T.I. turns to former Dr. King friend as mentor

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Interviews, performances

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Dec. 6: Before being honored at a special gala at the Kennedy Center, five of the nation's best in entertainment and the arts were lauded by President Barack Obama. NBC's Lester Holt reports.

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Ron Wood arrested

Fear as a motivator
His actions beg the question: Why T.I. would jeopardize his rising stardom?

Fear, according to T.I. His best friend Philant Johnson was killed and three were injured in a gun shootout following a post-performance party in Cincinnati in 2006. He worried that he could suffer the same fate.

“People would also love to say they, ‘Hey, I killed T.I.’” he said. “Let’s say if T.I. is out, didn’t have any weapons around and I got shot dead in the street. The first thing people are going to say is, ‘Why didn’t T.I. have something to protect himself?’”

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But T.I. has a new train of thought after his arrest.

“No matter how much security you have, how many guns you got, no matter how much money you got, God’s will supersedes all of that,” T.I. said. “So, instead of walking with guns, I now have to walk with God. I now have to trust in God’s will.”

He’s currently on a 14-city concert tour to promote his upcoming album, “Paper Trail,” which is expected to released in September. Even though his first single “No Matter What” has no curse words, he says it doesn’t mean that the album will be profanity-free. And he won’t promise that violence or drugs won’t be mentioned in his lyrics.

But now, he plans to use those topics not to glorify, but to advise others about the consequences. He’s trying to not disappoint the many who believe in him — like Young.

“I don’t want to disgrace nobody who supported me who believed I pushed pass this situation,” T.I. said. “I won’t disgrace their good faith with another absolutely unnecessary situation.”

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