T.I. - Is his BRAND in trouble?

On Saturday, October 13, 2007, the BET Hip-Hop Awards were held in Atlanta, GA for the 2nd consecutive time. That is awesome for a City that is known as the Motown of the South and recognized as the 3rd Major Music City in the United States and the World behind New York, NY and Los Angeles, CA. As more and more Industry Execs. with Deal Signing Power and Events like the BET Hip-Hop Awards come to Atlanta, GA, Atlanta will truly establish itself as the place to be.

Atlanta, GA has the 3rd Busiest Airport in the World, and after Hosting the 1996 Olympics, NBA All-Star Weekend, NASCAR Events, Braves Playoff and World Series Games, Falcons Playoff Games, and even Hawks Playoff Games in the past, Atlanta is known around the World and it's reputation is growing!

T.I., argubly one of the best rappers in the Music Business, was arrested shortly after Sound-Check for his performance at the BET Hip-Hop Awards later that night (10-13-07). The word spread fast! One of Bar-Red's own JaWar (Music Industry Connections) sent word to me what had happened and then my phone started buzzing with people checking in and people asking me what was going on with T.I. The 1st thing I did was check on the status of my two (2) friends that run with Grand Hustle to see if they were ok. After finding out that my people were straight, I started thinking about the implications this arrest may have on T.I.'s BRAND!

As an International Star now, T.I. reaches a lot of young people and endorses products that reach a lot of consumers. Does this arrest affect his BRAND? I believe it does. It is going to probably have two (2) different effects on his career. The 1st is that he may lose endorsement opportunities and the ones he currently has. I believe it may actually help increase the sales of his current release T.I. vs. TIP and it will definitely help the opening day ticket sales of American Gangsta which is a movie he is starring in alongside Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Common, etc. As some people say and believe, any press is good press. We will see!

May God Bless T.I. and the others arrested with him. Time will tell how this will effect T.I.'s Fame and Fortune!

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