T.I. Votes for the First Time

T.I. went to the polls YESTERDAY for the FIRST time ever. Yes, EVER.

T.I. is the national spokesperson of the RESPECT MY VOTE! non-partisan Get Out The Vote initiative, created by Reverend Lennox Yearwood, Jr. and the Hip Hop Caucus (HHC). The Hip Hop Caucus and the Hip-Hop Summit Action Network (HSAN) have partnered in a national RESPECT MY VOTE! GOTV Bus Tour of 18 cities through Election Day.


T.I. has been a very vocal and engaged activist in helping to get young people to register and now, to get them to the polls to vote. With his prior difficulties with the law, TI made it his point to emphasize that, while he thought he was ineligible to vote, others needed to get out to the polls to make a difference in their lives and their communities. Recently, he did further research on his own and discovered he was, in fact, still eligible to vote. Going to the polls early this morning in Atlanta, Georgia, was a transformative experience for him.



"Feels like I've taken advantage of my right to become a part of the democracy," declared Clifford Harris aka T.I.. "It was definitely worth standing in line and doing all the things people complain about voting. I think it's more than worth it."

I have spoken to many who have felt disenfranchised by the voting system who have become re-energized to politics because of the historical and important nature of this election. Even in the Atlanta area where people are waiting for hours in line to conduct early voting, people are coming out in record numbers to make sure that their voice is heard. I am glad hip-hop is actually going out to vote, so many young people look to rappers like a T.I. to influence their behavior. Let's just hope this air of social responsibility carries through even after the election.

Special thanks to JLM PR for the photos and press release.