Rapper T.I., wife face drug charges

Associated Press

WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif.

Grammy-winning rapper T.I. was arrested along with his wife on suspicion of possessing methamphetamines, five months after the hip-hop star finished a prison stint on weapons charges.

The 29-year-old rapper and his wife, Tameka Cottle, were arrested Wednesday night in West Hollywood after deputies smelled marijuana and pulled the couple over, the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department said. They were released from jail at about 4 a.m. Thursday after posting $10,000 bail each, sheriff’s Deputy Luis Castro said.

T.I.’s publicist declined to comment.

The Atlanta-based rapper is a multiplatinum hitmaker. Known as the “King of the South,” he has emerged one of music’s most profitable stars.

He also has a key role in the current top box office movie “Takers.” The shoot-’em-up about an armored truck robbery that goes bad was released last week and topped the box-office chart.

Cottle, 36, sang with the 1990s group Xscape and has recently been the star of the BET reality series, “The Tiny & Toya Show,” She and the rapper, who is a father of five, married in late July.

T.I. served seven months in an Arkansas federal prison and three months in a Georgia halfway house on federal weapons charges for possessing unregistered machine guns and silencers. He was sentenced to serve three years of supervised release after his prison sentence ended in March.

He was ordered not to commit another federal, state or local crime while on supervised release, and also ordered not to illegally possess a controlled substance. He was also told to take at least three drug tests after his release and to participate in a drug and alcohol treatment program.

Patrick Crosby, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney in Atlanta, had no immediate comment Thursday on whether the rapper, whose real name is Clifford Harris, violated the terms of the judge’s order.

Since his release, the rapper, who previously spent time behind bars for drug offenses, has vowed to live a better life. He spoke to children about the dangers of drugs and guns, and former United Nations Ambassador Andrew Young was one of his supporters.

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