Another Arrest for Rapper T.I

Yahoo! News reported today that Atlanta rapper T.I. and his reality star wife, Tameka "Tiny" Cottle, were arrested in Hollywood, Calif., yesterday on suspicion they were carrying methamphetamine. While no charges have been filed on this incident, this could be lousy timing for T.I., seeing as how he was in the midst of making a career comeback from his recent stint in prison. His latest acting role was in the film Takers, which just debuted at number one at the American box office at $20.5 million in its opening weekend. The likelihood of T.I. going back to prison if charged in this incident is high due to the fact that he is in the middle of serving three years of probation.

Other famous musicians, like Lil' Kim and Lil Wayne, have been in similar situations with the law. In 2005, Lil' Kim was convicted of three counts of conspiracy and one count of perjury for lying to a grand jury. She spent 10 months serving time behind bars in a Philadelphia federal detention center. In 2007, Lil Wayne was charged with criminal possession of a weapon and marijuana. He pleaded guilty to attempted criminal possession of a weapon in 2009 and was sentenced to one-year in prison. Lil Wayne is currently serving that sentence in Rikers Island.

The question is whether or not possibly going back to prison will hurt T.I.'s career and, in my opinion, of course it won't! In 1997, just one year after Lil' Kim was released from the federal detention center, she was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for "Ladies Night (Not Tonight remix)" (with Missy Elliott, Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes, Da Brat, and Angie Martinez). She has put out three albums since her release, made cameos in films and performed on the television show Dancing with the Stars.

Lil Wayne has been in Rikers Island since March 8, 2010, and his Facebook fan page currently has 10,876,783 fans. He also has a Twitter account that is actively updated. In April 2010, friends of Lil Wayne created a website, Weezy Thanx You, which contains letters written by Lil Wayne, as well as a countdown to his release. It does not seem as though Lil Wayne's time in prison has affected his career negatively.

Again, I do not think serving more time will greatly harm T.I.'s career. I think it would be unfortunate because another prison term could delay opportunities for the young performer, but who knows what the future holds for T.I.

Sources:
Rapper T.I. comeback could be derailed with arrest, Yahoo! News
Lil Wayne's New York Gun-Possession Case Could Result In Prison Time, MTV News
The Boombox