TI Explains Video, Lil Flip Controversy

TI, who mere days ago, was at the center of a prison escapee mishap, raised more eyebrows this weekend, when he aggressively challenged Houston rapper Lil Flip and accused him of trying to take his self-proclaimed “King of the South” title. Just days after being accused of taping a video in jail without permission, the […]

TI, who mere days ago, was at the center of a prison

escapee mishap, raised more eyebrows this weekend, when he aggressively challenged

Houston rapper Lil Flip and accused him of trying to take his self-proclaimed

“King of the South” title.

Just days after being accused of taping a video

in jail without permission, the rapper called out Flip at his “welcome

back” performance at Atlanta radio station 107.9’s 9th annual birthday

bash.

“Me and that guy [Flip] have an issue man,”

he revealed to AllHipHop.com. “He steadily saying that he don’t have

an issue with me, but I have an issue. I’ve created an issue if that’s

what they want to say.

Kanye West, Lil Jon, Lil Scrappy, Trilleville

and others performed before TI took the stage.Dressed in an orange prison jumpsuit,

TI performed and then broke into a tirade that lasted almost 15 minutes, all

aimed at Lil Flip.

TI said the problems started when Lil Flip did

several shows in Atlanta during TI’s incarceration.

“He was opening up his shows saying “Who’s

the King of the South?” TI said. “When my name was mentioned, he’d

say, “Oh yeah, well tell that ni**a TI I wrote this song for him’

and he’d go into [Flip’s####] ‘Game Over.’”

In what is reminiscent of the well-publicized

incident at Hot 97’s Summer Jam involving Jay-Z’s feuds with Nas and

Mobb Deep, TI showed pictures of Flip on big screens, dressed in what one concert

attendee described as “a puke green leprechaun suit.”

“He thought I was gonna be locked up for

a lengthy period of time and he wasn’t gonna have to see me,” Flip

said. “The ni**a just felt comfortable in my absence.”

Lil Flip, who was slated to take the stage after

TI, never had a chance to respond because officials abruptly ended the show

before the Houston emcee ever took to the stage.

And in the end, the video, which has officials

at the Fulton County Jail pointing fingers at each after an inmate escaped,

was never even shown.

On the video, TI apologized to fans for not being

present to perform, due to his incarcerated status. The plan was for TI to appear

on the stage to surprised audience members.

“The deputies and the sheriffs were kind

of bogarting the screen to keep me from playing the so it never got

shown,” TI said, but noted that there was an upside to being muscled by

the law.

“I couldn’t pay for this kind of promotion.

In this industry, I have been told many times that all publicity is good publicity,

all press is good press. When Peter Jennings carries you on the news, you are

one of the biggest rappers in the world, it’s got to be positive, even

if its in the midst of something negative.”

TI’s next album, Urban Legend, is

set for release in November.