T.I. was given the key to the city of Jackson, Mississippi in the past week. The rapper was speaking to students at a school ceremony when he received the honor. T.I. spoke about the ability to turn your life around no matter what the circumstances. However, not everyone was happy with T.I. speaking at the event. The Clarion-Ledger’s Jimmie E. Gates talked about his opinion of T.I.’s presence at the event:
“I applaud T.I.’s message to students, but it would be great if the rapper leads by example,” Gates writes. “Yes, you can turn your life around no matter the circumstances. It doesn’t matter what side of the tracks you were born, you don’t have to stay on that side of the tracks. We can only hope T.I.’s brushes with the law is in the past, but his recent actions make me wonder. Recently, there was published reports of the rapper getting into an altercation with boxing champ Floyd Mayweather. While I don’t have a major problem with T.I. receiving the key to the city because it is mostly a ceremonial thing, I think our local officials may have gone overboard with grandstanding treatment for the rapper.”