Defsounds

A U.S. District judge reciting over T.I.'s federal case has denied a motion requesting a delay of the beginning of his year long prison term.

On Tuesday, May 26th (09), the Grammy Award winning rapper will be beginning his year long stint at a low-security prison in Arkansas.

However, last Thursday, lawyers for the rapper requested extra time to petition the federal Bureau of Prisons to house the rapper in a minimum security prison camp instead of the detention facility.

On Friday, May 22nd (09),U.S. District Judge Charles A. Pannell Jr. denied the rapper’s motion.

“There is nothing more we can do pre-reporting,” Donald F. Samuel, the rapper’s lawyer, Tells The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “We think he was scored the wrong way.”

Rapper's Political Connection Spared Long Sentence?

In related news, since word of T.I.'s plea deal broke out, many have speculated on how exactly the rapper was spared from the minimum 30-year stretch in a federal "Supermax" prison after pleading guilty to multiple federal illegal gun charges.

While many accuse the rapper of becoming an informant, a new report says T.I.'s political connections are what got him such a light sentence for such a heavy crime.

According to the Telegraph, T.I.'s work with a lobby group called the Hip Hop Caucus helped persuade the court to be lenient after he pleaded guilty to possessing enough heavy weapons to "start a small war - and to attempting to purchase illegally a further three machine guns, complete with silencers."

"The judge didn't mention us," said Mike Cooper, a member of the Hip Hop Caucus staff. "But given that [T.I.] is our spokesman and has done 1,000 hours of community service in the past year, visiting schools, prisons and volunteering, it's obvious why he was given a lighter sentence."

The Caucus, founded just over four years ago, is growing fast and has a database of 700,000 supporters and field offices in 48 cities.

It is hailed by some as the most authentic voice of the disaffected and disenfranchised in America.

Its leaders believe that it will eventually displace the venerable civil rights organizations, which no longer appeal to young people.

Caucus staffers also have easy access to those wielding the levers of power....

You can read the entire article here.