T.I.‘s incarceration has allowed other rappers and entertainers to speak on the matter. With so much to say regarding the arrest, many have been outspoken and some have shared sympathy for what Tip is going through.
“We’re maturing. We got families; we have to take care of them. The streets should be the last of your priorities when you got so many people looking up under you. T.I. is a great friend of mine. I would think he’s more intelligent than that. Actually he is more intelligent than that. I just think he was caught in position in his career where things are moving so fast, you overlook the obvious. With him, when you’re accustomed to getting your way for so long, you don’t look at the negatives of what you may consider to be a positive situation. They literally have a hip-hop police section — enforcement specifically to monitor hip-hop and anything that’s making money urban,”Akon told MTV.
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“It’s obvious he was set up…But sometimes when you’re in a position of that stature and you’re that big … you just don’t allow that energy around you. You have to have people around you to let you know or avoid that energy. Even if he was a [gun] collector, naturally, you get a license to collect. That’s just common sense. … At that stage where he’s at, he don’t need to protect himself. You hire legitimate law enforcement, or you hire people who are licensed to carry [guns]. Surround them around you and you’ll be safe,” he added.
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50 Cent gave his 2 cents on the matter.
“I hope he can make the best out of that situation… If he gets 10 years, that ain’t bad…If the security person is already telling, it’s obvious that’s their witness. They got tapes, they got all this. … [If it was me,] I would have to tell the people I did it and sit down for a minute. Nobody wants to hear that you have to stay 10 years nowhere. It’s not a good thing, period. It’s unfortunate, but he got himself in that space. … I don’t know the real facts. Maybe he didn’t do it; let’s keep our fingers crossed.”
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The RZA also added his own take on the situation.
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“They have a hip-hop task force out there. They looking [to lock us up] for whatever we do. We gotta be extra, extra clean and we got to watch what we say.”
David Banner claimed it was wrong for the body guard to speak on T.I.‘s involvement.
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“We don’t do it like that, dog. We don’t talk to them boys. However it went down, we sit down [and do the jail time,] where I’m from. Dude, you don’t tell it. You hope the people you holding down is man enough to hold your people down. [The bodyguard] wasn’t a convicted felon, my dude. He could have held [Tip] down. We gotta start making the environment in our neighborhoods not conducive to snitching. How I’m doing this song, I’mma make it uncomfortable for snitches.”
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“But I will say we have to start making better decisions because of the position we’re in. We know the spotlight is on us; we know they looking to us to f— up. We have to make better decisions and be cognizant of the facts.”
