T.I. is a man that’s worn many hats in his life; hustler, rap star, actor, mogul, husband, father and, last but certainly not least, hero. Tip became one of hip-hop’s greatest heroes in 2010, when he helped convince an Atlanta man from jumping off a ledge. But, many have no idea that Tip came to the rescue of another suicidal man as well, Creed front man Scott Stapp.
In a candid interview on Vh1’s “Big Morning Buzz Live,” Stapp discussed the harrowing story of his suicide attempt in his new memoir, “Sinner’s Creed,” and revealed that it was Tip who saved his life after his suicide attempt failed.
As Scott explained, he checked into the penthouse suite of Miami’s Delano hotel during one of his drug binges. Stapp spent the next few days fully awake, high on drugs, and began hearing voices and hallucinating that he was trapped in an asylum.
Desperate to end his mental torture, Stapp jumped off the balcony and fell 40 feet onto a ledge, cracking his skull and breaking his hip and nose, leaving him completely immobile. Thankfully, Tip was in the right place at the right time and discovered Stapp before he died.
“I laid out there for two and a half hours and my guardian angel showed up — rapper T.I.,” Stapp said. “He immediately took care of the situation and saved my life.”
Stapp revealed that he and T.I. met once before, when they were both writing songs for The Passion of The Christ soundtrack, and they bonded over their love of the state of Alabama.
“It’s ironic — he walked in, and I found out later it was the only room left in the hotel and he came in off the street and came out, and as I’m laying on the ledge, blood fell to [T.I.’s] feet and he looked up and he had an Alabama hat on. I said, ‘roll tide,’ and then he looked at me and put two and two together and really saved my life.”
Clearly, Tip is hip-hop’s resident guardian angel and we congratulate him on all of the lives he’s saved. And, thankfully, he’s not the only celeb watching out for his fellow man or woman. Check out some other heroic celebs below. – nicholas robinson
