T.I. sat down with MTV to explain his recent troubles with the law. "All I can say is that I exercised poor judgment," said the laid back southern rapper. In a tone usually reserved for elders, T.I. said, "Now, in hindsight, [it was] absolutely the wrong decision. I made a horrible mistake. At the same time, I "m not gonna let that mistake define me. That mistake ain't gonna dictate my future. I'mma move past that. My future is way brighter that my past."
According to the report, T.I recalled the night of his friend Philant Johnson's death and how that erroneously motivated his feeling that he needed to protect himself and his family at all costs. "If you are thinking with a rational mind, with priorities properly arranged, it makes no sense," T.I. said. "There were some very poor decisions on my behalf. I let my concerns for my safety and my family's safety, and my concerns about what might happen and what could happen - I let that deter my judgment to a point where my priorities were in disarray. I'm now paying the consequences for it," the King of the South continued. "If your judgment has been altered by some tragic event, and something has you thinking on another level other that you should be thinking on, at that point those decisions become more jaded.
Philant Johnson, T.I.'s best friend and "personal assistant" was murdered after one of the rapper's shows in early 2006. After an incident at a Cincinnati club, gunmen pulled up alongside of the car carrying T.I., Johnson and others and fired several shots. Johnson died as a result of his injuries while others were hurt. T.I. escaped the shooting unharmed. "I mean when you've been through so much, it ain't a matter of being spooked. You're numb to a lot of things. It's a certain level of concern and questions. It just made me [say to myself], "I'll never let that happen again. That'll never happen anymore. Not me. Not like that. I'll be ready,'" he said of his mind set following the shooting.
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