Some find it sketchy that just before rapper T.I.’s probation hearing this Friday, he made headlines when he helped Atlanta police lure a suicidal man from the ledge of a 22-story building. Though the close court date has led several U.S. media outlets questioning the timing of his good deed, Thursday the rapper denied the superman act as being a publicity stunt.
Clifford Harris, whose rap alias is T.I. was released in March from a nine-month prison sentence for weapon possession and recently made headlines again for his drug arrest this past September in Los Angeles.
“I didn’t know this guy, I didn’t wake up in the morning to say ‘Hey let me find a way to go and save someone’s life so I can be looked at favorably come Friday,’ T.I. said to CNN on Thursday. “This is not something I could have planned.”
T.I. said he felt the urge to help the man when he heard about the situation on an Atlanta radio station Wednesday while on his way to a music video shoot. T.I. drove to the scene and offered to help police convince the man that “life’s not that bad.” Police said “Sure, successful rapper with no history of helping suicidal people, see what you can do.” And the happy ending ends with the man coming down from the roof to meet T.I.
While in transit to the shoot, T.I. says he never once thought about himself. “My situation never even became a thought in my mind in the process of dealing with this. It was just something that touched my heart.” T.I. told CNN.
When CNN asked the rapper about the possibility of returning to prison on Friday, he replied: “I am not at liberty to really speak upon the facts of anything associated with tomorrow or the outcome of tomorrow.”
Written by Shabazz
