THE FACTS
A billboard for T.I.’s clothing label has caused controversy for residents living in Newark, New Jersey.

THE SPIN

Congratulations, Tip, you haven’t even officially reentered the scene yet but you’re already pissing folks off and getting your name in the press.

While I’m a fan of a rapper, I’m not big on overtly sexual ads that are incendiary for the sake of being incendiary.

I suppose the same can be said for residents of Newark that have already complained about the ad. If you can’t see the video the ad is as follows:

Yep, that’s a woman kneeling down in front of a man as she snatches his jeans down. Call it a hunch, but she’s not down there looking for his nonexistent belt.

In a statement to WABC-TV, Newark’s mayor said:

“So often when I am out in the community I see kids wearing their pants too low and others using inappropriate language in public.” He added while there are lots of fronts to fight, “I will work with my city council to see if we can address it so we don’t see these types of advertisements displayed in our city in the near future.”

I don’t mind racy ads in theory, but there’s a time and a place to run them. The intersection of a busy street in a major city like Newark is probably not the best one. It may not have been T.I.’s own personal idea to place the billboard there, but is it time for him to check his staff members or are some of us being a wee bit too sensitive?

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YOUR SPIN: What do you think about the ad?  Tell us here.

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THE FACTS
T.I.’s lawyer confirms that the rapper has been released from federal prison.

THE SPIN
In it continues to pay to be a rich rapper news, T.I. – or G.I. T.I. as I like to call him – has been released from prison.

Indeed, the self-professed King of the South (the creator of Popeye’s is my own personal most high) has been released to a half-way house three months earlier than his anticipated release date.

His attorney, Steve Sadow, spoke to E! News and confirmed that Tip will serve the remainder of his sentence at a half-way house.

He said to E!: “[A halfway house] is not unusual in the least; it happens across the board as long as the inmates are eligible. They decided that three months in a halfway house would assist him with reentering society.”

The guy has perfect timing. He’ll be right out when Lil’ Wayne goes in. All’s well that ends well.

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YOUR SPIN: Did T.I. deserve to get out early? Tell us here.

Image courtesy of bestdamnafternoonshow.com

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THE FACTS
T.I.’s lawyer confirms that the rapper may be released from prison early.

THE SPIN
G.I. T.I.’s lawyer, Steve Sadow, spoke to XXLmag.com to confirm reports that Tiny’s everything may be getting out of jail earlier than planned.

Via XXL:

“The attorney is optimistic that the Grammy-award-winning artist may be out sooner than expected. “We are hopeful that T.I. will be placed in a halfway house within the next month or so, which would be about two or three months before his projected release date. We are hopeful for that, we do not have any control over it. The Bureau of Prisons makes that decision entirely on its own, they don’t share that decision with the public and they don’t share that decision with the defense lawyers,” he said. “But we are hopeful because we know that T.I. has handled himself accordingly and conducted himself correctly while he has been incarcerated, we are hopeful that the bureau of prisons will give him two or three months of halfway house.”

“According to Sadow, T.I. has a projected release date in “approximately the fourth week of March 2010.” This takes into account Tip’s original 366-day sentence, which he began serving on May 26, 2009, minus 54 days for good behavior and 14 days “that he had in custody prior to sentencing.”

Well considering Lil’ Wayne is about to go to jail and he pretty much took T.I.’s place as hip-hop’s go to person I think it’s only right that they do a proper switch off.

Now we’ll see if those nuptials Tiny discussed will really happen.

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YOUR SPIN: Should T.I. have to serve all of his time or get early release? Tell us here.

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(*The views contained herein are solely the views of their respective authors, and do not express the views of TV One. TV One does not take responsibility for their content.)