Back in July, Atlanta Black Star shared T.I.’s plans to provide affordable housing in his old Atlanta neighborhood, and now he’s providing some details.
Tip recently sat down with ABC News for an interview and talked about his “Buy Back the Block” initiative. He’s already purchased nine properties with Dynasty Real Estate Development, as well as APD-Urban Planning and Management.
Plus, he and Killer Mike bought the local Atlanta takeout eatery Bankhead Seafood, which they plan to tear down and build anew under the same name.
“With as much growth and opportunity that’s going on in my community and Mike’s community as well, we refuse to be left behind,” said T.I.
“I have enough things going on where I don’t have to chase sensationalism, I don’t have to be provocative for no reason just because my personality lends itself to controversy,” he added. “Rather than try to be a role model, I’d rather be a real model.”
When T.I. first talked about building affordable housing, the rapper said he didn’t want Atlanta to be like the other American cities that have gone through gentrification.
“I didn’t want it to be one of those situations where luxury condos go up, and people who are native are pushed out to the fringes because they can’t afford to live there,” he explained. “I wanted to provide development that would allow people from the area who love the community to be able to afford to stay.”
You can watch ABC’s full interview with T.I. tonight at 12:35 a.m. EDT.
