Rapper T.I.’s ‘Snitching’ History Resurfaces After Rapper Reveals How He Avoided Time Behind Bars

Snitching is a no-no in Hip-Hop. The code has always been to not snitch no matter what. For that reason, so many crimes go unsolved, and people go without justice. Even most recently, with the passing of TakeOff, Houston PD reported that none of the 30 people present during the incident gave a statement. Rapper T.I. has a story about snitching that recently went viral from his ExpediTIously podcast.

T.I. is a successful rapper, television star, and actor these days. However, while growing up in Atlanta, he got into illegal activity to help make ends meet. T.I. has alluded to selling substances and a host of other things before making it big as a rapper. His bad-boy ways followed him into his career and resulted in him being locked up at the height of his initial success. He served 11 months from October 2010 and September 2011.

T.I. could have served much more time in his life had he not taken advice from a lawyer early on in his career. During a resurfaced 2020 episode of his podcast, T.I. opened up about a time he and his cousin were selling stolen clothes. The duo was trailed by police and pulled over. T.I. had a weapon in the vehicle. He and his cousin Tremel, also known as Toot, were taken into custody. Unfortunately, Toot would pass away during the case, opening up an opportunity for T.I. to get off free if he just pinned the weapon on his deceased cousin.

T.I. recalled his lawyer saying, “Well, you know, I could make everything go away if it was Toot’s; it was Tremel’s.” T.I. said he had a “conversation” with his cousin after he passed, believing that his cousin would have told him, “I’ll take all the charges you got! If you can walk away free and put it on me, goddamn right! ‘Cause I’ll be damned if they gon’ come, and {expletive] extradite me from here!” T.I. goes on to say that is the only time he’s ever “snitched,” and he only did it because his cousin told him it was fine. “That’s my big cousin. He had[ passed away] and told me that it was OK.”

People in the comments found the whole story confusing and wondered how T.I. reasoned with himself that his deceased cousin would have given him the OK. “Dead man ain’t tell him nothing. You did what you wanted to do, TIP Harris,” said one person. Another person said, “easy decision put it on the dead man.” Others joked about this not being T.I.’s first time snitching. Last year, T.I.’s crime stoppers video resurfaced after rapper 50 Cent called him out over the decades old video.

Back in 2010, T.I. took part in a Crime Stoppers PSA for the Atlanta Branch. In the video, T.I. is seen telling Atlanta residents to call law enforcement if they witness crime. The rapper tells viewers calling crime stoppers can keep the perpetrators off the street and protect our mothers, sisters, brothers and fathers. The video was not received well in the rap community with many people in hip hop referring to the rapper as a rat. 50 Cent had a field day with T.I.’s video insisting the rapper stays away from him.

However, T.I. took the criticism with a grain of salt and admitted he would do the video again if it would help him avoid 10-years behind bars. “I would do it time and time again. I ain’t that gangsta!,” the rapper stated.