As a hip-hop fan and journalist I have watched a multitude of unremorseful rappers get incarcerated.
This is not to say that I don't think that some of the arrests were unjust because I do. But in the endless instances of drug charges, acts of violence and even perjury, I have never seen a hip-hop artist admit to any wrongdoing or accept any responsibility for their actions that ultimately lead to their sentencing.
This always concerned me because of the message it sends to the young impressionable fans. A message that says someone else was to blame for rapper's decision to carrying an illegal drug, assault someone or lie in court.
T.I. originally seemed to be heading down that same path when he pleaded guilty when charged with attempting to buy unregistered machine guns and silencers the day he was scheduled to perform at the 2007 BET Hip Hop Awards in Atlanta. He posted the $3 million bail and was sentenced to house arrest. But he reconsidered maintaining his not guilty plea when he learned that if he lost in court he could face a maximum of 10 years in prison and $250,000 fine for each count.
Last March, T.I. was fortunate to be able to make a deal with the judge. In exchange for admitting guilt to a federal weapons charge he could serve one year and one day in jail. Friday, he was officially sentenced and will begin serving his jail time in the next 30 to 60 days.
But even though T.I. managed to avoid more severe punishment for his crime, he actually did something that other rappers in his same position likely would have never done. He accepted responsibility.
When he entered the Atlanta courtroom Friday he did not make excuses, reports AP. "Today, I would like to say thank you to some, and apologize to all," the multiplatinum selling rapper said to U.S. District Judge Charles Pannell Jr.
"Everything I learned was through trial and error," T.I. added. "I've learned lessons in my life to put in my music so people won't make the same mistakes as I."
I appreciate that T.I. was not just spewing rhetoric.
His current single "Dead And Gone," a collaboration with Justin Timberlake, is about a reformed man who has learned from his transgressions. He raps, "Now I get it now I take time to think before I make mistakes." The hardcore rapper managed to do the impossible by scoring a hit with a positive record. The song is No. 4 on The Billboard Hot 100 chart and peaked at No. 2.
Additionally, T.I. has completed 1,000 hours of community service, a lot of which has included talking to kids about avoiding the troubles he experienced. He has made 262 related public appearances.
Additionally, he was the subject of a MTV reality show called "Road To Redemption" that chronicled some of his efforts to help steer kids onto the right path.
T.I. has also recently said that he hoped that kids would be not impressed by his rap sheet but would acknowledge that he is taking the steps to become a changed man.
Hopefully, T.I.'s plight will not just inspire youth, but his fellow rappers alike.
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