T.I. Explains Talking Down Suicidal Man

(AllHipHop News) Rap star T.I. explained what happened during an incident in which he helped prevent a 22-year-old man from jumping off a building in Downtown Atlanta yesterday (October 13th). In an interview with BET.com, T.I. stated that he was heading to his video shoot, when he turned on his radio and heard the breaking […]

(AllHipHop News) Rap star T.I. explained what happened during an incident in which he helped prevent a 22-year-old man from jumping off a building in Downtown Atlanta yesterday (October 13th). In an interview with BET.com, T.I. stated that he was heading to his video shoot, when he turned on his radio and heard the breaking news about the man, who said he was “tired of living” and wanted to end it. “Something in my heart tells me to go down there. I’m thinking, ‘what can I do to help?’ The building is where V103 is at so I start calling people from the radio station who work there, Ryan Cameron, asking them to tell dude I want to talk to him. Everyone is like, ‘I don’t know if you can help,'” T.I. told BET.com. The rapper said he went to the scene of the incident and told police officers of his desire to help resolve the situation. Officers told the lead negotiator, who had T.I. record a video message to play the distraught man, to convince him that T.I. was really in the lobby and wanted to speak to him.”I was at the elevator to greet him. I spoke first,” T.I. said. “He was kind of, not distraught, but just looked tired. I asked what’s wrong and he shook his head. I said, ‘it’s never as bad as it seems and if you know me, know what I’ve been through, you know I know it.'”Ironically, tomorrow (October 15th), T.I.’s life could be substantially altered, when he stands in front of Judge Charles Pannell Jr., for violating the terms of his federal probation. The rapper and his wife Tameka “Tiny” Cottle were arrested on September 1st in Los Angeles, after T.I. made an illegal U-turn on the Sunset Strip. When police searched the car’s occupants, they found T.I. and Tiny to be in possession of a controlled substance that turned out to be ecstasy. T.I. also failed a drug test the next day. According to reports, T.I. could be sentenced to up to 14 months in prison, for violating the terms of his probation for attempting to purchase machine guns and silencers before the BET Awards in October of 2007. The rapper, who served a year in prison for the crime, was released from federal custody in March. Despite these challenges, T.I. has vowed to keep in touch with the man until he gets better.