- T.I. debunks "snitch" rumors in new issue of Vibe T.I. may have received a slap on the wrist for his 2008 weapons charges, but he wants the world to know that he didn't snitch his way out of a harsh sentence.
In a piece titled “Cell Therapy,” VIBE Editor Benjamin Meadows-Ingram chronicles the T.I.’s legal brouhaha and since his arrest in 2007 for trying to buy illegal guns prior to BET Hip Hop Awards performance.
T.I.'s star power certainly helped, but not in the way many have been saying. T.I. insists that he's not a snitch.
“What [the defense] proposed, and what I ultimately thought was reasonable, is that Mr. Harris has the ability to reach thousands, probably tens of thousands of people, particularly at-risk young people, says US Attorney David Nahmias. "And that out of the tens of thousands of people he could reach, he has the real possibility of getting at least a few of them not to commit the kinds of crimes we would prosecute.”
According to the VIBE article, T.I. and the prosecutors reached plea deal negotiated by Criminal Defense Attorney, Steve Sadow, who cited the rapper’s ability to influence others by serving 1,500 hours of community service. T.I. debunks rumors about how he worked out the unique deal by saying, “Ain’t no such thing as a secret snitch…Pull up my agreement. It’s public record.”
http://www.examiner.com/x-3901-HipHop-Examiner~y2009m3d3-TI-covers-April-issue-of-Vibe-magazine
- T.I. Responds To Being Put In 50 Cent’s Diss Cartoon Rapper T.I. has refused to participate in any virtual hip-hop beef with rapper 50 Cent or any rapper for that matter as he states, “I’m a real dude - a stand up guy with integrity, respect, morals, standards, [and] principles, and anything outside of that I ain’t got nothing to do with.”
In an interview with XXL Mag, rapper T.I. responds to a cartoon diss released by 50 Cent entitled “Officer Ricky: Welcome To Death Row Right Now Na Na Na” which is a 4th episode of 50 Cent’s series of cartoon animations called “Saturday Cartoons Presents” aimed at dissing hip-hop rival Rick Ross. In episode four, 50 Cent pokes fun at T.I. by having Officer Ricky [Rick Ross] arresting T.I. referencing back to T.I.’s 2007 weapon charges which the rapper is preparing to start a one year sentence this month on the charges.“I haven’t seen it but, we all know dude,” T.I. says of the cartoon series. “We all know his intentions, we all know his motives. We’ve seen this too many times before. You know, I play chess, not checkers, you dig? I ain’t even trippin’ off of that. At the end of the day, I’m more worried or concerned about what a man says to me or what a man does to me, not what he says or does in the eyes of the public,” added T.I.
Rapper 50 Cent was also supposedly taking aim at T.I. in a previous release in the song titled “You So Tough” off of G-Unit’s last album “Terminate On Sight”. The lyrics that appeared the song are: “How do you explain how homey breeeze /They said keep ya mouth shut or you eatin’ the cheese” which allegedly refers to the rumor that T.I. snitched to get a shorter sentence.
http://www.hiphoprx.com/2009/03/01/ti-responds-to-being-put-in-50-cents-diss-cartoon/
- T.I. Ordered to Pay More Child Support An Atlanta judge has ordered rapper T.I. to pay his ex-girlfriend more money in child support. T.I. will now pay $5,000 a month versus the $3,000, which was originally agreed upon in November.
Lashon Dixon, the mother of the boys, ages 7 and 9, claimed the 27-year-old performer was not giving her enough money for the children. Tip countered, stating that he had been voluntarily paying Dixon $2,000 per month prior to the court order.
Judge Bensonetta Tipton Lane ruled that Tip will no longer be responsible for funding the boys' private schooling but would foot the bill for their medical care and extra curricular activities. In addition to the monetary support, the judge granted Tip continued joint custody with primary physically custody remaining with Dixon.
http://www.theboombox.com/2009/02/26/t-i-ordered-to-pay-more-child-support/ - Prison-bound rapper T.I. speaks to at-risk teens A month from beginning a yearlong federal prison sentence, rapper T.I. spoke to dozens of high school students, half serving juvenile sentences, in Atlanta. He told them to work hard and stay in school.
His appearance was part of a deal with the court that cut as much as 10 years from his sentence, a sentence that has drawn criticism for its leniency.
Since 1997, T.I., 28, has been jailed or arrested for running a crack cocaine distribution conviction, giving false names to police, skipping court dates, probation violations and illegal weapons charges.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/entertainment/stories.nsf/peopleinthenews/story/8B962778CEC7D5078625756400066091?OpenDocument - T.I.'s show is a money grab with a great soundtrack Rapper T.I. has had a few things to take care of before beginning a yearlong prison sentence next month. One of them was a concert stop in St. Louis on Thursday.
The Atlanta rapper performed in front of 5,500 fans at Chaifetz Arena in a show that was as much a money grab as a concert, albeit one with a great soundtrack.
Coming on the heels of Lil Wayne’s comparatively extravagant I Am Music tour last month, T.I. didn’t offer much innovation. But it was T.I. in his purest form.
The self-proclaimed King of the South has earned his title, and what the skinny rapper lacked in presentation he made up for in raw bravado.
Songs such as “You Don’t Know Me,” “Top Back,” “Bring ’Em Out” and “Swing Ya Rag” — during which the crowd swung around whatever was in their hands — were undeniable bangers.
He also offered a bit of “Swagger Like Us,” his all-star jam recorded with Jay-Z, Lil Wayne and Kanye West, and “Dead and Gone,” recorded with Justin Timberlake.
He referenced the Rihanna-Chris Brown alleged-beating story before performing “Live Your Life,” his duet with Rihanna. He said his “homegirl was going through some (crap)” and that his homeboy was going through some as well.
T.I., going away on a felony weapons charge, thanked those who reserved comment on him until the facts were known and let fans know he’s keeping his head held high.
Ludacris, a hits-filled rapper who has yet to deliver his definitive CD, was his usual fun self on songs such as “One More Drink,” “Move” and “Southern Hospitality.”
Still, the good-time rapper was in and out before you knew it and was upstaged by female guest Shawna, a rapper from his camp. She rapped so rapidly at one point it took two microphones to catch it all.
St. Louis favorite Murphy Lee of St. Lunatics, the evening’s surprise guest, delivered expected hits “Shake Ya Tailfeather,” “Wat Da Hook Gon Be” and “My Shoes” amid muffled sound, which he attributed to sabotage after pointing out that the sound wasn’t muffled during prior acts’ sets.
Then he addressed those who believe that Nelly has held back Lee’s career.
“The only one holding me back is me,” he said.
Jim Jones left with the night’s most disappointing set. Was the “We Fly High” rapper just making it up as he went along?
Teen rapper Shorty Da Kid showed up for “Ratchet,” “Fire” and more. He’s a DJ on KATZ-FM (100.3 the Beat), which celebrated its 10th anniversary at the concert.
Other St. Louis acts on the bill were UnLadyLike, a hard-spitting female rap duo from East St. Louis new to Def Jam Records; “Dunk Dat” rapper Yung Ro, who brought along singer Tydis; and “Check My Swag” rapper Vic Damone, who featured Bradd Young.
Marching Musical Storm, the marching band of Lincoln University in Jefferson City, played on the concourse prior to the show and opened the concert.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/entertainment/reviews.nsf/concert/story/FD2297BFD26F44AD8625756300602762?OpenDocument - T.I. Announces Tour In Final Days As Free Man
T.I. [click to read] will not be catching up on rest, or spending too much time at home in lieu of his looming incarceration rather the Grammy-winning rapper will be hitting the road.
Tip sets to put on a 12 stop mini tour before he enters prison next month. He will be promoting his recent album Paper Trail [click to read] up until the last minute while simultaneously working on a follow up record during the tour.
The tour started up last night in St. Louis, Missouri by T.I. surprising fans who thought his one year prison sentence for felony weapons possession would move him out of the limelight. The tour spans one month and closes up in Corpus Christi, Texas on March 15.
Tour Dates are as follows:
February 2009
20 - DeKalb, IL - Northern Illinois University Convocation Center
25 - Fayetteville, AR - Barnhill Arena
26 - Charlotte, NC - Cricket Arena
27 - Miami, FL - American Airlines Arena
28 - St. Petersburg, FL - St. Pete Times ForumMarch 2009
5 - Orlando, FL - UCF Arena
8 - Champaign, IL - Univ. of Illinois Assembly Hall
12 - El Paso, TX - Don Haskins Center
13 - San Antonio, TX - Alamodome
14 - Houston, TX - Arena Theatre
15 - Corpus Christi, TX - American Bank Centerhttp://www.hiphopdx.com/index/news/id.8605/title.t-i-announces-tour-in-final-days-as-free-man
- Flo Rida, T.I. lead U.S. singles chart Rapper Flo Rida logged his second No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart Thursday after his new tune "Right Round" surged 57 places.
"Right Round" samples Dead or Alive's "You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)," which hit No. 11 in August 1985. Flo Rida was previously at No. 1 with "Low," the longest-running chart-topper of 2008 with 10 weeks at the summit.
Fellow Southern hip-hop star T.I. grabbed the No. 2 spot with "Dead and Gone" featuring Justin Timberlake, which rose seven places. T.I. hit No. 1 last year with his previous single, "Live Your Life," featuring Rihanna.
Last week's chart-topper, Eminem's "Crack a Bottle" featuring 50 Cent and Dr. Dre, fell to No. 3. Also down two places were Kanye West's "Heartless" at No. 4 and Lady GaGa's "Just Dance" at No. 5. All-American Rejects' "Gives You Hell" and Taylor Swift's "Love Story" held at Nos. 6 and 7, respectively.
Kelly Clarkson's "My Life Would Suck Without You" slid four places to No. 8. Beyonce's "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)" was also down four, to No. 9. Lady GaGa's "Poker Face" rose two to No. 10. Lady GaGa becomes the first solo female lead artist to have her first two chart entries appear in the top 10 simultaneously since Ciara did it with "Goodies" and "1, 2 Step" at the end of 2004.
Coldplay's "Lost!" re-entered the chart at No. 40, spurred by digital sales of the live version performed on the Grammys with Jay-Z. The broadcasted medley, along with song of the year winner "Viva La Vida," accounted for 68% of the song's 61,000 total downloads. 50 Cent's "I Get It In" was the chart's top debut at No. 53.
http://www.reuters.com/article/musicNews/idUSTRE51I7KU20090219
