The Back Road to Redemption

So, T.I., convict-turned-rapper-turned-convict, has turned himself in to Arkansas authorities to began his year-ish sentence yesterday, for gun charges. There's been a lot of clamor as to the specifics of his case, including snitching & judge/jury tampering, but that's neither here nor there at this point. & this point is, incarceration. He's locked up. Truthfully speaking, he shouldn't have a hard time in the bing. He's been there quite a few times that the public is aware of, & who knows about the trips to Juvenile Detention Hall, which I'm sure are just as numerous. No Judgment, I'm just saying. Don't get me wrong, I like his music somewhat, but seriously, that dude is a criminal.

Now, I know some criminals, & a handful of convicted felons. In fact, a healthy percentage of my immediate family is well versed on their "vacation" time. I'm very familiar with their way of life, & there's nothing "civilian" about it.

True story, a buddy of mine would come through all the time & hang out at the pad. He's never admitted it, but I believe he's killed at least once. & I'm not talking cockroaches or spiders. One day, the lock on my security door was broken. The only way in/out of the house was the back door. Its not a long walk around my meager abode, granted you're not morbidly obese & a cheeseburger away from cardiac arrest. But, my dude was in good shape, possibly from fleeing crime scenes so often. Joke. He came to the front door, & I informed him that the door was "locked" & that he had to come through the back door to get in. He said, "Bring me your tool bag". I took it outside, around the house, all appreciative that he was willing to help me out, but as he handy-man'd his way to fixing my lock, he went on & on about how he's spent so many years of his life locked inside, that he refuses to come inside my spot unless he can leave on his own terms. It was pathetically hilarious. Hours later, he fixed my door. All he asked for in return was some cigarettes. I offered him some beer, but in hindsight, I realized that he declined my offer because it would have violated his parole. & in other news, he's currently serving 7 years for robbery & ag. assault.

Point is, hardened criminals live in another world than us regular folks. Its not good or bad, it's just very different than mine.

We've all seen the hoopla following T.I. for about the last year or so. He's been building up to his prison time in a variety of ways. Talk shows appearances, speaking at public schools, participating in rallies, that reality show, urging the youth to get involved with politics, basically trying to prove to America (& maybe himself) that he's turned a new leaf in life. Actually, I couldn't care less, but God bless his efforts. The last two things he's done have caught me off guard though;

He's performed a string of concerts loosely called his "Goodbye" or "Farewell" tour. Okay. One year doesn't garner a "farewell", unless a psychic told him he's going to get shived in the lunch line. & what self-respecting convict wouldn't want to have "stabbed T.I. for his macaroni" on his list of greatest accomplishments. Is it that he's playing on the public's love/hate towards him? I would hate to think that after all the positivity exuded from his reality show "Road to Redemption" that he's now throwing himself a week-long party to celebrate getting yet another strike on his permanent record. That just seems odd to me. Like in those mobster movies, where they throw "the kid" some type of schindig for being arrested. Seems like the wrong message to send to the millions(!!) of kids who obviously bought his album. Like it or not, serving time for a crime should be an embarrassing, shameful experience. Not one to jump around on stage for, like this is the last time he'll ever be seen by mankind again.

But, he does have a bunch of kids, so maybe he's just trying to stay ahead of the Georgia court system. Maybe.

Which takes me to the next point, that he finally married his long time babymomma Tiny, uh, whatever her real name is. She's the light-skinned, big-headed girl from Xscape. If you're younger than 21, you may want to google them.

I'm not even sure how many kids they have, but I know it's plural. Now, if marriage was so important, why wait until its time to be surrounded by men to profess his love? Does he, being a criminal, know something that we, being civilians, don't know? Was this his way of showing her that he's going to remain faithful on the inside? I doubt a wedding band will stop a horny, aggressive man from having his way with a shower-drenched Clifford, & from what I hear girls say, he's not bad looking.

If I were her, I'd wonder why all of the sudden must we be man & wife, when all this time it was dude & babymomma? I know all women want to be wed, but sometimes, you've got to question motives. Maybe there's an honor system that frowns on raping a married man? Highly doubtful. Then again, it may have been his idea; who knows what kind of promiscuous freak she may be. That $1000.00 dildo might not cut it. Again, No Judgment, I'm just saying. He's not the only rapper in Atlanta.

There should be a reality show that follows dudes around during the period leading up to the day they turn themselves in. Most of the cats I know usually end up going straight from the courtroom though. Just enough time to blow a kiss at their mom's, & be escorted into the Beast's belly. Then again, I guess that show would suck. Everybody can't be OJ or Clifford.

Let's just hope & pray that, at least for his kids' sake, that this situation is more rehabilitation, & less incarceration. Some folks actually do get locked up & learn their lesson(s). Not that I know any of them personally. No Judgment, I'm just saying.