Here's a TIP.

I'm conflicted.

I love T.I., his style and his music. I think he's got street cred and swag but at the same time he's one of the most articulate, well polished and redemptive artists in hip-hop today. Ever since he was released earlier this year from his sentence on weapons charges, he's been killing tracks, making appearances and seemingly turning his life around. I really root for him to stay atop of the game because he made the most of a second chance that a lot of people don't ever receive.

Well apparently, Tip's going back to jail again, this time for violating his probation by getting busted with five pills of ecstasy in his pants. It's going to cost him another 11 months starting November 1st (more details here).

I mean seriously? For a person who continually speaks about never letting his family down again or allowing his emotions to overcome his intelligence, this was the best he could come up with? Almost another year away from his kids? I'm not one to judge, but I am disappointed. It just goes to show that while people can say all the right things and portray a heroic comeback, it really has no substance if they can't cement their values, true or not, with affirmative action. Someone who keeps making the same mistakes while claiming to have learned and grown is either stupid or an outright liar. And I can't stand those people that plead for second chances and then turn around and waste them.

I remember when I first heard You Ain't Missin' Nothing; it was incredibly moving and easily established itself as one of my favourite tracks from T.I. After this latest setback, I'm still a firm believer in him as an artist and the fact that if he wants to, he can still be the man his kids and his fans need him to be. But at the end of the day, the song and his character have both lost a bit of their allure. As he wrote at the time:

"If you ain't got a plan, what you need with a second chance? Shit, you gon blow it."

Hypocrisy at its finest.

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