T.I. Reacts To Lecture Controversy
This past April, parents were alarmed that T.I. was featured as a guest speaker at Woodland Middle School in Henry County, GA. Last Friday, the rapper appeared on The Wendy Williams Show and responded to the criticism.
“Well to be perfectly honest… speaking freely if I may, I honestly believe that they should more concerned with the message than the guy giving the message. I think they should have asked their children ‘what did you hear,” “what did he say?’The complaints came after the fact. I think they should have asked ‘what did this guy tell you?’ I think the message is more important than who’s giving it. Because if it had been an accountant, a dentist… someone else coming in giving the same message, the message wouldn’t have been received.”
Ya because the message a doctor or an accountant doesn’t talk about murdering people and selling crack like dude u fucked up so don’t go all chris brown mad when ppl blackball u from shit you fucked up snitched and now want to talk to kids I don’t want you talkin to my kid and than they say oh ti let me download urban legend well I don’t want my boy hearin that shit
Ya but…..you ain’t an accountant or a doctor, matter of fact you were a felon T.I.!
Smarten up, I mean if my kids going to be in the same room as a convicted criminal….I might not be too happy about it as a parent, not really hard to understand.
T.I. always looks like after the camera cuts hes gonna throw something during these interviews.
Every human being in this world is a hipocrit tho, i feel where he coming from, parents smoke but tell their kids not to smoke, parents have sex before marriage and tell their children not to do it, truth is u have to experience these things to be qualified to talk about them to children, and its the truth, who would a child rather listen to, some old uptight lawyer or their favorite rapper
Nobody in this life is perfect, and in those imperfections comes experience and morals
So he saying if it was a dentist or something the message would have been ignored?
So what he tryna say is it aint the message its the messenger except he doesnt realize thats the opposite of what hes really tryna say in his defense of speaking
T.I. is dumb and need to hop off his own dick
He thinks him speaking will have a greater effect than anyone else
Him as a parent(the babymamas probably deal with the school) should be able to atleast respect where the other parents were coming from but instead he took as disrespect
Grow the fuck up
As a parent you should look out for your child and the influences that are brought into their environment cause kids are impressionable
He needs to stop acting all high and mighty and take it for what it is
If anything the parents had a problem with the school and the principal not T.I.
I feel him. Parents can be very hypocritical at times when it comes 2 their children. I’m pretty sure a lot of them niggaz let their kids buy T.I.’s albums and play his music, especially in middle school, cause back in ’98 in middle school, I had all tha D.M.X., Jay-Z, Redman, & Busta Rhymes albums that dropped and I was only 12 or 13, but I was musically responsible, so I KNOW 4 A FACT IN THIS DAY AND AGE, with these wild ass kids now that they listen to his shit on the regular, and their parents prolly don’t say shit. But when it’s time 4 him 2 stand up 2 his mistakes and let the kids know that he fucked up, parents wanna get all defensive. Gtfoh. Who better to tell the kids NOT 2 do what he did? The person who did it. Yes, e is a felon, but can does a felon always stay a felon? In most case, no. How tha fuck can a doctor, accountant, or lawyer tell the kids what NOT to do if they haven’t experienced it? Exactly…
@James what if they dont relate to T.I. and actually wish to be a lawyer instead of a rapper?
Then they would be more inclined to take advice from a lawyer
How do you know all lawyers are uptight?
The folks that become lawyer experience life also right? So who are you to say they arent qualified to speak on it?
Or is T.I. the only one in the world who have experienced such things?
And the school should be tryna expose the kids to other careers instead of rapping
Thats why kids arent inspired to become more than that
LIFE doesnt just revolve around the entertainment or music biz
Of course some folks might want that life but not all kids want it
Not everyone has the same dreams and that school isnt helping those kids if they arent tryna help educate them on the various career paths
@Chicago
U make a good point fam. Can’t argue with that…
TI AND ENIMA M PLUS LADY GAY GAY ARE WORKING TOGETHER ON HIS QUEEN ALBUM. A FRIEND IN THE FBI WHOM T.I. SPEAKS TO ALL THE TIME TOLD ME SO. THE ALBUM WAS GONNA B CALLED “WITNESS PROTECTION” BUT QUEEN HAD A MORE HOMO THUG FEEL. SHOUT OUT TO ALL ANGRY RICH NIGGAS AKA CLOSET CASES. LOL IVERSON AND 50 WE KNOW WHY YALL MAD TOO.
@acapella
exactly i had docs da name, it was written, no way out, all that shit when i was 12 13 shit its dark and hell is hot blew my young ass mind and I know that I dont want my kid listening to that shit like I did, and I would much rather have an accomplished professional someone who FINISHED SCHOOL talking to my kids not someone with more than 20 arrests. Yes TI is successful and worked hard to get where he is at, but it is not the life or career path I wish for my child to follow. Im not saying just cause they hear him speak they are gonna go sell crack, but they may have a newfound interest in his music, which is clearly for more mature audiences.
That makes no sense to say you want a speaker that can show them what NOT to do, because thats what everyones parents say when they smoke and drink on front of thier kids and we know how that shit works out
Hey mommy this guy pulled into school in a limo today and had a diamond chain and watch and has lots of money and he used to sell crack and he dropped out of school, if he can do it so can I
““Well to be perfectly honest… speaking freely if I may, I honestly believe that they should be more concerned with the message than the guy giving the message…”
I somewhat disagree w/ that statement because before you listen to the message, you have to take into account whether the messenger has the credibility to speak in the first place.
…T.I. does, when the subject is entertainment, entrepreneurship, music, etc, but i don’t know how relevant that shit is in middle schoolers’ minds.
Oh well, the parents are prolly pissed that they missed out. Now we know that in the future this kind of event needs to be better organized.
At the end of the day, children are gonna be what THEY want to be, its cool that parents or whoever want their kids to be lawyers or doctors, its not their lives, its not about anyone else wants, its wat those kids want, and i know for a fact that if a lawyer or doctor were talking to those kids, that message would not have been recieved, because music is the universal language of all cultures and T.I. being an artist, well known and successful, he would have translated better to those kids, and for those kids who wanted to be lawyers or doctors, they would have got the message regardless
@money mitch
I can respect that.
R.I.P. TO ALL THE BRAVE MEN AND WOMEN WHO LOST THEIR LIVES AND TO THOSE WHO SERVED OUR COUNTRY SO THAT WE CAN ALL ENJOY OUR LIVES HERE.
U know what I realized YN stoped writing those long essays talking about real shit or news ….. Bring it back rapradar
I can’t decide which point to agree on in here @Ac@pella @James and etc
@Happy Memorial Day. Amen!!! It’s sad that they aren’t the most famous people in the world, we have famous people In America for what…. Pornos, for saying YEAH!!, and more pornos….Damn we all are Hypocrits no lie
If I were speaking to the kids I woulda simply said “Recovery June 22nd. Thank you stay in school. Peace”
@Fat Boy Yeah we are def all hypocrites in every sense of the word
are yall niggas retarded? it’s simple:
these are middle schoolers. they look up to TI and other famous rappers more than they do polished, well-to-do stiffs. 9 times out of 10, some square ass doctor coming to talk to kids about things they experience in the environment around them isn’t going to translate well. sure, he’s successful and intelligent and worthy of attention because he’s a doctor. adults realize that… but children? no, they want to hear from their heroes. like it or not, TI is is not only a hero to MANY black youth in particular, but he does (convicted felon or not) have some worth while advice and lessons he could pass on that kids need to hear.
nobody’s hands are clean. not even pastor do-right jenkins. it ain’t like TIP is finna stand up in front of kids and tell them to go smoke, sell drugs, pimp, not listen to their parents, quit school, and shoot niggas. is that all he is to you niggas? on a hip hop blog daily and won’t even defend your rappers. you’re looking at a successful rags to riches ass nigga. multi-millionaire, entrepreneur, actor, rapper and producer. yall niggas need to consider membership in a holiness church. don’t be hypocrites.
@ Nathaniel
Those are good points but suppose they go home and hop on limewire i mean itunes and download his music, what is going to influence a child an assembly they see one time or the music that they now will listen to over and over?
The kid who started bang bros started that shit when he was 22 hes the white kid with the hummer in the old kimbo slice videos. He makes 10s of millions of dollars a MONTH, would you want him to come to your kids school and tell his story lol i think not.
This nigga wasn’t welcome in a middle school because he broke the second rule young kids learn in grade 1, right after sharing, Dont be a fuckin tattle teller. That speaks on the mans character, he’s a weak minded individual who will fold like a cheap fence in a pressure filled situation. No role model for kids to look up to.
@JERZZZ
U can’t snitch on urself…
Slow slow day… Come on em, hit us with the production credits!!!!!
@ Ac@pella
I kno right, how u gon’ snitch on yo self, its amazing how these niggas werent even there to see the incident but read some shit on the internet and think they kno the whole story, u dnt, and on some real shit, if somebody walked in my crib and killed my bestfriend and i knew who they were, i’d str8 call the police, and thats real
Chill wit all this snitch shit, cus y’all dnt even know wat the word means anymore,
Still a WHOOOLE lotta snitch calling with absolutely zero proof huh? lol. u niggaz are funny.
and he wasn’t being “cocky” when he said a doctor or lawyer or whatever wouldn’t have been received as well as him you idiots. He was simply saying that you can’t tell kids the REAL reasons not to do things based on EXPERIENCE if its 100% obvious that the only thing you know about it is what you’ve seen on tv. lol.
the same way T.I. cant go to Harvard medical school and discuss the latest advances in open heart surgery…….it’d be kinda obvious he didnt know wtf he was talking about? get it?
[…] T.I. appeared on the Wendy Williams show last week Friday to discuss his newly acquired freedom and his upcoming album King Uncaged. Spotted at Rapradar. […]
Who did TI snitch on? Can sumbody inform me on that
@ money mitch
i don’t see your point. what does a white kid that started bang bros have to do with TI, or the children at henry county middle?
and to assume that those same kids don’t already know fully who TI is is ridiculous. its TI, you’re talking about middle school children. i said HEROES to them. he’s a celebrity, and his convictions are his convictions. how long does a nigga wear the badge after he’s paid his debt to society. the parents have a right to argue who they want talking to their kids, no doubt. but i’m explaining the very sensible logic behind booking TIP. bringing up a porno guru is irrelevant to this situation.
We don’t know what is on that person’s mind or heart no matter how great they look in a suit. So many times we fail our children because we assume that if you portray yourself a certain way in public or hold a certain type of job, then my child can be influenced by you. Then we act confused when Boyscout master so and so, Teacher so and so FATHER so and so Congressman so and so Uncle blah blah Auntie blah blah, neighbor so and so, babysitter blah blah, molest, rape, and kill our children.
Is T.I. a convicted felon yes. But even when you listen to his 2002 Trap Musik record “be better than me” he still promotes this is not a life I would condone for anyone to live. And I do agree. Not just children but PEOPLE tend to listen more to people who have been through the struggle they can identify with; whether its Domestic Violence, Molestation, Drugs, Alcoholism, Prison, etc. When they use to do the scared straight program, they didn’t take children to fancy office buildings. They took them IN THE PRISONS with “convicted felons” to tell them, this life here is NOT what you want. Whether parents realize or not but these middle school students are going to do what they want regardless of WHO speaks to them. Some children are going to walk the straight and narrow and ALOT of children are going to take the detour.
I do understand that a child can become curious and listen to his records but TRUST it takes a hell of alot more than that for a child to become a lost cause and IT STARTS AT HOME. Don’t think these MIDDLE SCHOOL kids are only going to become curious AFTER T.I. talks to them. This detrimental path is probably already on their mind because this is the environment (the same environment T.I. grew up in) they are around. So why not have someone you can identify with. This man didn’t speak at a Prep school PLEASE GET THAT CLEAR. At the end of the day I do understand that it is the parents’ right essentially, but lets not pretend like this man is the worst case scenario.
I judge no man because I have my own cross to bear; but if I see a man trying to make a positive out of a negative, why not give him a chance.
You wear the badge FOREVER, are you a felon, go fill out a job app and say well i paid my debt, they dont give a fuck once you choose the career path of a porn guru or a gangster rapper or something generally looked down on you have to understand that parents probably wouldnt want you to talk to their kids. And i used the porn guru as a reference because you said that TI is successful well so is that guy but that doesnt make them a good person to talk to the youth.
@woah
How about the guy who was supplying the guns? Silencers are illegal as fuck you have to have a level 3 weapons permit
@James Cosign that shit…..and to be real. If I see my friend commit a crime or kill a nigga and the FEDS put the heat on me I’m singing my ass off!! There is no honor in seeing a guy murder someone, keeping your mouth shut, and spending time in jail. WHERE THE FUCK DID THE BLACK COMMUNITY GET THAT SHIT FROM?! Nigga don’t EVER commit a crime around me….ima make sure your ass gets locked up. Are we trying to increase or decrease crime here? C’mon son
@money mitch The bodyguard was the middleman between the supplier and T.I. So to add one and one lets make it two. If he snitched on T.I. Im 1,000 percent sure he snitched on the supplier but T.I. was a bigger fish to fry. So that is the story that got the most publicity
All I have to say about this is, Wendy Williams has an ugly ass mug, bitch looks like a tranny on steroids.
@James
Co-fuckin-sign! Niggaz don’t even understand the true definition of snitchin’. Snitchin’: Tellin on someone u know, r affiliated with, or have ties to.
yeah fuck walmart!
^lmao
though the snitchin part is debatable, one cant help but ask how does a convicted felon get caught purchasing firearms that would be illegal to someone with a clean record and still only serve one year, just to take a step back and look at that honestly it does not add up whether snitchin or not some backroom deals def took place
I’m 16 from the southside of chicago and I love hip hop
But would rather listen to a lawyer or doctor and I’m not the only one
I cant speak for the kids where yall from but I know plenty of black kids(and some spanish folks) from the Englewood who would rather hear from doctors and lawyer and not T.I.
And they know and have seen plenty of shit
No hate at T.I. but his words probably fell on deaf ears the kids were probably distracted by him being there
Folks need to just consider not every kid looks up to rappers
And thats just being realistic
Yes some of you would probably pay more attention to the information coming from him but you cant speak for every kid in the world
There are doctors and lawyer and other successful people who are from the hood that experience plenty ills of the hood but didnt become products their environment
They shouldnt be overlooked as speakers cuz the principal wanted to meet his fav rapper
Or cuz the principal thought that the niggaz in his school would only pay attention if he brought a rapper to speak
Thats just me though I see where yall coming from and its cool
@ Chicago
I’m from the eastside of Chicago and I see where you comin from, but you know niggas round here give no fuck bout doctors and lawyers. Hip hop is a HUGE influence in the black community. You see niggas out here actin like their favorite rappers and doin shit they hear in their favorite songs, so why not bring in a big hip hop figure to tell kids to do the right thing.
My penis be slangin
I have to agree wit @Chicago.. I’m from the crib also and I think if u showed these kids a doctor or a lawyer it would have a huge influence like “he’s from the same place I’m from I can do that”.. Much better chance of that shit than brainwashing them to believe they can be the next TI.. dude is simply fufulling his community service hours and if he honestly believes he has a bigger influence over these kids than a doctor
or lawyer then portray that image in your music well see real soon if he’s just doin this shit so he don’t violate his parole
@Ac@pella!
Maybe y’all missed it, But that man took the stand on national t.v. infront of the world, and told on the nigga who shot his homie. For a full year this nigga was like” Naw, never seen nothing, and i dont know who it was”. Then he gets popped for all those guns and silencers, for which a convicted felon who’s not a cooperating government witness, recieves an immediatte mandatory life sentence for silencers alone. Plus his crime stoppers commercials. The “Rubberband Man”, regardless of past hustle’s, or certified street shit he’s done, turned out to be a snitch. Real niggas cant rock with that, dickriders will stay doin what they do best, ridin dick,.
Well speaking freely if i may—parents have every right to have a say so when felonious negros start running up in schools that their tax dollars contribute to. And frankly we need doctors and accountants getting their attention. Part of their problem is overexposure to these spoiled athletes and oversexed rappers anyway.
Whats next? Bishop Don Magic Juan putdting prayer in the schools? Nicky Barnes lecturing on finances? Please. Just make the records and be happy. We already know you are not a role model.