The Rapper Ti

TI to Fans: “I'll See you in September!”

Though the “Live Your Life” rapper, real name Clifford Harris Jr., did not face charges for his arrest for drug possession in September 2010, he was found to have broken the terms of his parole and sent back to prison the following November.

But The King can now start counting the days to his freedom as he will finally be uncaged on September 29th.

Check out his latest message to his fans (via his official website) below:

What up world? I appreciate the continued love and support that everyone has been giving me. This chapter in my story will soon be coming to an end and I will be back in the flesh with you sooner than later. In the meantime I want to give a special shout out to a few particular individuals that have been sending me letters, cards, comments, tweets and just overall holding me down. A little loyalty goes a long way with me…I don’t do fake shit shawty. So I can’t thank y’all enough for keeping it 1 thousand and as soon as I’m able I WILL RETURN THE FAVOR!!! And that’s on PHIL!!! I love y’all and I’ll see you in September.

- KING

SHOUT OUTS:

OMG Girlz, Tameka, Pretty Hustle, Angie Martinez, DJ Enuff, DJ Infamous, Drake, J.Cole, Nipsy Hustle, Nelly, B.o.B, Killa Mike, Lil Book, Donnis, Rich Kid Shawty, Amare Stoudemire, DJ Drama, MLK, Greg Street, Maino, Mouse and Hustle Hard (Welcome Home 80!!!!).  Also would like to shout out…

Deidra Collins / Memphis, TN, Kyrstal Greenwood / Gaithersburg, MD, Trevor Toodle / NC, Christopher Chizer / Houston, TX, Renee Mathews / Clinton, MD, Ronnie P / St. Louis, MO, SimoniaMeChelle / Memphis, TN, Justin Allen Garcia from the Phillipines, Ashley Smith / Birmingham, AL, Brunette /Jackson, MS, @lilmariahc, @bash_ti, @1stlaydi, @the_blueprint4, @jmuse821, @jstablishgohard, and @ladyflirty!

Rapper T.I. Launches a Day Care! | Makin' It Magazine

Believe me, I was just as surprised as you to find out that Atlanta rap mogul, T.I., was opening his first of a string of daycare facilities. It's been a hell of a year for the rapper who has been an undeniable force on both the charts and in the box office. Grand Hu$tle Child Care promises to stand apart from other child care providers by being a 24 hour program catering to low income families. T.I. has made it very clear that he will not be a passive investor in the facility, but will participate in the day to day care of the children (feeding, changing diapers and all). In fact, the entire Grand Hu$tle roster including Young Dro, Big Kuntry, and Super producer Khao will be on staff teaching and caring for the children. This move by the self proclaimed King of the South has prompted other rappers to follow suit. Young Jeezy has also decided to give back to the community by teaching an after school tutoring program at Martin Luther King Jr. High School…

Ok… by now you should have guessed this is a bunch of BS, but if you caught BET's three part special, "Hip Hop vs. America", you might be led to believe this story is true. Apparently it is now the responsibility of rappers, not parents, to raise our children. Now I have to speak on the subject not as a fan of hip hop or the publisher of this magazine but as a black man and more importantly as a father of two. I heard all the same tired complaints. Rap glorifies violence and drug use. Rap degrades women. Rap is sending our community on a downward spiral. These are the same complaints we've been hearing in the on-going debate that was initiated by Michael Richards (Seinfeld's Kramer) calling black patrons "Niggers". The same debate that was later rekindled when Don Imus referred to a predominantly black female basketball team as "Nappy head Hoes". Its amazing how a white man makes racist remarks and we spend the next six months pointing fingers at ourselve. Suddenly Hip Hop is to blame for all the problems in the black community and the primary objective of the NAACP been banning the word Nigga from rap music while a travesty plays out in Jena, Louisiana.

Rap music isn't the source of problems in the black community. The biggest blow dealt to the black community was desegregation. When we were segregated you couldn't forget who you were. You couldn't denounce your blackness because you were reminded of it everyday. It didn't matter how light your skin was or how much money you had because at the end of the day you were still a "nigger". Desegregation allowed that "house nigga" mentality to bubble to the surface. As soon as they said you could shop where masta shopped and eat where masta ate you skipped your happy ass across the street and abandoned your people. It seems the same people who are on the forefront criticizing hip-hop are the same elitist (uppity ass) negros who dropped the ball in the first place. They are the talented tenth, the successful few with the resources to make a difference in their community. Unfortunately instead of helping uplift they distance themselves from it and criticize. Oprah complains about the youth and the lack of education in her own backyard while opening a school half way around the world. At the first signs of financial prosperity they flee the communities and later wonder why our youth idolize pimps, playas and drug dealers when in their absence they are the last resemblances of success in these forgotten neighborhoods.

Jet

Billboard

Jet

The Crisis

Jet