Vault: T.I. Joins The Show

Summary

The Bert Show – “Vault: T.I. Joins The Show” (March 20, 2026)

Episode Overview

This special "Vault" episode features rapper and entrepreneur T.I. (Clifford Harris) joining The Bert Show for an honest and wide-ranging conversation. The hosts connect with T.I. while he’s en route to Atlanta, discussing his favorite hometown spots, the realities of fame, his legal troubles and prison preparation, his mentorship of at-risk youth on his series “Road to Redemption,” and his insights into personal growth, trust, and redemption. Throughout, T.I. is candid, reflective, and often philosophical about the lessons he’s drawn from hardship and celebrity.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. T.I.'s Atlanta: Favorite Spots for Every Age (01:23–03:09)

• For Friends:
  T.I. recommends iconic Atlanta nightlife—Magic City, Club Crucial, Velvet Room, Candy Shop—to give friends a quintessential adult experience.

• For Friends of His Mom:
  “I would take them to New Birth to meet Bishop Eddie Long … to Chantrell’s for a nice lunch or dinner … Atlanta Fish Market if they weren't full… the High Museum of Art.” (T.I., 01:58–02:47)

• For His Kids’ Friends:
  Sidetrack (an entertainment hub) and Six Flags White Water get the nod.

2. Navigating Fame and Its Perks (03:09–03:34)

• When Did Being ‘Mobbed’ Happen?
  T.I. notes that fame reached a point where he could have places like Six Flags shut down for private family fun.

• Best Perk of Celebrity:
  “The influence to help others and the ability to create a new standard of living for my family.” (T.I., 03:34)

3. Reflecting on Public Mistakes & Offering Advice (03:44–04:23)

• What Would He Tell Chris Brown?
  “You never know why God take you through certain things, man, but through all adversity, man, come strength.” (T.I., 04:01)

4. ‘Road to Redemption’ & Mentoring At-Risk Youth (04:23–04:52, 07:05–07:27)

• Show’s Purpose:
  “It’s about me intervening in the lives of young teenagers who … have found themselves on the wrong side of the law ... to share with them the mistakes I’ve made to keep them from making the same ones.” (T.I., 04:31–04:52)

• Types of Kids He’s Helping:
  “Some of them are young hustlers … home invaders who used to break [into] houses to get money to feed their families. Some are gang bangers from L.A. … each individual have a different set of circumstances.” (T.I., 07:05–07:27)

5. Facing Prison: Fears and Choices (04:52–06:44)

• Nerves About Prison:
  “I'm somewhat unsettled, but ... I'm alright though.” (T.I., 05:02)

• Choosing General Population Over Special Protection:
  “All those protections … would make my time a lot more miserable ... That would cause for me to be locked in a cell 23 hours out of a day, and I'm not gonna do that. So it'll be general population for me.” (T.I., 05:27–05:49)

• How He’ll Be Treated Inside:
  “They gonna treat me the way I present myself … as a man of respect.” (T.I., 06:00–06:07)

• Will He Write Music Inside?
  “You can't make plans when you enter a situation that you have no control over … you kinda gotta observe and play it by ear.” (T.I., 06:28–06:44)

• Hope for Reduced Sentence?
  “God works in mysterious ways. … All I know right now is [I have] a year and a day, and I'll be blessed to get that.” (T.I., 06:49–06:59)

6. Why He Made the Choices That Led to His Arrest (07:27–08:15)

• Paranoia, Grief, & Bad Decisions:
  “I was extremely paranoid, and I had altered judgment because of that paranoia … ever since my partner had died in my arms in Cincinnati… I went about dealing with those things the wrong way.” (T.I., 07:44–08:15)

7. Trust, Fear, and Personal Growth (08:17–08:36)

• Trust in God, Not Guns:
  “I gotta put my trust in God, not guns.” (T.I., 08:22)

• Message to Youth:
  “You get the courage after you do the things that scare the hell out of you, not before.” (T.I., 08:33–08:36)

8. Celebrating Success: Taking Home a Grammy (08:41–09:06)

• On Winning:
  “I thoroughly enjoyed myself. It was an honor and a pleasure to be … among such great guys and such elite performers.” (T.I., 08:53–09:06)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On helping youth:
  “All things are possible, man. You get the courage after you do the things that scare the hell out of you, not before.” (T.I., 08:33–08:36)

• On fame’s best perk:
  “The influence to help others and the ability to create a new standard of living for my family.” (T.I., 03:34)

• On facing prison:
  “Treat me like everybody else, man. I'm doing my time and going home.” (T.I., 05:53)

• On dealing with threats:
  “I gotta put my trust in God, not guns, you know?” (T.I., 08:22)

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Key Timestamps

• 01:23: Atlanta recommendations for friends, family, and kids
• 03:09: T.I. talks about fame and special treatment
• 03:44: Thoughts on helping Chris Brown and facing public scrutiny
• 04:23: Explanation of “Road to Redemption”
• 04:52: Fears about entering prison and general population choice
• 07:05: Stories of the youth mentored by T.I.
• 07:44: Honest reflection on paranoia and the decisions behind his arrest
• 08:22: Transition from trusting guns to trusting God
• 08:41: Grammy win commentary

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Tone & Takeaway

T.I.’s tone is honest, thoughtful, and occasionally humorous, marked by candor about his regrets, his hopes for redemption, and his passion for helping others avoid his mistakes. The conversation offers a window into the complexity of fame, personal fallibility, responsibility, and the drive to transform pain into positive influence.

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Summary prepared for listeners who want a rich and insightful overview of T.I.'s candid interview on The Bert Show.

Transcript

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[T.I.]

Get it? The Bird Show.

[Interviewer]

Hello.

[T.I.]

Yo. Hey.

[Interviewer]

Is this T.I.

[T.I.]

yeah, this is me. What's happening?

[Co-Interviewer]

This is Jeff and Jen and Melissa and Wendy.

[Interviewer]

Okay, so how are you? Are you in Atlanta right now?

[T.I.]

No, I'm actually in Los Angeles. Head to the airport.

[Co-Interviewer]

Coming back.

[Interviewer]

Coming back to Atlanta?

[T.I.]

Yeah, coming back to Atlanta.

[Interviewer]

Very cold. Do you miss Atlanta when you're away from it? What's your favorite thing in Atlanta? If you were bringing somebody to Atlanta for the very first time, where's your must take them place?

[T.I.]

Well, it depends on who they were, how old they were, and, you know, what kind of an Atlanta experience they wanted to have.

[Interviewer]

All right, well, let's do two categories. We'll do three categories. We'll do a friend of yours, and then we'll do a friend, a friend of your mom's, and then a friend of one of your kids.

[T.I.]

Okay, let's see. A friend of mine. That's gonna be very easy, man. They're gonna want to go to Magic City, right? They're gonna want to go to Club Crucial. They're gonna want to go to Velvet Room. They're gonna want to go to Candy Shop and, you know, they gonna want to get an adult Atlanta experience, you know, Whereas a friend of my mom's, I would take. I would take them to New Birth to meet Bishop Eddie Long. I would take them to Chantrell's to have a nice lunch or dinner. Okay, let's see here. I would also take Them to the Atlanta Fish Market if they weren't full. Oh, how about the High Museum of Art?

[Interviewer]

Very, very cultured and respectful for the friend of your mom's.

[Co-Interviewer 2]

And then once you get done drinking martinis, then it's Magic City.

[T.I.]

And for a friend of my kids, I would take them to. I'd take them to Sidetrack. I'd take them to Six Flags White Water.

[Interviewer]

When did you achieve the success that you couldn't go to any of those places without getting mobbed? Because I would assume that TI walking through Six Flags right now creates a little bit of pandemonium.

[T.I.]

Yeah, yeah. Well, you know, I mean, you know what I'm saying. I'm fortunate enough to be able to call in and have them shut the park down for a couple hours while me and my family do our thing.

[Co-Interviewer]

Nice. That's cool.

[Interviewer]

What's the best perk about being having the celebrity that you have?

[T.I.]

I would have to say the influence to help others and the ability to create a new standard of living for my family.

[Interviewer]

Talking about helping others and being able to influence others. If you got a phone call from Chris Brown today and he knowing that you've gone through, you know, a lot in the past couple years of your life and a lot of drama and a lot of drama in the public eye, what advice would you give him today?

[T.I.]

Well, you know, first I just, I would have to be very, very clear and honest with you guys and telling you, man, that I have a lot of admiration, love and respect for both Chris and Rihanna, you know what I'm saying? And I would just, you know, say I let them know, man, you know, you never know why God take you through certain things, man, but through all adversity, man, come strength.

[Co-Interviewer]

We want to find out about road to redemption this 45 days to go. What is all. What are all the viewers going to get to see on this show and what are they going to learn from you?

[T.I.]

Well, the show primarily is about me

[T.I. (continued)]

intervening in the lives of young teenagers who, for whatever reason, have found themselves

[T.I.]

on the wrong side of the law.

[T.I. (continued)]

And I'm just trying to use my experiences and my influence to, you know, to share with them the mistakes I've made to keep them from making the same ones, hopefully.

[Co-Interviewer]

Are you nervous about going to prison?

[T.I. (continued)]

Am I nervous?

[Co-Interviewer]

Yeah.

[T.I.]

Well, I'm significantly concerned, you know what I'm saying?

[T.I. (continued)]

I'm somewhat unsettled, but, you know, I'm alright. Though.

[Interviewer]

When you talk about, you know, earlier you were saying, you know, how they can shut down Six Flags for you and make that a peaceful time for you and your family. When somebody of your notoriety goes to jail, I'm assuming that there are certain protections that would have to take place that wouldn't apply to other prisoners.

[T.I. (continued)]

I'll be perfectly honest with you, man. Just to be like, just to keep it all the way 100 with you, all of those protections would pretty much. They would make my time a lot more miserable than I care to make it. You know what I'm saying? That would cause for me to be locked in a cell 23 hours out of a day, and I'm not gonna do that. So it'll be general population for me.

[Interviewer]

So when you go in, you're just going in like the average guy?

[T.I. (continued)]

Absolutely. Treat me like everybody else, man. I'm doing my time and going home.

[Co-Interviewer 2]

Do you think people are gonna treat you the same?

[T.I. (continued)]

I mean, you know, they gonna treat

[T.I.]

me the way I.

[T.I. (continued)]

They gonna treat me the way I present myself. You know what I'm saying? That's as a man of respect, right?

[Interviewer]

You're gonna have to call us when you're out and tell us at what point into the 12 months you got sick of guys coming up to you going, hey, let me just sing something for you real quick. Let me just.

[T.I. (continued)]

Well, you might be getting the call from me, man, within the first couple weeks, man.

[Co-Interviewer 2]

Are you kidding me? Are you gonna be doing a lot of writing?

[T.I. (continued)]

Well, you never can't tell what you're gonna be spending your time doing until you actually get there. You know, one thing you can't do, you can't. You can't make plans when you enter a situation that you have no control over, you know what I'm saying? You kinda gotta observe and play it by ear.

[Co-Interviewer]

Do you think there's a chance they'll reduce your sentence because of all the community service work you've been doing?

[T.I. (continued)]

Well, I mean, you know, God works in mysterious ways. There's nothing that I have any knowledge of. All I know right now is a year and a day, and I'll be blessed to get that.

[Co-Interviewer 2]

T. I want to know about some of these kids that you're helping. Like, what are they? Like, what are some of their stories?

[T.I.]

Well, everything.

[T.I. (continued)]

Some of them are young, young hustlers who, you know, saying, who find. Find a way to make money on the streets. Some of them are home invaders who used to break their houses to get money to feed their families. Some are gang bangers from la. It's a lot of different cases, you know, each individual have a Different set of circumstances to deal with.

[Interviewer]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I think I remember after you were first arrested, reading an interview or seeing something about the reason that you were going to buy the guns and the reason that you went there that day was because you were scared and you wanted to be able to protect yourself. How do you tell someone?

[T.I. (continued)]

I was extremely paranoid. I was extremely paranoid, and I had altered judgment because of that paranoia. You know, there was a great deal of grief, a great deal of pain, a great deal of unapproached issues that I had dealt with ever since my partner had died in my arms in Cincinnati. And you know what I'm saying? I just went about. I went about dealing with those things the wrong way, you know, and one thing led to another, and that's what got me in that parking lot.

[Interviewer]

Do you still think people want to harm you?

[T.I. (continued)]

I know that there are still people that would. You know what I'm saying? That would make mean me harm more than they would like to mean me.

[T.I.]

Well, but I gotta put my trust

[T.I. (continued)]

in God, not guns, you know?

[Interviewer]

And is that what you tell on the TV show? Is that what you tell a kid who's coming to you from a place of fear?

[T.I. (continued)]

Absolutely, man.

[T.I.]

You know, all things are possible, man.

[T.I. (continued)]

You get the courage after you do the things that scare the hell out of you, not before.

[Interviewer]

Yeah.

[T.I. (continued)]

Yeah.

[Co-Interviewer]

Well, ti we wanna say congratulations on taking home the Grammy. It's your third, right?

[T.I. (continued)]

Yes, it is.

[Co-Interviewer]

And tell us about that performance with the very pregnant Mia.

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[T.I.]

Hey, man, we all had a phenomenal time, man. It was a wonderful moment.

[T.I. (continued)]

I thoroughly enjoyed myself. It was an honor and a pleasure to be, you know, among such great guys and such elite performers.

[T.I.]

Get it?

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