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Monday, March 9, 2009 | 8:39am
T.I. Hits Bump In ‘Road To Redemption.’ Stonewalled at Brooklyn School
NYC School Officials prevent MTV camera frenzy in Middle School. Good for them!
Friday, New York City School officials gave T.I. and the crew of his MTV reality show “T.I.’s Road to Redemption,” the stiff arm at the door forcing the rapper to cancel his trip to a Brooklyn middle school.
Department of Education spokeswoman Margie Feinberg said the visit was too “commercial” a venture to be allowed in Crown Heights’ Middle School of the Arts.
In the rappers latest act of public penance for his felony gun conviction, T.I. would have spent the day mentoring students to avoid the wrong path. The cancellation reportedly disappointed students, parents and faculty who said they were looking forward to meeting the entertainer.
“We’re very excited about his visit if it’s going to help the children do positive things with their lives,” Principal Susan Hobson-Ransom said.
“It’s a positive spin on a negative situation,” said Seth Byrd, 31, whose son Daniel Jefferson is in sixth grade.
Oh well! I for one was somewhat looking forward to seeing the show as the middle school was my neighborhood school growing up in Crown Heights. I know many of my friends that attended that school back in the 80′s so it would have been nice to see it immortalized on MTV.
However, I think the NYC Department of Education took a stand and in essence said they didn’t want to be a part of T.I. PR charade parade. I honestly don’t blame them. Yes T.I. is doing “positive” things but who can be sure of his motivation? Reduced sentence? Improved Public Image? All at the expense of very at-risk youth in America’s ghettos. Its easy to use your celebrity to become a positive role model when you’re up against a bid but its when it comes from the heart instead of the courts that the message is most powerful. While I respect what T.I.’s trying to do…lets see what the rapper and MTV has to say after he completes his bid.
Via: Daily News
FILED IN Editorials, Music, News, TV
I agree with your take, Juan. Everything today seems to be driven by money/ratings/reduced sentences. Whatever happened to doing right, just because it’s right?! I did personal/backstage security for concerts in the mid 90′s and of all the famous rappers/artist, Ice Cube impressed me the most. While EVERYONE else went to the afterparties, or wherever, he stayed backstage talking to kids for about an hour. Even after that, he talked to this one boy, about age 13-14, for another 1/2 hour. This got no press coverage and he didn’t announce it to the world. I bet the kids appreciated it.
I bet they listened too…to him.
I’m witchu Juan. I ain’t got nuthin’ against T.I.P. but this little PR thang he got goin’, I just ain’t really feelin’ it, ’cause it don’t seem genuine.
Cross my heart. I was a Lil Flip fan back in the day. So when the two of them went to battle I rode with Flip. For a long time I held that against T.I. musically. I think his music and his role in ATL has won me over to a degree. I’m not going to log on at midnight on a Tuesday to cop his album but I respect him as an artist.
.
I Give him a lot of credit for his PR moves. So often we see entertainers fall flat, whether its A-Rod or Chris Brown whoever. He’s getting some great advice but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t hold him accountable.
I’m feeling the flow of where you are coming from. I’m just thinking he could have dropped some cash (if not him, MTV) to the school so they aren’t left with just a visit and some air time.
Great point.
cash fa sho, too bad
I like the show somewhat, but am on the fence. It portrays him meeting with some kids one time and then all of a sudden they change their life. That is not how it works. They report that the kid is continuing to do well, I wonder if they would report if a kid is not doing well after T.I. visits?
I know its a PR thing and T.I. benefits from doing the show as well as the lucky kids who get to hang with him for a little while. I wonder what T.I. has done outside of the cameras? A lot of these rappers do do things, I did not know until doing research for an event that Rick Ross has a foundation. I am sure there are more out there, now what they are doing with their foundation I am not sure, but it’s in existance.
Paper Trail is my joint right now. I think T.I is very talented, too bad he got caught.
Rule number one when you have money, pay someone else to do your dirt, or do it by yourself so no ones knows. I don’t have as much as dude but I got too much to lose and that saves me from getting into a lot of ish! If more people thought like that maybe they would live better.
TI is not a smart person. I would not want my kids to follow or imulate them at all. I will teach my kids how to capitalize and make money off of dummies like TI.
I found out the real reason why filming was scrapped by school officials: They told him to go back to class.