Atlanta hip-hop legend T.I. reportedly offered to endorse Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis if she rejected specific connections during her campaign.
The details of the interaction are included in a book by seasoned investigative journalists Daniel Klaidman and Michael Isikoff called “Find Me The Votes,” the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. It delves into Donald Trump’s alleged efforts to meddle in the 2020 presidential election and Wllis’ unprecedented indictment against him.
According to the report, T.I. was angered that Willis was being backed by a police union and a conservative city council member, Mary Norwood. The rapper, born Clifford Harris, said he and other artists would support her if she renounced their endorsements.
“No,” Willis reportedly said. “I represent all segments of my community.”
The book gives readers an inside look at Willis’ efforts to indict Trump and several of his allies to overturn the election results in Georgia. The reports said they spent “many hours” with the district attorney over the last two years, and the book comprises details from about six interviews with Willis.
Klaidman, who describes Willis as a “force of nature,” said the interaction with the rapper shows “her ability to stand up to bullies” on AJC’s Politically Georgia podcast.
T.I. is heavily involved in his community and the Georgia political landscape. Recently, he was granted a highly respected accolade, the Phoenix Award, from city mayor Andre Dickens for his philanthropic efforts.
However, it is unclear if the rapper publicly endorsed anyone in the district attorney race. Willis assumed office in January 2021 after winning the general election in November 2020, unseating her former boss, Paul Howard Jr.
T.I. has also been known to use his voice to speak out against police brutality and racism.
In 2017, the “Whatever You Like” rapper spearheaded a boycott against a local steakhouse accused of discriminatory behavior against customers. Two years later, T.I. joined a task force in what became an abortive attempt to revitalize Atlanta City Detention Center into a “center for wellness and healing, skills-building, economic mobility and crime prevention,” former Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms said at the time.
According to CNN, he was among other Atlanta rap stars who used their influence to get people to vote in the previous presidential election.
“The system is doing exactly what it was designed to do. A lot of people say, ‘The system ain’t working,’ but it wasn’t meant to work for us. The Constitution wasn’t even written for us. They wrote that s**t for a bunch of white men, and they wasn’t thinking about us,” Tip told CNN in 2020. “How we can impact that system and kind of turn it around and have it work more so in our favor is learn the rules of it – and the first rule of engagement is in the power of the vote.”
T.I.’s approach to politics has not gone without criticism. In 2021, mayoral candidate Felicia Moore, whom Dickens defeated, accused T.I. of circulating “lies” on social media, which she believed cost her the race, according to TMZ.
“He should learn to stay out of politics,” Moore said.
