T.I.'s Road to Redemption

Tonight I watched T.I.'s Road to Redemption (On Demand) with my wife and children. The MTV series is a must see for parents and children. I posted about my viewing experience on my Facebook account and I was glad to have stirred some constructive debate from my very simple mobile posting. Some of my friends commended T.I. for doing what he was doing to get wayward youth on the right track with positive decision making and a permanent change of course prior to his own sentencing in March 2009. Others criticized his foolish actions of the past. In response I wrote back to each of them in comments below.

Some may criticize T.I. (born Clifford Joseph Harris Jr.) for the life he has lived and the [bad] decisions he has made thus far. The fact is that each one of us has a different opinion of what we see informed by the environment we grew up in, nurturing by our parents, and the decisions we have made once we came of age. Our perceptions of what we watch on TV and how we receive that information is similarly impacted by those three factors I mentioned. Now I agree it's unfortunate that T.I. had to be federally prosecuted (due to the types of weapons in his possession and the fact he had them in another state) to realize that he needed to [live his life in a more responsible manner]. The fact is though that he learned from his run-in with the law, paid the consequences, and unlike many celebrities, he used his experience with the law in a positive way to affect wayward youth who grew up in similar circumstances to those he experienced during his childhood.

I understand everyone has their opinion based on the three factors I mentioned. I concur as someone who grew up in the real hood, that often people carry weapons because the fact of life for these folks is that the police are present in poor neighborhoods in a reactionary not proactive role--they often come AFTER someone has been killed. Now those who watched the first episode of the show (entirely your prerogative I know) saw T.I. talking about his childhood. During his youth T.I.'s step father shot and killed his father, there was no man in his home after that, and T.I. found himself like some of my friends--in the unenviable position of HAVING to put groceries on his Mother's table. Now in remembering how he grew up, T.I. personally intervened in the life of a young gang banger from his old neighborhood, gave him a bit of reality shock and now the young man is studying acting in Los Angeles like he always wanted instead of hustling drugs. Yes, I'm proud of T.I. for encouraging this young man and providing him a means to live his dreams as well as the other youth he reached out to. It's one thing to tell a youth to pull himself up by his own bootstraps and quite another to provide that same youth with the opportunity to do so.

T.I.'s Road To Redemption | Ep. 1 | You Are Responsible For Your Own Actions

T.I.'s Road to Redemption - MTV Shows

Now only God can judge his motives. Having grown up surrounded by similar circumstances I don't condone, but understand WHY T.I. like many other youth without a father make bad decisions. These youth need a hand UP, just as I did, not a hand OUT, and if he can help them by virtue of who he is, then God Bless him for that. I didn't mean to get preachy but I need everyone to understand that your perspective on an issue while significant, it one of many.

Remember what I said, "...Only God can judge motives."

From MTV.com About the Show:

As he begins counting down the days to his impending March 2009 sentencing for weapons charges, Grammy-winning superstar T.I. finds himself at a remarkable crossroads. At the very apex of his career, he's facing up to 30 years of jail time for an arrest stemming from his earlier life. However, as part of a deal worked out between his lawyers and the federal government, if he completes an amazing 1,000 hours of community service during the year ending this March, that sentence may be reduced. At 27, finding himself at the very high- and low-point of his adult life, he's seeking redemption in helping others avoid the mistakes he made. In the new docu-series T.I.'s Road To Redemption: 45 Days To Go cameras follow T.I.'s efforts to save himself by saving others. In order to communicate his message, he has to give each teenager a tough love lesson in life and show them the consequences of what could happen if they continue down the wrong path.

T.I.'s Road To Redemption: 45 Days To Go will not only show T.I. as he attempts to help change the lives of desperate teenagers across the country, but will also show a behind-the-scenes peek at the most private and personal moments of one of today's hottest most sought after artists on the verge of leaving his glittering career for time behind bars.

The series will follow T.I. as he talks to schools and community groups about how to avoid the trouble he now finds himself in, but it will also follow a search for personal redemption. T.I.'s Road To Redemption: 45 Days To Go chronicles the rap icon's dedicated mission to educate today's youth on the issues of his past that have come back to haunt him today. Along the way, we will see the birth of his sixth child, the release of his most ambitious, reflective, and mature work yet, "Paper Trail," his long and serious journey to transform the lives of a group of at risk teens, his ongoing struggle to manage his personal life while completing 1,000 hours of community service and most importantly, coming to terms with going to jail at the height of his career.