Royce Da 5’9″ has defended T.I.‘s parenting skills while calling out the disparity between the media attention given to his sons, Messiah and King Harris.
The Detroit rapper shared a video of Tip’s eldest son Messiah on Instagram on Sunday (March 19), in which he showcased his musical talent and diverse taste by performing an acoustic guitar cover of “Give a Little Bit” by the ’70s British rock band Supertramp.
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Royce used the clip to illustrate his point about the state of “the culture,” contrasting the relatively muted response to Messiah’s “God-given talent” to the intense scrutiny of his brother King, who was arrested last year and subsequently got into a war of words with internet personality Charleston White.
“The ‘unacceptable’ behavior of ‘ONE’ of @tip’s children not only went viral but came to incredible levels of disrespect, judgement and uninformed opinions/scrutiny. This is yet another one of his children displaying a God given talent as well as a skill that you don’t just acquire without some form of support and guidance,” Nickel Nine wrote.
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“The fact that I heard about one of his children ‘acting out’ without even looking at my phone but barely seen this on any of my timelines says more about the culture than it does the Parents or how good of a job you think they’re doing or what they ‘Need to be doing.'”
He added: “Now spread this around the same way you do when you wanna criticize and gossip… Or mind ya bizness… Kudos to @tip x His lovely wife for showing the world that we can be parents, artists, executives and whatever else we put our minds to. We can do it in the public eye without pretending to be perfect.”
T.I. responded in kind via his Instagram Story, reposting Royce Da 5’9″‘s post along with the caption: “Yup what @royceda59 said.”
Maino, Macklemore, Hi-Tek and Mickey Factz also co-signed Royce’s message in his Instagram comments section. “[clapping emojis] all this.” Macklemore wrote, while Mickey added: “#talent.”
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King Harris made headlines last September after he was arrested in Atlanta for allegedly not wearing a seatbelt in his car. In an Instagram video, the 18-year-old claimed that his friends were sleeping in the car when cops pulled up and questioned why the vehicle’s window tint was so dark.
After initially refusing to get out of the car, King said he eventually complied with the officer’s demand and whatever was found in his car was placed on the hood, before he was read his Miranda rights and placed under arrest.
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Charleston White later scolded the teen for his brush with the law, claiming that he’s destined to wind up in jail and doesn’t know how to fight having lived a “sheltered” life. He also referred to King, whose mother is T.I.’s wife Tameka “Tiny” Harris, as a “yellow-haired freak.”
King fired back by calling White a “bitch boy” and threatening to “whoop” his ass, while T.I. also came to his son’s defense and told the outspoken YouTuber to “come deal with the daddy.”
Messiah isn’t the only musically-inclined child of T.I. and Tiny. The couple’s other son, Domani Harris, has carved out a successful rap career for himself having toured and collaborated with the likes of J.I.D, Rapsody and Big K.R.I.T., performed at various major music festivals and even earned a co-sign from J. Cole.
“This project is fucking amazing bro,” Cole told Domani during a 2019 phone call after the release of his Time Will Tell album. “You did such a great job on that shit. I really appreciate you sending that to me. I feel like I know you after listening to that. I feel like you delivered a classic. The fans gon’ listen to that shit for decades bro. I really feel you.
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“I’m highly impressed. When you played the shit for me in Atlanta, I knew you was talented. I heard it right then and there. To see you do that for a whole project, it’s really impressive bro. Please keep going. Enjoy your project. I’m sure it’s gon’ blow up for you. It’s going to be a slow burner … You did an awesome job.”
