TMZ caught up with T.I. at LAX on Wednesday to see whether he thought the message he tried to relay to Kanye West on the song “Ye vs. the People” was lost, especially after his controversial comments regarding slavery. As Tip struggles to find the right words for the matter, he says that we should see "how it all plays out.”
"The message that I was trying to put together with the song was directed to Kanye...I'm at a loss of words," he said. "It's hard for any of us to see exactly what direction he's going in, and what his intentions, for real, are. I think we kinda gotta see it through. Any reaction we have immediately won't serve us as well as us stepping back, and kinda giving it a minute to breathe, and just seeing how it all plays out for real."
T.I. appeared to be frustrated when discussing Kanye's recent remarks, admitting that he brought the string of backlash onto himself. "It ain't hurt nobody but him, and that's the conundrum," he said. "Why would someone who has so much put himself in such harm's way, such a direct line of fire. I don't know."
Through it all, Tip confidently said that there was no malicious intent behind Kanye's comments, claiming that 'Ye is focused on striking up a dialogue regarding these issues even if he finds himself in the public's crosshairs as a result.
"No matter how much I disagree, I can say this: I do not feel it was malicious," T.I. said. "I don't think he said it with an intention to hurt anybody. He tends to believe that it's going to force everyone to engage and discuss things that we would not have discussed before he made that statement. And he says, 'If people have to hate me in order to do that, then so be it.'"
T.I. has been trying to have an honest discourse with West about everything from backing Donald Trump to educating 'Ye on Trump's downright racist laws. On his Instagram Stories where Tip shared the news of his face-to-face meeting with Kanye, he said, "I refuse to just give up on him."
