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Issue 3
T.I. In McAllen
On October 13th, 2007 T.I. was arrested for the possession of three unregistered machine guns and two silencer pistols. He later plead guilty to all charges and was required to pay a three million dollar bond, serve 1000 hours of community service, and serve 1 year in prison beginning March 2009. Since his conviction T.I. has attempted to reclaim his image, and is indeed transcending the national music scene by visiting the Valley in early January. His sixth album Paper Trail debuted September 30, 2008, and since has sold more than half a million copies; T.I. has taken off his old wardrobe of violence and put on the clothes of a reformed man. He has worked with youth in Georgia by visiting detention centers, schools, and kid's clubs to establish a new and positive message for the youth. More recently, T.I. attended the inaugural hip-hop ball in Washington D.C. where he riveted the crowd with a speech detailing his trials that have made him the man he is today and hopefully tomorrow:
"I want to thank God... So I'mma thank him for everything. I'mma thank him for making me drop out of school. I'mma thank him for making me run the streets. I'mma thank him for making me sell crack. I'mma thank him for making me have shoot-outs. I'mma thank him for allowing me to watch my partners die in my arms...So I'd be fearful enough for my life and paranoid enough to go out and cop machine guns and silencers so I catch a fed case and I have to put up $3 million for my bond, so I have to spend a year of my life in prison just so I be validated enough to get out there and touch the youth because they know that I done been through it, and if I say it, it means something. You know what I'm saying?"
- John Gallagher
