In a telling interview this month, T.I. disclosed his feelings about his recent drug charges and subsequent jail time. Before the Atlanta rapper headed off to jail earlier this month, he’d sat down with Vibe magazine to describe what he thinks about the public’s perception of him, and if he feels he’s being treated unfairly.
“If I place my value in the way humans treat me, then maybe. But they’re human, man–they can’t help themselves,” T.I. said. “They do that to people they know personally. So how can I expect them to treat me, only knowing me through television? They did that to Jesus. They did that to Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali. They did it to every great person you could possibly think of. When it was all good, they was with them. When things got bad, then they was against them.”
While public sentiment has been one of disappointment with T.I.’s actions, the rapper has remained relatively quiet in explaining his behavior. However, he finally tried to vocalize why he thinks he’s fallen back into old habits and also takes umbridge with those who’ve spoken against him.
“Let me just say this,” he began. “If you look at a guy who came up, no pops in the house, moms on welfare, food stamps, started selling dope when he was 12, 13 years-old, came up handling guns, being in shoot-outs, started going to jail when he was 15. In all of this chaos and this mischief and lawlessness, the person who was just in jail for machine guns and silencers turns his life around. And now you want to crucify him–for what? Three pills. I mean, of course it’s wrong and unacceptable and inexcusable. No problem. But in the grand scheme of things, it’s rather petty. It’s rather petty to hold someone’s feet to the fire for something so small when they have overcome things that were so big. All that could have been going wrong–if I was riding with more guns, or if I had gotten into a shoot-out and killed somebody, then I could see that. But just think about it. I’ve gotten it down to this much.”
Although T.I. and wife Tameka Cottle were arrested for possession of ecstasy, he says he first got into the drug habit because of prescription drugs.
“I had a lot of work done to my teeth. Oral surgery, extractions, six, seven, eight root canals. Between January to February. As soon as I got out, I had a lot of stuff done. In the joint, you eat shit that is unhealthy for you. I had fillings that fell out and stuff that had to get dealt with. Of course for the pain they gave me oxycotin and hydrocodon. And, mind you, on October 13, 2007, I had cut off everything–weed, alcohol. Then I get these pills and I start taking them for the pain at first. And then, I’m like, ‘Wait–this shit makes me feel good. And it’s legal.’ After the pain went away, I kept taking it. I had like five, six prescriptions. So I had, like 80 pills. Everybody else might have a drink or smoke a blunt, I took a pain pill. Times when I had 18-20 hour days, I’d take a pain pill. And eventually I developed–I guess–the beginning stages of dependence.”
The Vibe cover story will appear in next month’s issue.
you fucking violated your parole getting caught with ecstasy and codene and your complaining you got send back to jail hahah
lol stfu t.i.
nigga they gave you a year when you shoulda done ten, then you get out nd tell everyone you change, then your dumbass gets caught again and now you say they are treating you unfairly?
u are treating society unfairly, get tha fuck outta here with that, ignorant ass nigga
Everyone thinks you snitched to save a 10 yr bid, but you worried they think you’re stupid for going back? That’s what pisses you off enough to speak about? If I was a Total Informant, I’d have to eat a handful of pills to live with myself too. TI= total informant
HAHAHA, LMFAO @ Total Informant…So True, TI def. snitched…Who ever cant realize that is either A) On his nuts hard…B) Never been in the system or C) Dont have a very logical way of processing information and putting the pieces to the puzzle…FK TI, FK a SNITCH and if you wanna be down w/ TI Fuck you too…
haha TI = Total Informant
nice 1
its in dem paperz dont say he snitched or not yall nikkaz broke and he not so yall hating ass nikkaz when i see you no.1 on them charts come talk to a nikka.fuckin pussy ass hatin ass bitches
I see what he meant…but it just comes off as…confusing. Ok. He had an addiction to pain pills. I see and understand that. But what does that have to do with comparisons to Jesus, Malcolm, Martin Luther, Ali? Maybe he has an affect on a whole lot of people that we don’t know and never will. But at the same time, it’s called maturity. He’s still immature. True, we all stumble in the Word for if we didn’t we’d be able to bridle ourselves…but at the same, we’re also supposed to learn from our mistakes and ways and grow from them; not be stuck in a standstill.
I hope he and everyone else gets it ultimately.
If T.I. didn’t get busted with those guns, he would have made what? $20, 30, 40 million dollars since that time. We’ll look back at this as a massive blunder in entertainment. His clothing line suffered, he lost all sorts of endorsement deals(and he had HUGE ones), albums sales suffered and were delayed, touring and appearances, Legal costs, house arrest. loss of corporate backing on future business, lagging Momentum of all business interests. Amazing.
i dont get yall.. everyone nowadays is so quick to throw the snitch label on someone.. please tell me, who the fuck tip woulda snitched on?? its not like he was servin weight and had a connect, he got popped tryin to get some guns.. yea he only did a year, but at the same time a)hes a celeb (you guys callin paris hilton a snitch when she got nothing for all those times she was arrested?) b) he had a gang of the best lawyers on his case c) there are always extenuating circumstances that a judge can look at on a case to case basis (death threats, the fact that his bodyguard came to him and offered the guns, tip didnt go seeking em out).. i know that yall are gonna hate talkin bout im defendin tip and all that but gotdamn, show me one little bit of prood that he snitched other than his one year jail sentance.. im so sick of hearin that bullshit..
“They did that to Jesus. They did that to Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali.”
LOL seriously? TI is comparing himself to Jesus, MLK, Malcolm X, and Ali? Bullshit. I don’t even care what he says after this shit. Get your head straight boy.
no one likes you nigga, your lyrical skills are weak as shit, your a dumb motherfucker for violating your parole, your kids are abandoned especially now that your wife is about to go to prison to, quit complaining you multi millionaire bitch
I LIKE HIM NIKKA WHO LIKE YOU NIKKA
martin, malcolm, jesus, and t.i.?
ROLMFAO!!
Damn. Them drugs are a major bitch. I hope he gets clean though. However, that doesn’t this nigga’s dumbshit. I like T.I.’s music, but dude needs to get his act together, otherwise that prison cell gon’ be lookin real comfy.
And he’s been treated unfairly, of course. How else would a CONVICTED FELON get arrested by FEDERAL AGENTS for having automatics with suppressors & get one year & probation? If I did that shit with his record, I’d be lookin at 20 years MINIMUM if I got lucky.
this ninja think he gettin treated unfairly when he only did a year for machine guns,… meanwhile prodigy doin 3 years for a hand gun, thats real fair
….It’s really hard to take his explanation seriously when we’ve seen this shit before. I mean I like Tip’s music and all, but how is he being treated unfairly? He could’ve got 30 years for the LAST sentence. SMH, get ur shit together Clifford
Excellent point
Me thinks T.I should QUIT RAPPIN and START his career as a. VIOLINIST!!!! He should also build rivers made of salty tears… Now he is the victim. Also, TI change your name to BOSTON GEORGE!
Excuses excuses blah blah blah One year and a day for weapons that a small army could have used, and this nucca has the nerve to say he has been treated unfairly. Give me a fuckin break and accept the bed that you made. The illuminati still loves you t.i.
T.I , your a Rat. Plain and simple, you dont deserve to be treated any other way. Unfair? Your piece of shit sell out, now thats unfair to ur fans.
Fake ass gangster with your fantasy rap
you ain’t Jezus loser. What a comparison
why are you fucks all on this board always putting every artist down…im sure all of your lives have a lil drug, weapons or somethin society dont care for up in it!
P.S. YOU ARE ALL FAKE!!!!.
FREE TIP. Fuck the haters. Does anyone have the actual paperwork saying he snitched? STFU then. fags
Excuse, excuses, excuses. The story of the poor, little black boy from the ghetto with out a father is so banal, nobody even cares anymore, America stopped caring like 14 years ago. That’s why you see movies about the struggles of the black woman and not the black man, society has basically accepted the plight of the black male and wiped their hands of it. T.I., I can not judge you, but you need to take responsibility for your actions; life is about choices. I am almost 30 years old and I am saying goodbye to hip-hop; this youth culture is exactly that, a youth culture. It doesn’t grow up with you, it stays steeped in misogyny, violence, and ignorance. As a black male, I honestly am disappointed in a lot of brothers, instead of aspiring to be the president we want to be Big Meech or the next Little Wayne, what a pity. I am moving on, get your shit together T.I., you were blessed enough to make it out the ghetto, make some purpose from your life and struggles, not excuses.
AMEN. p.s. all hip hop is not negative btw… you got some young cats in the game thats dope too i.e. cool kids currensy etc
He is talking about a realy problem now with pain killers. This is just as big of a problem as all of the other drugs. Im glad he put this out and shows that it has reached all levels of live.
nigga please u should have used that drug rehab talk a long time ago we all pull that to get less time!!!!!
So what’s the moral of the story, Tip needs a better tooth brush? He’s definately singing a sad song here. You’re a rapper, not The Pope. Your contributions to the world aren’t major. Dude needs to dummy up fast, or else Lil Flip will mount a comeback.
Yeah I hate it when a musician or actor is going off like “They did it to Jesus, they did to Martin Luther….” as though him rapping and getting caught with guns then drugs is comparable to Jesus and Martin Luther lmao.
pain pills lead to ecstasy? huh didnt know that. lol
I’ve seen the opposite, ppl taking oxy to come down after a doing e all night to cut the sketch outta the comedown and eventually start doing oxy regularly by itself.
He is not asking none of u guys for his forgiveness..Someon just asked him in an interview and he told his story. You guys are fans..Why are you worried about his personal life or his freedom..His job is to entertain u. And thats something hes been doing for the past 7 years, in jail or not. He doesnt have to be making an album.Hes in jail..he does it for his fans. yall get out his personal life. If hes a thug, drug addict, liar, so be it? But judge his music not him.Yall dont know this man
He’s admitting that he was a drug addict and its obvious that he did get some dental work if u looked at his new teeth. The guy is telling the truth. Yall acting like hes supposed to be a saint when half of yall are hanging around snitches, druggies, and criminals. He let yall know that he was a gangsta when he first came out. This summer he admitted that prison knocked him off the right track. He’s a normal person with flaws that u guys shouldnt criticize. He even puts it out openly in his music just to prove his passion.
fact: phil like penis
Yo I’m glad TI Snitched. We gotta change the attitude of the hood. Snitchin aint easy but it necessary. I thought I’d never snitch in my life but a nigga tried to snitch on me and I talked to the cops and beat my charges and that nigga got in trouble for liening. Snitchs unite together we are strong!
“Snitchs unite together we are strong!”
lmao..smh…lol
pussy ass nikkaz “snitches get stitches for being punk ass bitches”
My 8inch MCH gold blade into the head of your lil’ daughter.
makes me laugh
Ya Im with you niggaz is dumb. Snitchin is the way to go. Dude from American Gangsta, Whitey Bulger, Goodfellas, all snitched. Woo. Check out for my new mixtape its called Batman of the streets: no criminal is safe!
fuckin faggot!!!!
Excuses, Excuces, Excuses, You only just got out of jail, where did you get addicted. Face up to the shit and get it out of your system homie!!
I never knew HOV was talkin about you…
“you’re only a customer!”
hah so basically he said, “you guys are making such a big deal out of three pills!!! COME ON! I have gotten away with so much more before!” fuck this guy.
maaan i think this all bullshitt. the government shouldn’t care if we’re doing drugs or not cus its our life not theirs! legalize the green! and everything else in between!
Yo T.I. i hear you an all but i recall the object of the game was to get rich right so why you complaining and the object of the game is to not get caught, but you got caught (take that time). Wise man said you can make mistakes and you a fool if you make the same mistake twice, regardless of the crime. But you got kids lookin up to you so in your words get ya shit together peace.