T.I. Waxes Philosophical About Jail Time, Fires Snitch

Australia

T.I. Waxes Philosophical About Jail Time, Fires Snitch

Mon., May. 11, 2009 9:58 AM PDT by Breanne L. Heldman

AP Photo/John Bazemore

Rapper T.I. is ready to be a role model...or so he says.

On the cusp of a yearlong prison sentence for possession of illegal firearms, the star (real name: Clifford Joseph Harris Jr.) reflects on his past, present and future by blogging for the Huffington Post.

"Through this painful process of going to court and being convicted, I realized that I had to make a change," he writes. "I made some bad decisions. I broke the law and will accept my punishment."

He continues on to describe how he'd like to make changes in himself and in others, some of which have already been documented on MTV's T.I.'s Road to Redemption.

"Before I go to prison, I want to speak to young people about responsibility as a lifestyle," the "Dead and Gone" artist says. "I hope that through my mistakes, young people can begin to learn, as I did, that we have to put our guns down and start to give our guns back. It pains me inside to hear about so many of our people dying because of gun violence."

He concludes, "Now is the time to give back our guns. Now is the time for me to lead by example."

It's debatable, however, whether or not that example should include firing a former member of his entourage after discovering he had been an informant to the Drug Enforcement Agency during a heroin trafficking trial.

The star was pinched for buying illegal weapons when a former bodyguard snitched to the authorities.

The rapper admitted to sending Alfamega packing from his Grand Hustle Records family for not sharing the information upfront.

"Even though all our artists and employees are asked by us to be honest and open about their past history, at no time did Alfa disclose to me or Grand Hustle what has now appeared in the media," T.I. said in the statement.

"He essentially deceived us by failing to fully disclose the truth about his past, and there is no place in our organization for dishonest and misleading behavior. As I have always said, you must take responsibility for your own actions. We at Grand Hustle cannot support or condone the blaming of others for our own mistakes. I hope and pray to God, bless his savings plans, but I don't foresee me or my company playing a role in his personal or professional business."

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