'Sometimes the 'road to redemption' is a difficult path,' company spokesperson says, as King Uncaged MC renames his LP No Mercy.
By Gil Kaufman
T.I.
Photo: Lester Cohen/ Getty Images
Less than a week after T.I. lost his gig as a spokesperson for Axe Body spray, another high-profile endorsement deal has fallen by the wayside for the prison-bound rapper.
According to Rap Radar, Tip (born Clifford Harris) was dropped as a spokesperson for Rémy Martin cognac, just five months after the liquor company signed him up. T.I. scored the deal this summer after completing a seven-month prison sentence stemming from his 2007 arrest for attempted purchase of a firearm by a convicted felon. But on Monday, a spokesperson for Rémy told the site that they were cutting the rapper loose. "Sometimes the 'road to redemption' is a difficult path," read a statement from the high-end cognac-maker. "Regrettably, we will not be able to continue collaborating with T.I. at this time. We wish T.I. well and hope he will devote his time and energy to staying the course."
A spokesperson for Rémy Martin in Paris could not be reached for comment at press time and a spokesperson for T.I. also was unavailable to confirm the split.
The rapper is expected to turn himself in on Monday for an an 11-month prison stint in connection with a recent drug-related probation violation tied to the aforementioned 2007 arrest. In the meantime, though, T.I. has announced a title change for his upcoming album. After recording a slew of songs earlier this year for what was slated to be King Uncaged, Tip revealed on Atlanta's 'Rickey Smiley Morning Show' on Monday that he has switched up the title to No Mercy.
'It ain't King Uncaged no more; we had to change the title,' he chuckled at the top of the interview. 'No Mercy.'
A spokesperson for Atlantic Records confirmed the album title change but said the record does not yet have an official release date. T.I. said he was hoping to drop the disc before he begins his latest prison bid, which stems from an arrest on September 1 in Los Angeles where he was found to be in possession of the drug ecstasy as well as in the presence of a convicted felon, both breaches of his federal probation. Ironically, on Monday, prosecutors in Los Angeles announced that they were not going to charge the rapper on the drug charges because he was already facing a federal prison sentence for the probation violation.
'We just getting some more videos in the can and preparing for this project to be out. Wrapping things up, getting ready to deliver it to the world,' T.I. told Smiley, hinting at a Lil Wayne-style effort to stockpile material that can be eased out while he completes his sentence.
