Atlanta rapper and Grand Hustle founder T.I. is a well-known name in hip-hop. First arriving in the mainstream during the late-1990s, the emcee (real name Clifford Harris) was one of the pioneers of the South’s trap music movement and, with hits such as ‘What You Know,’ he became a household name.
T.I. is a well-known former gang member from the Centre Hill neighbourhood of Atlanta who would eventually become a member of the Pimp $quad Click. However, during a 2020 episode of the expediTIously podcast, the Atlanta rapper recalled when he attempted to blame his dead cousin (Toot) for a gun charge he was facing that would have seen him face jail time.
Harris unveiled that he and his cousin were once hustling in Atlanta when they were pulled over by the police, who discovered a gun in his possession. Explaining the situation, “We at Lennox Mall parking lot, we unload the truck [of stolen clothes], I’m talking to the man while I’m making the play.”
He continued, “And right then, mall security [pull up] … We get in the car, and we pull off, and then, of course, they followed behind us and called the real police. So before we actually get on the expressway, the real police pull us over. I have a gun.”
Harris disclosed that Toot got murdered during the court case, and as a result, he avoided incarceration by claiming the gun belonged to his cousin. Harris unveiled, “We caught those gun cases, Toot died. My lawyer said, ‘Well, you know, I could make everything go away if it was Toot’s, it was Tremel’s.'”
However, Harris said he had the blessing of his cousin, disclosing, “After he had passed, I had a talk with him. Toot said, ‘I’ll take all the charges you got! If you can walk away free and put it on me, goddamn right! ‘Cause I’ll be damned if they gon’ come and muthafucking extradite me from here!'”
T.I. rapped about Toot on his 2003 hit ‘Rubber Band Man’, rhyming, “My cousin used to tell me, ‘Take this shit a day at a time’ / Told me Friday, died Sunday, Wednesday in the ground”. However, he did admit that he snitched on his own family. You can watch the podcast in the vide below.
