You Are Responsible For Your Own Actions we hear from T.I. as his March 2009 sentencing draws near. He tell us the story of how his life unfolded and lets us along as he tries to use his own experiences to change the course of one young man's life. He first takes us back to a night in 2006 when he was on tour for the release of his new album where a member of his entourage was shot while he was in the car after a club scuffle. Then it is on to happier times thanks to a plea agreement he reached with the government, as we tag along with T.I. at the birthday party of his son King In his short visit home, we meet his six young children and fiance, Tameka. As his son blows out his candles and he holds his children close, he explains the importance of him doing what he has to do to provide for the family. This type of responsibility for his family has been a burden since he was a child where he grew up as the man of the house while his father was in New York. He explains how his life took a turn for the worst one day on his way to buy bread where a crack dealer showed him the dividends that dealing can pay.
Own Your Mistakes Meet Trey, a 15-year-old Georgia native who has gotten himself involved in a little clique that they like to call themselves the "Block Boys." People typically think Newnan, Georgia is a safe place to live, however shootings and violence are on the rise. Trey's mother is understandably very worried about the welfare of her son. Both Trey's father and older brother are in jail. Trey has witnessed his older brother saving his mother from a knife that his father had put up to her throat. T.I. understands that these traumatic events are quite a lot to process at such a young age. These circumstances quite often lead kids to join gangs. While Trey was being interviewed for what he thought was an MTV show about gang life, T.I. walked in the most unexpected place... Trey's crib. T.I. made a deal with Trey, he'll take some of his advice if he'll take some of his.
Your Environment Does Not Define You Meet 18-year-old Anthony of California, who has been involved with the Harbor City Crips since he was 13. He was caught with a gun in 2004 and sentenced to juvenile detention and probation, but was unscathed by the experience. T.I. explains the severity of Anthony's situation because his gangbanging ways come from generations of family involvement. His mother's husband is a high ranking Crips member which highlights what T.I. considers a shortage of positive influences in Anthony's life. Thinking he is being interviewed for an MTV show about gang life, Anthony explains that he's not ready to stop the lifestyle just yet.
You Have To Focus On The Positive T.I. heads to Atlanta to help Edwin, a struggling young father, who is at risk of breaking his family apart by committing burglaries and getting himself arrested. Leigh Ann, Edwin's girlfriend, is terrified that Edwin's crimes will send him prison and leave her alone to raise their one year old son, by herself. T.I. must set Edwin straight by showing him what he is doing wrong, the future he's heading towards, and now what he needs to do to be a real father and keep his family from living on the streets. T.I. will show Edwin, that education is the key for him to become the father his family needs him to be.
Reality Is Not Entertainment Mario is an 18-year-old Compton teen who has been nicknamed after a gun that he's been known to use. Mario has had first hand experience with violent shootings and is now on a mission to protect himself, even though he was arrested for carrying a firearm. T.I. understands Mario's mindset and doesn't want Mario to have to pay the price for the same mistakes he's made. T.I. watched Mario talk about his AK-47 and cut him short when he started to talk about how easy it is for him to shoot a gun at someone else. Mario and T.I. ride in an ambulance and talk to a paramedic about the dangers of guns. Next, T.I. introduces Mario to a high ranking member of a rival gang who is currently hospitalized. Mario starts to understand how his choices will affect his family and how his gang won't be by his side if anything goes wrong. When Mario sees how a bullet paralyzed another teen, he begins to understand the pain that one bullet can cause in a family. Finally, T.I. gives Mario an outlet to express his anger in a positive way by bringing him to a boxing class. T.I. tells Mario to utilize all the information that he was able to receive during their day together and to keep him motivated he gave him a new pair of boxing gloves with a gift certificate for boxing classeses. Mario is now taking EMT classes and expressing his emotions through boxing instead of through firearms.
You Quit, You Lose Donald is an 18-year-old student who has had a rough life but has stayed positive. T.I. respects Donald for keeping his head up through the hard times and wants to show Donald how he will be rewarded if he stays on the right path. T.I. surprises Donald at home and tells him to get ready to be a king for the day. Donald gets a "Hollywood cut" from a celebrity barber and then tries on some new clothes from T.I.'s Akoo line. Donald can't choose between the three outfits so T.I. surprises him again and tells him he can take home everything he tried on. T.I. takes Donald out for dinner that's fit for a king but then takes a serious turn when he tells Donald about his current legal situation. T.I. tells Donald that one mistake can take you back to square one and to stay driven. To Donald's surprise, T.I. pays for a recording session with music producer Polow Da Don. At first Donald is just playing around in the studio so T.I. tells him to get serious and write some lyrics. Two hours later, T.I. hands Donald a copy of Donald's original song as a gift. Donald leaves T.I. after a day of being a king and shares his new song with his family. Donald continues to get straight A's in school and is working to pursue his music career and go to college.
Revenge Is Not The Answer On this week's T.I.'s Road to Redemption we meet Cynthia who is struggling after witnessing her gang-banger brother get shot and killed. At the age of 13, Cynthia joined a gang with the intent of taking revenge for her brother's death. Even though it's not about revenge anymore, Cynthia doesn't think she'll ever leave the game. Cynthia's mother has already lost one child and doesn't want to lose another. Cynthia, now 15 years old, has grown apart from her mother since her mother disapproves of her gang involvement. T.I. listens to Cynthia's story but steps in when she says that she's staying in the game because it's fun. T.I. takes Cynthia to a funeral home to show her what her mother would have to go through if anything happened to Cynthia. Next, T.I. takes Cynthia to Homeboy Industries which is a refuge for ex-gang members in Los Angeles. First three women talk to Cynthia about how she needs to get out of the game because it's no way to live. Cynthia starts to grasp a better sense of her reality when she meets ex-gang member Alex. To help Cynthia get inspired about changing her life, T.I. brings her to a photo shoot to give her a taste of what it's like to be a photographer. Cynthia leaves T.I. promising that she needs to get out of the game and turn her life around. Later, Cynthia receives a new computer and a digital camera from T.I. to keep her motivated to pursue her dream of photography.
4 Days To Go T.I. is slowing down to the end of his Road To Redemption with only a few days left before incarceration. T.I. has helped so many teens in the past few weeks but now it's time to focus on one last case- himself. T.I. talks about his downward spiral into a life of drugs, money, and jail. Eventually, T.I. was caught in a parking lot trying to buy machine guns and silencers. In order to redeem himself, T.I. met with 7 teens on the same wrong path he was on as a kid. First we met Pee Wee, then Trey, and then there's aspiring chef Anthony. Donald was rewarded for pulling through despite a tough life and Cynthia grew closer to her mother. Mario and Edwin have also stayed off the streets. Pee Wee was on the right path after meeting with T.I. but then things went wrong when he backed out of joining T.I. at the presidential inauguration. Pee Wee couldn't go because he was shot in both of his arms in a shooting. Pee Wee survived and now T.I.'s message has really hit home. As T.I. finishes the last few hours of his community service, he tries to make an impact on as many lives as he can. With less than one week until his sentencing, T.I. makes a final appearance in New York to promote the biggest album of his career. T.I. is the last person in his family to drop out of school and he makes sure that all of his cousins stay on track. Since T.I. doesn't want his children to see him in prison, he has focused a lot of his energy in being a good father until he has to leave. T.I. also spends time with his fiancee Tameka who promises to stand by T.I. to keep their family together.
The Reckoning T.I. talks to Sway Calloway after being sentenced to one year and a day in prison for weapons charges on March 27, 2009. He also reunites with some of the teens he mentored during the past year.
