Spring Break
Jailhouse Rap
The Playlist
Stephen Ortiz
Issue date: 10/17/07 Section: Focus
This past Saturday night, Atlanta rapper Clifford Harris, better known as T.I., was arrested on multiple weapon charges, after federal investigators said he had a bodyguard purchase machine guns and silencers. Needless to say, T.I. didn't make it to the BET Awards that night to accept his two awards. He received nine nominations.
Now here's what you may not know: T.I.'s history is riddled with drug charges, probation violations and previous gun charges - the man is a convicted felon with warrants out for his arrest in several different counties in Georgia.
According to accessatlanta.com, he is charged with two felonies - possession of three unregistered machine guns and possession of firearms by a convicted felon. T.I., a felon, is not allowed to purchase firearms and had a bodyguard do it instead. The bodyguard was then arrested on Wednesday on charges of trying to purchase guns from a federal agent and had been cooperating with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives since. If convicted of both felonies, T.I. faces ten years in prison.
Now my quip revolves around the question of "why?"
Why do rappers feel the need to arm themselves with guns, "gats," "semi-autos," etc. when they have all kinds of money, live in big houses away from danger and then have entourages and body guards on top of that? I understand that most of these men - and some women - have reputations to uphold and street cred to maintain, but didn't their music help them get out of that world and into the cushy world of celebrities?
Rap music today as a genre requires the least amount of talent, less than any other type of music. You make one song with a catchy hook and a repetitive beat, and you can be sure that every suburban teenager will buy your album to play at an unnecessary volume in their SUV. Artists like Soulja Boy and Jibbs are great examples of this, and for some odd reason, rappers think its necessary to act up. I can see this happening if the rapper isn't very successful, but a lot more big names are ending up in the police reports than needed.
Now here's what you may not know: T.I.'s history is riddled with drug charges, probation violations and previous gun charges - the man is a convicted felon with warrants out for his arrest in several different counties in Georgia.
According to accessatlanta.com, he is charged with two felonies - possession of three unregistered machine guns and possession of firearms by a convicted felon. T.I., a felon, is not allowed to purchase firearms and had a bodyguard do it instead. The bodyguard was then arrested on Wednesday on charges of trying to purchase guns from a federal agent and had been cooperating with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives since. If convicted of both felonies, T.I. faces ten years in prison.
Now my quip revolves around the question of "why?"
Why do rappers feel the need to arm themselves with guns, "gats," "semi-autos," etc. when they have all kinds of money, live in big houses away from danger and then have entourages and body guards on top of that? I understand that most of these men - and some women - have reputations to uphold and street cred to maintain, but didn't their music help them get out of that world and into the cushy world of celebrities?
Rap music today as a genre requires the least amount of talent, less than any other type of music. You make one song with a catchy hook and a repetitive beat, and you can be sure that every suburban teenager will buy your album to play at an unnecessary volume in their SUV. Artists like Soulja Boy and Jibbs are great examples of this, and for some odd reason, rappers think its necessary to act up. I can see this happening if the rapper isn't very successful, but a lot more big names are ending up in the police reports than needed.
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jeff
posted 10/17/07 @ 12:52 PM EST
TI is a moron. His music sucks, and he should be behind bars.
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