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On a night when hip-hop’s biggest artists performed at Hot 107.9’s Birthday Bash in Atlanta, one of the genre’s most important stars spent the evening at a federal prison complex in Forrest City, Ark. Currently serving a 366-day prison sentence, T.I. didn’t get the chance to please his hometown fans along with artists Lil Wayne, Young Jeezy and Gucci Mane. However, T.I.’s absence from the stage could be overshadowed by his absence from the work that he has done in the community.
In the past year, T.I. performed over 1,000 hours of community service that he was sentenced complete after pleading guilty to possessing illegal firearms. In 2008–09, T.I. mentored at-risk kids, spoke at 58 schools, 12 Boys & Girls Clubs and nine churches and nonprofit organizations. A case can be made that T.I.’s community service was disingenuous due to the circumstances, but his outreach allowed the youth to hear from him outside of music. T.I. spoke to hundreds of young people about the importance of making good decisions and finding ways to be successful. The only sad part about T.I.’s community efforts is that other rappers did not follow his example.
If Young Jeezy, Gucci Mane and OJ Da Juiceman can spend hours in a recording booth discussing their former lives in the drug game over beats, they should spend time speaking to young men and women about starting a legal business and tell them the truth about the disparate sentences that are handed down for selling crack cocaine. If Lil Wayne can get on record and promote that he wants to have sex with every girl in the world, he should take a few days to visit high schools to encourage the practice of safe sex. Soulja Boy, who has made millions by building his own brand on the Internet, should talk to his peers about online marketing.
At its essence, hip-hop has always been about more than performing on stage and partying. Now that today’s hip-hop music rarely reflects the struggle of daily life, it’s vital that today’s stars go back to their communities to give proper guidance to the youth. By court order, T.I. had to participate in community service. Other rappers should be obligated by their fans to do the same. –amir shaw
