Grammy-winning rapper T.I., who was freed after months in prison, has been locked up again at a federal penitentiary.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons website Friday shows T.I. at the Atlanta penitentiary with a release date of Sept. 29.
His lawyer, Steve Sadow, cites a problem over using a luxury bus to report to a halfway house as the cause.
Sadow told reporters that the Federal Bureau of Prisons “has moved T.I. to a different facility” because of an issue involving his 375-mile trip Wednesday from the Arkansas lockup to Atlanta in a gleaming motor coach.
He did not elaborate on the exact nature of the problem federal authorities had, but said it was not drug-related. He said they are trying to resolve the problem.
T.I. (real name Clifford Harris) walked out of the Federal Correctional Center in Forrest City, Arkansas, on Wednesday morning, 10 months after he began serving a sentence for violating his parole on a gun conviction. He had been expected to complete the last weeks of his sentence in a community service center, or halfway house, in Atlanta.
According to his criminal defense lawyer Steve Sadow, federal prison officials apparently objected to T.I.’s use of a tour bus to travel from Arkansas to Georgia. T.I. had agreed to provide his own transportation between the two locales, but officials are reviewing if riding in the tour bus, escorted by several private SUVs, violated his furlough agreement, according to Sadow.
T.I. posted on Twitter immediately after he walked from the prison Wednesday morning.
“The storm is over & da sun back out. IT’S OUR TIME TO SHINE SHAWTY!!!!! Welcome to the beginning of our Happy Ending!!!!”
He also immediately began taping a new reality TV show as he boarded his bus, a series that cable channel VH1 announced just hours after his release.
The as yet-untitled 10-episode series, which will premiere in December, will show T.I. “as he re-adjusts to life as a free man after being incarcerated for nearly a year in a federal prison in Arkansas,” VH1 said.
“Viewers will get a behind-the-scenes look at the most private and personal moments of one of today’s hottest, most sought after Grammy winning artists as he is reunited with his wife and kids and thrust back into society at this crucial juncture in his life,” VH1 executives said.
T.I. has also finalized a book deal. A representative from HarperCollins told reporters that T.I. has written a book called “Power & Beauty” that’s set to be released in October. The novel, which was co-written with David Ritz, is a fictional tale about two childhood friends torn apart by dangerous dealings on the streets of Atlanta.
This was T.I.’s second stint in the Arkansas prison. He served seven months there in 2009 as part of an unusual sentence negotiated two years ago to resolve federal gun charges. Those charges followed his attempt to buy three machine guns in the parking lot of an Atlanta grocery store.
His latest stint behind bars was triggered by his arrest, along with that of his wife, after a motorcycle officer stopped their car on Sunset Boulevard in Beverly Hills, California, a year ago.
A police report said suspected drugs were found in the couple’s car and they were both arrested on drug charges. While the charges were later dropped, T.I. failed a drug test given by his parole officer.
