TI: Road to Redemption is an absolutely fantastic show that MTV is currently airing! For those critics of Rap and Rappers this program shows the true heart of the average rapper labeled a "gangster" by society and music critics alike. In the show, Rapper, Clifford "TI" Harris, intervenes in the lives of 7 street hardened gang-banging, drug dealing, and gun-toting teens headed down the path of certain death. TI, himself, a graduate of the "school-of-hard-knocks, uses wisdom and insight gained from his years on the "other side of the law" to convince the "would be criminals" that their lives won't have the happy ending that is often reflected in movies or heard in music. It's his triumph over the same adversities that allow him to touch the core of these kids and change the trajectory of their lives. While the clock draws TI closer to his own personal day of "reckoning", (a 1 year prison sentence stemming from federal firearm charges), March 27th, I think something should be said for a person, rapper or not, who while recording an album and touring to secure his family’s financial stability in his absence, and completing 1000 hours of mandated community service, has chosen to use his celebrity and circumstance to change the lives of others. I'm sure there is no irony in the fact that 7 people were chosen since the number 7 represents completion. Presumably this is an indication that 7 "Sinners" who crossed paths with TI on his own personal journey of redemption have completed the negative chapters in their lives. It may be a coincidence that all 8 "Winners", (the kids including TI), are starting a new beginning since 8 is the number that represents new beginnings, but knowing the intelligence of TI, it's not. TI: Road to Redemption airs Tuesday.
~d-the-VIP
