T.I. and 21 Savage are two Atlanta legends, and in 2020, the pair sat down for a chat on T.I.’s expediTIously podcast, during which the rapper (real name Clifford Harris) revealed that the renowned actor Morgan Freeman once led to him getting fired from a job.
The conversation between the two Georgia MCs followed the release of 21 Savage and Metro Boomin’s collaborative album, Savage Mode II, which topped the Billboard Hot 100 and received vast critical acclaim. While speaking about the project and all its astounding features, the pair talked about the esteemed thespian Morgan Freeman.
Aside from household names such as Drake, Young Thug, and Savage’s cousin Yung Nudy, the body of work also featured narration from the iconic voice of Freeman. The highly decorated actor is known for his deep, enchanting voice, and the East Atlanta lyricist managed to get Freeman featured on his project both for the intro and the interlude entitled, ‘Snitches & Rats.’
The monologue about snitches and rats features lines such as “A regular citizen who reports seeing a crime isn’t a ‘snitch’ or a ‘rat’, the criminals were just sloppy” and “A ‘rat’ is a traitor, a conceiver, planner or physical participator, he doesn’t sell secrets for power or cash.”
The conversation concerning 21 Savage’s inclusion of Freeman on the album reminded Harris of an event in 2013 when the 86-year-old actor got him fired from a movie he was about to star in.
Harris elaborated, explaining how he was signed to appear in the film Last Vegas with Freeman, Michael Douglas and Robert De Niro. He detailed, “I already got the role. I didn’t have to audition for it or nothing.” However, after a studio session that involved lean, when he turned up for a group script read, he began to fall asleep, unveiling, “Come time to sit down for the table read — man, that drink got on my a*s so bad, I’m dozing off at the table! Falling asleep while everybody’s right there!”
According to Harris, as he began dozing off, Freeman asked, “Son! Are you with us, son? Are you ok? Son? Get up! What is your problem?” However, Harris’ unprofessionalism turned Freeman off, and the following day T.I. got a call from his manager in which he revealed, “Morgan Freeman said he won’t work with you. They don’t want you,” and as a result, he was fired from the film. You can hear T.I. explain the situation in the video below.
