T.I. To Report To Prison Today

By Gil Kaufman

On the eve of reporting to prison, T.I. (born Clifford Harris Jr.) bid farewell to his hometown fans on Sunday night at the Philips Arena in Atlanta.

The rapper is set to turn himself in at noon on Tuesday (May 26)to begin serving his sentence for a year and a day at the minimumsecurity Forrest City federal prison in Arkansas, after pleading guiltyto federal weapons charges for trying to buy unregistered machine gunsand silencers from undercover federal agents in 2007. He told thepacked crowd of 16,000 that he'd "see y'all in 366 days," according to The Associated Press.

"I'm going to stand up tall, head up high," he told fans. "Thank you for all of your support."

T.I.'s Final Farewell BashAs he did on his recent MTV series, "T.I.'s Road to Redemption,"Tip, 28, tried to put a positive spin on his mistakes. At one point inthe show, he brought his five children out onstage to stand next tohim, cradling his youngest as he performed "No Matter What." "I'm doingthe best I can to get out there, man, and put something positive onthese young kids, man," he said. "I try my best. I need y'all help,though."

Allhiphop.comreported that the show was hosted by Grand Hustle comedian Lil' Duvaland featured appearances by the entire GH crew, including B.o.B., BigKuntry King, 8ball & MJG and Maino. In the audience were severalcelebrity guests including Soulja Boy Tell'em and Andre 3000. As fansheld aloft signs expressing their support, T.I. took them on a tripthrough his entire catalog, from "Dope Boyz" to recent hits like"Whatever You Like," "Live Your Life" and "Swagga Like Us."

On Friday, a federal judge in Atlanta denied a petition fromthe rapper's lawyers to delay the beginning of his prison sentence asthey sought a bid from the Bureau of Prisons to switch from thelow-security prison in Arkansas to a minimum-security prison campcloser to Atlanta. T.I.'s sentencerequires him to serve at least 85 percent of his time, meaning he couldget a 15 percent reduction at most, totaling 54 days off hisincarceration time.

Trying to cram in as much business as possible in his finalhours of freedom, T.I. reportedly spent the hours before the concertworking on four Grand Hustle-related videos, including the clip for BigKuntry's single "I Do."

According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution,once out, T.I. must complete another 470 hours of the 1,500 hours ofcommunity service to which he was sentenced, complete two more monthsof home confinement and remain on supervised release for three years.