Music
T.I.’s “Goodbye Bash”
His final performance before federal detention
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sunday, May 24, 2009
A year in federal prison will only help rapper T.I.’s music career, fans said at they lined up outside his Atlanta concert Sunday night.
The “Goodbye Bash” show is the Atlanta recording artist’s final performance before he reports to a federal detention facility in Arkansas Tuesday.
Kimberly Smith / ksmith@ajc.com
T.I. is set to give a fairwell concert for fans at Philips Arena on May 24, 2009.
The Phillips Arena show, which sold out, drew fans who were there to support their star despite his “mistakes.”
“We all makes mistakes and deserve a second chance,” said DJ Osiris Lakruzh. “He will do his time and get back and continue to shock the world.”
T.I., whose real name is Clifford Harris Jr., is scheduled to report to the Forrest City Correctional Institute on Tuesday. The rapper was sentenced to serve a year and a day for illegal firearms possession and being a convicted felon with a firearm.
The prison sentence will only help show fans that T.I. is “just like them,” said Kue Brower, a producer for T.I.’s opening act Southern Comfort.
“Prison - that’s not even a question,” he said. “Going to prison is like waking up in the morning. It happens to everybody.”
The rapper was arrested in October 2007 just hours before he was to receive two awards at the BET Hip-Hop Awards ceremony in Atlanta. He was taken into custody by federal agents at a Midtown parking lot for trying to buy machine guns and silencers.
In addition to his prison sentence, T.I. had to complete 1,000 hours of community service.
Lisa Thomas, who drove from Savannah to see the concert, said she has been inspired by T.I.’s community service, including anti-gang talks to youth.
“He’s real positive because he’s against violence,” she said. “He’s a role model for young boys because he talks about what he’s been through in his music.”
Lovata Hannsberry said T.I. is a positive influence for her children because he’s a young parent like herself. Hannsberry brought her 8-year-old daughter Queen and 10-year-old son Majeste to the concert.
“T.I. has grown so much as an artist and he has kids like I do,” the mother said. “And it sounds like he came out OK. I mean, is he really going in?”
On Friday, a federal judge in Atlanta denied the rapper’s motion to delay reporting to prison. T.I.’s lawyers requested the extension to petition the federal Bureau of Prisons to house the rapper in a minimum security prison camp instead of the low-security detention facility.
Terry McCray, who attended the concert with family, said she lived across the street from T.I. in the Center Hill section of Atlanta.
“I remember when he was 8 years old and was running around,” she said. “I’ve always been a fan. And we all make mistakes.”
