5 Things T.I. Should Do While He's In Prison

As some of you may know I used to be Managing Editor of a .com that T.I. was a partner in and used frequently to premiere videos and new music. T.I. has since left the .com (as did I). And while the finish to my time with this .com was anything but spectacular and involved some really shady business dealings (not on T.I.'s or my part), it was amazing to be working alongside someone who was one of my favourite rappers and I had been a fan of for years. I had several opportunities to deal with TIP directly and he was always very cool and appreciative of the work going into making his venture successful. Today, T.I. begins serving a 366 day sentence on weapons charges related to purchasing machine-guns and silencers. Whether you are serving 5 days or 5 years, nobody wants to go to prison. Plain and simple. Let's hope T.I. holds his head up high and comes out a changed and more focused man. Here are 5 things T.I. should do while he's in prison.

5. WRITE

Countless rappers have written some of their most vivid, emotional and real lyrics while in prison including the late, great 2Pac Shakur. T.I. should throw himself into songwriting and let his feelings about his current position play out on paper...and then in the studio when he gets out. It's going to be tough for T.I. to write anything resembling happy music while he's locked behind the walls with people telling him when he eats and goes outside. Selfishly this should give T.I. fans some powerful lyrics once he's released. Songs like "No Matter What" and "You Ain't Missin' Nothin'" were just a glimpse of how deep TIP could get.

4. GET HIS LABEL IN ORDER

NOTE - I lost. Irresponsibly I didn't mention B.O.B. AKA Bobby Ray below. I think I omitted him given the fact that he seems so independent of the actual Grand Hustle label that I forgot. No excuse and B.O.B. along with Young Dro show incredible promise for serious longevity.

Grand Hustle is one Hip-Hop imprint that has never fully lived up to the hype behind it. It's well branded, everyone knows the name but aside from T.I., no other artist has ever seen real success on the label. The closest has been Young Dro who I believe is a Hip-Hop megastar in the making. Unfortunately things took another bad turn for Grand Hustle recently when it was discovered label artist Alfamega was once a government informant. He was immediately dropped from the label. Out of the current crop of Grand Hustle artists, Yung LA and Young Dro have the best shots at stardom however these guys need better A&R direction and stronger marketing campaigns behind them. TIP can't just jump on a song and assume it's gonna be a smash (see Big Kuntry King and Alfamega). T.I. should use his down time to decide who is going to be valuable to Grand Hustle 5 years from now. My opinion is that Young Dro is the only artist with a real legit chance at longevity, although I do think Yung LA could be successful in the short term.

3. MAKE PLANS FOR AFTER MUSIC

Even though we'll probably be seeing people like Jay-Z and Nas Rap well into their 50s, I don't think any rapper aspires to be a sixty year-old on stage spittin' lyrics about drinking Patron (and I don't think any fans want to see this). TIP should spend some time thinking about his transition out of music. Yeah he's got several great years left but like the aging stripper at the club, it's always better to move on before you become an example of what not to do. T.I. has already wet his feet in the movie world and he has a great presence on screen. But what else? He recently launched his AKOO clothing line but TOO MANY rappers launch clothing lines. We don't need another one unless it's from someone with an actual distinguished style like Kanye. TIP should look at how he's going to continue to barge his way into the film game and scout out other investment opportunities outside of music.

2. THINK ABOUT FAMILY

Tough times are tough times. If a situation sucks...it just does. You can't wish away bad times. But one thing that everyone agrees can help one through troubled times is family. TIP should keep focused on what he has at home (his children Clifford 'King' Joseph III, Major Philant, Domani Uriah, Messiah Ya'Majesty and Deyjah Imani) and stay focused on the fact that no matter what he's missing music and career wise, his family will be there. He's also got to think about the kids he mentored on his "Road To Redemption" show and during his talks at various schools and organizations. No longer is it just his immediate family and Grand Hustle artists and employees depending on him but rather everyday people who now look up to him and try to model their lives positively after his with the intention of avoiding the mistakes he's already made.

1. REMEMBER WHY HE'S THERE TO BEGIN WITH

It's easy to say you won't do something again when you don't have the ability to. It's like an alcoholic being in the hospital saying "I'm never drinking again." Well sure you say that but what's going to happen when you're back in the real world? I personally think the most important thing for T.I. to do while he's in prison is to remember why he's there in the first place. He needs to actually put himself in a situation again in his mind where he might feel the need for extra protection and figure out how he will avoid going down the path that got him into this predicament. T.I. might have boatloads of money, fame and opportunities now but he's still from where he's from. That will never go away. It's up to T.I. now to decide whether or not his past will be just memories or reality once he gets out.

Comments

[Edouard]

LMAO @ not even mentioning Bobby ray in 4.

If one of them will blow up, it's him.

[broken cool]

B.O.B. was omitted in error...thanks for heads up. I slipped up and I didn't even have a holiday yesterday ha!

[Edouard]

Slip up forgiven! I do think Bobby Ray has a lot of potential. Like superstarpotential. Kanye-potential.

I'm bumping his mixtapes in Belgium, so that's something.

[a]

i have one:

lift some weights lol