T.I.P. freed, but forewarned by judge
October 26th, 2007 by Rodney Carmichael in Music newsT.I. smiled and waved at cheering fans as he descended the steps of the Richard B. Russell Federal Building and Courthouse on Friday, free on bond and placed under house arrest nearly two weeks after being arrested on federal gun charges.
“Well, I don’t have much to say,” T.I. told the media. “I just want to thank all of the fans for their continued prayers and support, and due to the severity of the situation I must decline comment and have you refer to my counsel. Thank you all.”
After giving Clifford “T.I.” Harris’ team of high-powered attorneys another week to iron out the terms of his proposed house arrest, U.S. Magistrate Judge Alan Baverman released the rapper on a $3 million bond Friday afternoon.
He stressed, however, that if anything happened to any witnesses and/or informants associated with T.I.’s case, the rapper would be held liable.
“I don’t want to sound crass about it,” said the judge, “but in addition to being in the music and entertainment business you’re essentially in the insurance business now. If any harm is [befallen upon] the informant, the court will be looking to you. Do you understand that?”
T.I. then responded, “Yes, your honor.”
After the judge read and reread the lengthy conditions of the release, he placed him in the custody of Richard McMichael, CEO of Judicial Correction Services Inc., whom T.I.’s attorney’s employed to meet the judge’s strict GPS-monitored house arrest requirements.
“He will be able to work from his home in a studio there, he will be under supervision and it should be a time in which he deals with these issues in a very contemplative way,” said Ed Garland, one of the rapper’s attorneys.
His fans were out in full force Friday, with dozens waiting outside the courtroom and on the steps of the Richard B. Russell Federal Building and Courthouse during the hearing. One mother and her teenage daughter wore matching ATL T-shirts, based on the movie T.I. starred in last year, and held posters of the rapper while yelling “Free T.I.” to drivers on Spring Street.
Another fan, Tamika Jones, cut pictures of T.I. out of a magazine and pasted them to her car to show support.
“He has received a lot of fan mail during his incarceration,” said the defendant’s attorney Dwight Thomas. “It shows that he is well-received, well-liked throughout this country and even outside of this country.”
When asked how it felt to be out on bond, T.I. immediately responded, “Great. Great. I look forward to getting this behind me and moving forward.”
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November 6th, 2007 at 11:53 pm
I love Atlanta Hip-Hop…Shawty Lo from D4L has an album dropping January 16th called “Units in The City, ” check out his single “Dey Know”
http://streamos.asylumrecords.com/wmedia/asylum/audio/shawty_lo/shawty_lo_-_dey_know-_dirty.wax
December 13th, 2007 at 4:33 pm
Shawty Lo’s album has been pushed back from January 15 to FEBRUARY 5, 2008.
Check out his myspace blog for more info:
http://blog.myspace.com/therealshawtylo
February 22nd, 2008 at 4:16 pm
Hey Ya’ll, you already know i got news on my boo Shawty Lo… Well supposedly his album was bootlegged earlier this month, so below you could read a piece of the release his camp put out in All Hip Hop. Oh, and i got his new single Dunn Dunn.
http://streamos.asylumrecords.com/wmedia/asylum/audio/shawty_lo/dunn_dunn/shawty_lo-_dunn_dunn_dirty.wax
Shawty Lo Album Bootlegged Without ALL KEY SONGS!!!
“D4L member and Asylum Recording Artist Shawty Lo is the latest victim of bootlegging, as many people are purchasing unauthorized copies of Units In The City instead of waiting for its February 26th release date. However buyers are not receiving several new songs on the album, including the smash single, “Dey Know,” as well as, “Ain’t Tellin’”, “That’s Shawty Lo”, “Got Em 4 The LO” and “Count On Me.”