In his first interview since the fatal shooting that took his lifelong friend and personal assistant Philant Johnson, rapper T.I. spoke candidly to his hometown newspaper about the incident that has forced him to re-evaluate his life and career.
"I'm kind of like watching my life change right before my eyes. I'm figuring out whether or not I even want to keep doing this right now. I don't know," T.I. told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The rapper, born Clifford Joseph Harris Jr., joined about 950 people attending Johnson’s funeral Monday afternoon at Atlanta’s Jackson Memorial Baptist Church. Rappers Killer Mike and Yung Joc, DJ Toomp, "ATL" director Chris Robinson, Warner Music Group president Kevin Liles and V-103 personality Frank Ski were among the friends, family, fans and entertainers on hand at the service.
Police presence was heavy at the service, which featured photos of Johnson surrounding his open casket and a scheduled musical selection from former American Idol singer Kinnik Sky.
Encouraged to say a few words, an emotional T.I. told mourners: "We are family for life. I've held the microphone at many concerts and other situations, but I've never had to do anything this hard before. I can tell you that we had a lot of fun spending a lot of money. We rode a lot of different cars and we just had fun."
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the friendship between T.I. and Johnson dates all the way back to nursery school.
"It just seems like as long as I can remember, he was there," T.I. said of his friend. "As long as I can remember, his mama and my mama were partners. His cousin and my uncle were partners. His auntie and my grandmama stayed up the street from one another. And we just always knew each other, and it was cool."
The kids often spent the night at each other’s houses, and as they matured, they became little troublemakers: "tearing up stuff. Breaking windows. Throwing balls. Being somewhere they had no business. Or running in somebody's yard. Just typical boys," Johnson's mother, Alicia Brown Cook, told the paper.
"He loved music, always," Cook continued. "And my son just told me two weeks ago ... he was like, 'Yeah, Mama, I love my job!' He was somewhere in Cali. Lying on the beach."
Hours before Johnson’s fatal shooting, the 26-year-old had been standing just off stage holding T.I.’s cell phone as the rapper performed at Cincinnati’s Bogart's nightclub.
"Phil handled everything," T.I. told the newspaper. "He made sure the only thing I had to worry about was performing and handling the business. One of the worst parts is, at the end of the day, I'm responsible for everybody. Everybody entrusts their husbands, their sons, their daughters, their brothers, cousins, their best friends — everybody entrusts them to me. And it is my responsibility to ensure their safety and their safe return. And this is one time that I could not do that."
T.I. remembers his last conversation with Johnson following the shooting: "I told him that I had him and it was going to be all right. That’s was what I said. And he said, 'All right.'"
The events leading up to the fatality began at Club Ritz, where certain members of the crowd reportedly grew offended by someone tossing money into the audience during the concert by T.I. and rapper Yung Joc.
In an attempt to avoid conflict, T.I. and his crew left the club in their rented vans. However, several concert-goers piled into SUVs and followed T.I.’s entourage as it headed toward the highway.
T.I. told the paper he was sitting in the back row on the driver's side, while Johnson was in the row in front of him. Suddenly, bullets began flying into the car, hitting Johnson and three others: Janice Gillespie, Ronald Hausley and Elijah Edwards.
Once the van stopped on the highway, T.I. helped to transfer Johnson into another vehicle that carried them to the hospital. Days after the incident, T.I. still had long, red scratches across the back of his left shoulder from the glass that was shattered by the bullets.
Police in Cincinnati are increasing their patrols and undercover work after receiving what they believe are credible tips of Atlanta folks looking to avenge the shooting death of rapper T.I.’s personal assistant.
Lt. Col. James Whalen said many sources, including Atlanta-area law enforcement officials, Cincinnati-area residents and covert operatives, have alerted police to possible retaliation by the artist’s supporters based in his Atlanta hometown. In response, police have added uniformed and undercover officers in key areas, Whalen said.
T.I. said he hoped that his professional and financial success had moved him far beyond the type of violence that claimed Johnson. "Man, we kind of thought we didn't have to live like that no more. We thought that [stuff] was over for us," he told the newspaper.
According to Hannah Kang, general manager of T.I.'s label Grand Hustle Records, Johnson and his girlfriend had just bought a house together and was looking forward to a bright future.
"He was trying to get settled. Talking about working out. ... He was happy," said Kang, adding that the Monday before the shooting, both Johnson and T.I. had played a round of golf with Michael Jordan.
On Monday, the rapper served as one of Johnson’s pallbearers, helping to lift the casket into a black horse-drawn carriage that made its way to Lincoln Cemetery in northwest Atlanta, where he was laid to rest.
"I'm not ever going to be the same," T.I. told the paper. "Success isn't measured in money. It's measured in happiness. Peace. And I ain't at peace right now. And I ain't happy. My partner's gone."
"I'm kind of like watching my life change right before my eyes. I'm figuring out whether or not I even want to keep doing this right now. I don't know," T.I. told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The rapper, born Clifford Joseph Harris Jr., joined about 950 people attending Johnson’s funeral Monday afternoon at Atlanta’s Jackson Memorial Baptist Church. Rappers Killer Mike and Yung Joc, DJ Toomp, "ATL" director Chris Robinson, Warner Music Group president Kevin Liles and V-103 personality Frank Ski were among the friends, family, fans and entertainers on hand at the service.
Police presence was heavy at the service, which featured photos of Johnson surrounding his open casket and a scheduled musical selection from former American Idol singer Kinnik Sky.
Encouraged to say a few words, an emotional T.I. told mourners: "We are family for life. I've held the microphone at many concerts and other situations, but I've never had to do anything this hard before. I can tell you that we had a lot of fun spending a lot of money. We rode a lot of different cars and we just had fun."
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the friendship between T.I. and Johnson dates all the way back to nursery school.
"It just seems like as long as I can remember, he was there," T.I. said of his friend. "As long as I can remember, his mama and my mama were partners. His cousin and my uncle were partners. His auntie and my grandmama stayed up the street from one another. And we just always knew each other, and it was cool."
The kids often spent the night at each other’s houses, and as they matured, they became little troublemakers: "tearing up stuff. Breaking windows. Throwing balls. Being somewhere they had no business. Or running in somebody's yard. Just typical boys," Johnson's mother, Alicia Brown Cook, told the paper.
"He loved music, always," Cook continued. "And my son just told me two weeks ago ... he was like, 'Yeah, Mama, I love my job!' He was somewhere in Cali. Lying on the beach."
Hours before Johnson’s fatal shooting, the 26-year-old had been standing just off stage holding T.I.’s cell phone as the rapper performed at Cincinnati’s Bogart's nightclub.
"Phil handled everything," T.I. told the newspaper. "He made sure the only thing I had to worry about was performing and handling the business. One of the worst parts is, at the end of the day, I'm responsible for everybody. Everybody entrusts their husbands, their sons, their daughters, their brothers, cousins, their best friends — everybody entrusts them to me. And it is my responsibility to ensure their safety and their safe return. And this is one time that I could not do that."
T.I. remembers his last conversation with Johnson following the shooting: "I told him that I had him and it was going to be all right. That’s was what I said. And he said, 'All right.'"
The events leading up to the fatality began at Club Ritz, where certain members of the crowd reportedly grew offended by someone tossing money into the audience during the concert by T.I. and rapper Yung Joc.
In an attempt to avoid conflict, T.I. and his crew left the club in their rented vans. However, several concert-goers piled into SUVs and followed T.I.’s entourage as it headed toward the highway.
T.I. told the paper he was sitting in the back row on the driver's side, while Johnson was in the row in front of him. Suddenly, bullets began flying into the car, hitting Johnson and three others: Janice Gillespie, Ronald Hausley and Elijah Edwards.
Once the van stopped on the highway, T.I. helped to transfer Johnson into another vehicle that carried them to the hospital. Days after the incident, T.I. still had long, red scratches across the back of his left shoulder from the glass that was shattered by the bullets.
Police in Cincinnati are increasing their patrols and undercover work after receiving what they believe are credible tips of Atlanta folks looking to avenge the shooting death of rapper T.I.’s personal assistant.
Lt. Col. James Whalen said many sources, including Atlanta-area law enforcement officials, Cincinnati-area residents and covert operatives, have alerted police to possible retaliation by the artist’s supporters based in his Atlanta hometown. In response, police have added uniformed and undercover officers in key areas, Whalen said.
T.I. said he hoped that his professional and financial success had moved him far beyond the type of violence that claimed Johnson. "Man, we kind of thought we didn't have to live like that no more. We thought that [stuff] was over for us," he told the newspaper.
According to Hannah Kang, general manager of T.I.'s label Grand Hustle Records, Johnson and his girlfriend had just bought a house together and was looking forward to a bright future.
"He was trying to get settled. Talking about working out. ... He was happy," said Kang, adding that the Monday before the shooting, both Johnson and T.I. had played a round of golf with Michael Jordan.
On Monday, the rapper served as one of Johnson’s pallbearers, helping to lift the casket into a black horse-drawn carriage that made its way to Lincoln Cemetery in northwest Atlanta, where he was laid to rest.
"I'm not ever going to be the same," T.I. told the paper. "Success isn't measured in money. It's measured in happiness. Peace. And I ain't at peace right now. And I ain't happy. My partner's gone."
