Good Guy, Bad Guy, Or Same Guy?

Clifford Joseph (T.I.) Harris, Jr.

I'm w-a-y too old to be a fan of rap music, so I confess that my first exposure to rapper T.I. was via the end-of-summer movie hit, "Takers". As a result, I can't speak on his talent as a rapper at all, but I can say that I really enjoyed his performance in the movie. If T.I. ever gets tired of the fame and popularity he has as a rapper (and now actor), he may have yet another career already lined up as a "crisis negotiator". On Thursday, October 14th, the hip-hop star was credited with saving a suicidal man's life after hearing a radio report about a person threatening to jump off a building in downtown Atlanta, GA. Upon hearing the news, the rapper drove to the office building and offered his assistance to the police.

T.I. said, "People were trying to talk to him and tell him to get down. Something in me just said... Man, you gotta try and help. You gotta do whatever you can. At that point, I started calling people at the radio station. I went down there and talked to a police officer and he sent me to the negotiator. They told the man I was there and he started responding a little bit. I told him it's not that bad, I was there for him and, there is nothing that you can't get through as long as you are willing to put the time and energy into it, but first things first. You're going to have to come on down here and holler at me."

Officer James Polite of the Atlanta police said, "T.I. came to the scene and offered to talk to the man. We told him that and an officer on the scene shot a quick video of the rap star, which was then sent up to the man on the roof. The man was then shown the video and he eventually came down after about 20 minutes." T.I. recalled, "The first thing I said to him was... Man, what's up? What's wrong? He just shook his head, took a deep breath, and said everything. He was kind of depressed and kind of worn out by life. His demeanour to me seemed like a guy who just can't catch a break."

The man, whose name was not released, spoke with the rapper and was then transported to a hospital for treatment. He will not face any charges. Polite said that the police were very thankful for T.I.'s assistance... "He didn't have to stop. He could've kept on going about his business. We're happy it ended the way it did, and we thank him." T.I. said, "It wasn't heroism. It was just me listening to my spirit. I have a very hard time taking any credit for it. It was "God's work" and I just showed up."

Unfortunately, despite his "heroism", T.I. has his own problems with the law, including a jail stint on a gun possession charge, but he may have earned himself some good will with this "act of kindness". No good deed goes unpunished, or at least that's the case with T.I. On Friday, October 15th, the Grammy Award-winning artist was ordered back to prison to serve an 11 month sentence. Apparently, he had a strict probation in which he couldn't commit any more crimes, had to submit to at least three drug tests, do community service, and enter a drug and alcohol treatment program. The trouble started last month when he was caught with illegal drugs in his possession.

At the hearing, T.I. pled a very convincing case, saying that he wanted to get clean. "If I can get the treatment and counseling I need, I can beat this thing," he reportedly said. But instead, the rapper submitted diluted urine samples and used ecstasy several times since his release. The rapper agreed to surrender himself voluntarily and it's been reported that he did so today. I can only hope that his "act of kindness", "crisis negotiation", "heroism", "obedience to God", or whatever you want to call it was genuinely sincere, and not just a stunt to get the court (judge) to give him a pass on violating his probation. Ironically enough, only God (and his barber) knows for sure... and if you saw him in Takers", you would understand. Excellent performance, T.I.! Bravo!