October 13, 2007…Remember where you were that day?

CLIFFORD HARRIS does. After leaving rehearsal for his performance at the BET awards, the diminutive rapper known as TI made a stop that would change the course of the rest of his life.

According to court documents, while attempting to buy illegal firearms, including machine guns and silencers, T.I. – along with several members of his entourage – were arrested by ATF agents who’d been quietly working with one of Harris’ bodyguards.

When the news broke of TI’s arrest, I remember I’d just walked in the house, ready to watch the awards, and then hit the streets. I think my reaction was similar to that of many others – what an idiot. Here this platinum-selling rapper, who’s been able to see the world and most importantly change the lives of his family, was trying to play a real-life Tony Montana. A damn fool.

So I watched the coverage. I reported on it (on a then very beta version of FSL). And I waited to see what would happen. I mean he’d been caught red-handed.  There was no way he was getting out of this.

Then came the now infamous news conference on the Atlanta courthouse steps the following March. Harris and his attorney had reached a deal with the Federal Government that would reduce his sentence from an almost certain ten years to 366 days. And here comes the kicker – TIP had one year to turn himself in – during which time he would be on a nationwide monitoring system.  The catch was he had to do 1000 hours of community service prior to sentencing.

He snitched.

That’s what I thought. That’s what I reported. Plain and simple. There was no way the feds would’ve given a two-time felon a nine year sentence reduction and a nationwide leash. And as TIP began scheduling his ‘Fire-side chats’, I waited – once again – to see what would happen.

Then, last fall, I had the opportunity to actually hear him speak. Skeptical doesn’t even begin to describe how I felt. But I went anyway. At the very least, I’d get a good story out of it. But what I walked away with was not only surprising but also refreshing, perhaps this dude was for real. Now months later, I’ve seen the various YouTube clips, I’ve watched his MTV reality show ‘Road to Redemption’ and listened to Paper Trail and his insightfully honest and somewhat remorseful lyrics, and I must say in all honesty I respect him.

So often we build people up just to see what they’ll do with it, all the while secretly rooting for them to fall. And dude fell. Though for some understandably valid reasons, he made some stupid choices and for that he will spend the next 366 days in jail. But as I sit and think about what he has been able to accomplish in this year’s time, the lives he’s been able to impact, the kids he’s made think twice – the responsibility he’s taken for his own missteps – I can honestly say at the completion of his prison term, he will have truly served his debt to society.

So as Clifford Harris submits himself to federal custody today, I salute him. I can’t tell you how many times we’ve seen these dudes never learn from what they’ve done. It is refreshing and encouraging to me to see someone stand up and say, ‘I fucked up. I’ve done something incredibly selfish, arrogant and dangerous. And I deserve the punishment that comes my way.’

For that, how could you not forgive him?