accessAtlanta

A day is the difference between fame and infamy.

Saturday, Atlanta artist T.I. was up for nine awards at the BET Hip-Hop Awards show, held in Atlanta.

(ENLARGE)
T.I. was the co-winner of Saturday night's first award, for CD of the year.
MOST POPULAR STORIES Police: Jeffrey Donovan arrested, suspected of DUI Report: Abdul's return to 'American Idol' doubtful Beastie Boy Adam Yauch has 'very treatable' cancer Fallon's '7th Floor West' is a silly, soapy treat Chris Brown apologizes for Rihanna beating
EMAIL THIS PRINT THIS MOST POPULAR
MORE ON T.I. • Video: Red carpet reaction • Photos of performer • Read complaint affidavit (PDF) • Timeline leading to arrest • TOPIC T.I. and Atlanta

Sunday, friends and coworkers were trading rumors and speculating about his fate after federal agents arrested him in a sting, saying he -- a convicted felon -- tried to buy machine guns.

T.I., whose real name is Clifford Harris Jr., never made it to the show where he won two awards, including best CD of the year. He spent it in Atlanta City Jail, awaiting a first appearance in federal court sometime this afternoon.

If convicted of the two felonies -- possession of three unregistered machine guns and two silencers, and possession of firearms by a convicted felon -- Harris, 27, can face up to 10 years in federal prison, said Dwight Thomas, one of two defending lawyers him.

"I can tell you he's in good spirits," Thomas said Sunday evening. "He's very appreciative for the support he's received within the music industry and outside. He's confident the legal system will work in his favor."

Algrin Davis, also known as DJ Toomp, who produced many T.I. songs, said he tried to warn the rapper -- 10 years his junior -- about hanging with the wrong crowd and the bad consequences that could bring. Harris was already in a precarious situation because of a conviction on crack cocaine charges in 1998.

"I was in his ear all the time," Davis said.

Sunday afternoon, Toomp and others at a speech by the Rev. Louis Farrakhan on hip-hop music, said no one had seen T.I. or heard from the rapper and that they were concerned for him.

Farrakhan's spirited, pre-scheduled speech at Justin's restaurant on Peachtree Street took aim at the violence, sexism and greed that is openly rapped about and portrayed in music videos.

"As long as you stay in funk and filth, this is going to turn on you," Farrakhan said. He encouraged those in an audience that included hip-hop icon Chuck D and others in the industry, to take the music, which is recognized the world over, in positive directions.

Chuck D has taken a stand against the glorification of violence in hip-hop, saying it often portrays a "gangsta fairy tale," without talking about the repercussions.

Farrakhan told those in the industry "You are not aware of how powerful God had made you. Take it in the right direction and you will spark a revolution."

DJ Drama, whose given name is Tyree Simmons, lent his support at a video shoot at a Midtown club Sunday afternoon. Also there for the shoot was Harris' business partner Jason Jeter.

"We've just got to roll with the punches," Jeter said. "We always do. I'm very hopeful."At the Farrakhan speech, scholar and author Michael Eric Dyson, said that gangster culture is not just part of the rap music scene. It has been part of America mythology from the beginning and could be seen in cowboy movies, where John Wayne can kill dozens, to the forthcoming movie "American Gangster," starring Denzel Washington and, ironically, T.I.

"What we often forget is that the troubled lives that these young men rap about is the troubled lives that they live," Dyson said.

But that fact that it happens to and among young men with black faces disproportionately draws the attention of the media and white America.

Agents arrested Harris Saturday afternoon in an Atlanta parking lot, where, according to authorities, he had arranged to get the guns from his bodyguard. The authorities said they nabbed the bodyguard trying to buy the weapons earlier, and he led them to Harris, saying he was buying the guns for him.

At the time of Harris' arrest, agents also took into custody his longtime girlfriend, Tameka "Tiny" Cottle, and rappers Marc Boney and Young Dro, who record for T.I.'s Grand Hustle record label, said witness Hassan Musaddiq, a cameraman for the Atlanta public access hip hop show "Severe Entertainment."

In the mid to late '90s, Cottle's Atlanta-based, all-female R&B group Xscape had hits with such singles as "Just Kickin' It", "Understanding" and "My Little Secret."

Young Dro and Mac Boney are part of a group on T.I.'s Atlanta-based Grand Hustle label, called P$C. They put out an album called "25 To Life" in 2005. Young Dro also released a solo CD titled "Best Thang Smokin' " in 2006, featuring a hit single with T.I. titled "Shoulder Lean."

Atlanta police on Sunday said they charged Cottle with possession of marijuana and the drug "ecstasy." Cottle and T.I. have a son named King.

Boney and Young Dro were not charged with any crimes.

Young Dro, asked Sunday whether he was with T.I. at the time of his arrest, said, "Of course I was." But he didn't want to talk about the incident.

"We're going to be all right," he said. "It's just a mistake. Everybody's entitled to some. We'll be okay."

Thomas, the attorney, said that three other people who were with T.I were also taken into custody but were not charged. They all worked security details for the rapper.

Later, agents searched Harris' College Park home and found additional guns.

Thomas, the attorney, said he didn't know of Harris' prior convictions that make it illegal for the rapper to own firearms. He also wouldn't say whether others lived with Harris at his College Park house but added that when ATF agents raided it and found additional guns, "to the best of my knowledge, other people were present."

Staff writer Saeed Ahmed cotributed to this report.

----------------

BET HIP-HOP AWARDS
• Blogs: Latest updates | Jermaine Dupri's diary
• Winners list: Who won what
• Photos: The show | Red carpet | Pre-show parties