Since the two-thousands came around, T.I. has arguably solidified one of hip-hop's most important figures. With his 2003 album Trap Muzik being one of the first albums to popularize the term "trap" in the mainstream, TIP went on record stating his role in pioneering trap music as we know it. On that very same album's second track "I Can't Quit," T.I. rapped the line "I want to be a musician, pimping, not a politician." It's funny how things turn out, and while T.I. is hardly a politician in the way that say, Hilary Clinton or Ted Cruz was, his music has certainly undergone a shift toward a more political direction.
Consider his most recent project, Us Or Else: Letter To The System in which T.I. skillfully weaved his impressive flow and lyricism with more social and political subject matter. Not to mention, he also released an accompanying short film, which dealt with the narrative of police brutality in America. The lead single "Believe" seemed to encapsulate T.I.'s foray into the political discourse, and clearly, the Atlanta rapper had a lot to say on the matter.
So it's no surprise that T.I's been using his platform to spread his message, and take shots at Trump whenever given the chance. In a recent chat with the paparazzi, T.I. addressed the recent Charlottseville state of emergency, which has escalated into what feels like the brink of a brewing Civil War. A woman, Heather Heyer, was even murdered by a white supremacist. Clearly, times are tense in the United States, and the President's recent statement in which he blamed both sides has drawn no shortage of criticism.
"That's exactly what I expect from a sucka," says T.I, before revealing his theories on why Trump suddenly backtracked on his initial condemnation of White Supremacy groups. The rapper ends the discussion with a powerful, yet simple statement:"Fuck him."
