T.I. Mistaken Identity: Arrested And Released Without Charges
Rapper T.I. was arrested at the Atlanta airport in a case of mistaken identity. TMZ reported that the artist was taken into custody at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport on Sunday night (Aug. 4).
According to reports, authorities had a warrant from Baltimore County, Maryland for a man with the same government name as the rapper, Clifford Harris, in a case concerning violence toward a woman and stalking. Unfortunately, they mistakenly booked T.I. instead.
The rapper was taken to the Clayton County jail where he had an extradition hearing when the mistake was confirmed. T.I. was released a couple of hours after being arrested, as XXL Magazine reported.
T.I., who is known for being outspoken, has yet to speak on the situation.
CNN reported that a mistaken identity arrest occurs almost every day according to policing experts and officials at the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. But most people taken into custody are released shortly after the mistake is realized.
They mention that this can often happen due to name similarities. Other times, police may rely on a person’s alias. Suspects often give officers false names, which remain on their records as an alias. Also, computer typos and glitches lead to mistaken identity arrests, policing experts said.
Currently, T.I. is prepping his latest album Kill the King, his twelfth and potentially final studio album. He first announced the project in 2017 and said it will be a collection of the lessons he has learned throughout his career.
“When you look at my first two albums, ‘I’m Serious’ and ‘Trap Muzik,’ you’re looking at a young man from the trap who had just been afforded the opportunity to live his dream in a new industry where there was so much to learn and to be done,” he shared with Business Insider. “Now it’s like, ‘Okay, this is what I’ve taken from my tenure.'”
“It is reflective in that sense,” he added. “I’ve been here 20 years now, seen all the sights, rode all the rides. This is my conclusion.”
T.I. first made a name for himself in the early 2000s as a young rapper from Atlanta, spinning rhymes about life in the “trap”: a slang term for houses where drugs are sold. His 2003 album Trap Muzik is considered a rap classic, helping to launch trap music as its own subgenre.
By the time he dropped his fifth album, T.I. vs. T.I.P. in 2007, T.I. had started to embrace a more mainstream, radio-friendly vibe. He teamed up with pop stars like Justin Timberlake on “Dead & Gone,” Rihanna on “Live Your Life,” and Robin Thicke on “Blurred Lines,” all of which became huge hits.
