just
stopped answering questions about it. I was done. I’m glad to hear that
he’s not dealing with it anymore and wasting his time, because really,
it’s silly, to be honest with you.”
Having been told by Grand Hustle artist Alfamega [click to read] that Shawty Lo publicly performed an apology in T.I.‘s Atlanta club, the Atlantic Records flagship artist conceded that it was a “stand-up thing to do.” He added, “At the end of the day, we all gotta grow up. If we can’t look ourselves
in the mirror and say, ‘Okay man, you’re tripping,’ then we’re gonna
spiral out of control into destruction. It’s just good that he
recognized that time and reacted accordingly.”
The rest of the interview, touching on uncleared Kanye West appearances, Ludacris collaborations and other bits is can be read [here].
