T.i.: 'i Should Have Walked Away From Gun Deal'.
08 September 2008
0Comments | Comment on this Article
|s news T.i.: 'i Should Have Walked Away From Gun Deal'.... Rapper T.I. insists he'd still be a free man, not looking at a year behind bars, if he had trusted his instincts during a gun deal that went bad.The hitmaker was caught in possession of illegal firearms and marijuana last October (07) after entering into a dodgy car park exchange with weapons dealers who turned out to be undercover federal agents conducting a sting operation.T.I. - who spent the end of last year (07), Christmas and the New Year (08) under house arrest in Georgia, awaiting trial - was set up by a bodyguard, who had been arrested four days before.And now the star, real name Clifford Harris Jr., regrets not walking away from the deal when he started thinking something was wrong.He tells Rolling Stone magazine, "I had a feeling in the back of my mind that something wasn't right. They (dealers) weren't talking right."But I thought I was above situations like that. I was on some, 'Nah, that can't happen to me' s**t."And despite the charges against him, which landed T.I. with 1,000 hours of community service and a pending year-long jail sentence, the rapper insists he was building up an illegal weapons arsenal for personal protection following the death of his best friend Philant Johnson, who was shot to death outside a Cincinnati club in 2006.He adds, "After my partner died, I kinda had a 'take matters into my own hands' mentality. It provided a certain sense of paranoia."When you're paranoid, and you've already been through certain things, your judgment tends to be jaded."
* Lynne Spears Blasts 'Predator' Lutfi In New Book Britney Spears' mother Lynne has slammed the pop star's former 'manager' Sam Lutfi for taking advantage of the singer's naivety and targeting her like a "predator".
The Toxic hitmaker suffered a mental and emotional breakdown at the start of the year (Jan08) after losing custody of her two sons by ex-husband Kevin Federline in late 2007.
Lutfi was a constant presence at the singer's side until he was served with a restraining order in February (08) and ordered to stay away from Spears and her family. The legal ruling came amid accusations by Lynne that he had drugged the star.
In her forthcoming book, Through The Storm - A Real Story of Fame and Family in a Tabloid World, Lynne describes how Lutfi worked his way into her daughter's life and tried to cut her off from her loved ones.
She writes, "She (Britney) was sad, floundering, ripe for a predator to come along. Britney was open to this man who rode in on a white horse.
"Within a month of meeting, Sam was in complete control of her life.
He appointed himself as her gate-keeper, and there was no one he wanted to keep the gate closed to more than Britney's family."
Lynne goes on to tell how Lutfi claimed Britney would commit suicide if they tried to sack him, threatening, "If you try to get rid of me, she'll be dead and I'll p**s on her grave."
Britney was put under her father Jamie's conservatorship after her personal troubles, and has since regained her health and access to her sons Sean Preston and Jayden James.
Lutfi's restraining order came to an end this summer (08) after Jamie Spears decided against applying for an extension of the ban.
0Comments | Be the first to comment!
