coming back to the united states, bryant neal vinas has undergone yet another transfo transformation moving away from his radical views. he's still helping authorities and even though he pleaded guilty more than a year ago, he's still yet to be sentenced. i'm anderson cooper, thanks for watching this "360 special investigation." ♪ >> larry: tonight -- ♪ recognize i'm bad >> larry: t.i. exclusive. the rapper's first interview since he got out of prison. for buying machine guns and silencers. firepower that the law doesn't authorize how to use. how does a straight "a" student end up a dropout selling drugs and doing time? ♪ you can go wherever you'd like ♪

>> larry: he's open, honest, and willing to talk about it. taking your calls to t.i. making a come back next on "larry king live." ♪ i'm going to bawl on the squares ♪ ♪ and cars everywhere ♪ i know, i know >> larry: this was the scene a short while ago, as grammy-winning rapper t.i. arrived at "larry king live." his new album "king uncaged" will be released in august. his new single very appropriately titled "i'm back." t.i. was arrested by federal agents in 2007 for buying three machine guns in a parking lot of an atlanta grocery store. in 2008 he was sentenced on charges of unlawfully possessing machine guns and silencers, and possession of firearms by convicted felon. recently released after serving nine months in prison, three months in a halfway house. he is quite a story. and we're very pleased that he's

here telling it for the first time. thanks for coming. >> thanks for having me. >> larry: thanks for talking to us. what's t.i. stand for? >> it's not an abbreviation. it's a name that my grandfather, my family and friends all call me t.i.p. >> larry: well, how are you feeling now, now that you're free again? >> well, i'm just ready to put the bad things behind me and look forward to the future, and you know, just move forward and evolve. continue to evolve. >> larry: how do you explain, before we get into some specifics, all of the trouble that you've gotten in? you were a straight "a" student. >> yeah, at one point in my life yeah i absolutely was. >> larry: how did you get in all of this trouble? >> well, this most recent incident, it came from an attempt that was made on my life. my best friend died in my arms. and that kind of caused a state of depression, paranoia. and my judgment was jaded.

you know. i just felt my life was in danger. >> larry: okay. on october 13th, 2007, you're arrested by federal agents after purchasing three machine guns, two silencers, they weren't registered to you. you were already a convicted felon. didn't you realize then, i could be in big trouble for this? >> oh, absolutely. absolutely. >> larry: so why risk it, t.? >> well, to be perfectly honest with you, at the time when i felt the need to have all of these things, i never took into consideration the legalities. i only took it into consideration the protection of my life, my family's life and my >> larry: right, but -- you bought an ingram .9-millimeter machine gun expectable of shooting almost 1,100 rounds a minute. and a machine gun capable of shooting 1,200 rounds a minute. a machine gun capable of

shooting 990 rounds a minute. that kind of firepower isn't even used by police or federal agents. >> yes. >> larry: what kind of protection did you need? >> well, as i've seen you did your research -- >> larry: i have good staff. >> -- did you do the research on the incident that happened to me in cincinnati and how much firepower was used against me? >> larry: tell me about it. >> and how outgunned we were. i was pulled up on after an after-party. and to be quite frank with you, they opened fire and let off maybe from 50 to 100 rounds of ammunition very quick. >> larry: against you and others? . >> against me and others in that van as you see. >> larry: why? >> why? i mean, your guess is as good as mine. >> larry: you didn't know who they were? >> no, i didn't know. i still don't know who they are. i know who they say they are. i know who the law say they are. but i never knew them before --

>> larry: whose the law say they are? >> citizens of cincinnati, ohio. >> larry: that shoot rounds of guns at a rapper and his friends? >> you know, jealousy is something, larry. >> larry: jealousy about? >> i guess -- >> larry: were they singers? >> no, not that i know of. i don't have a lot of information to share about them. my point is how many rounds of ammunition were used against me that night in such a short period of time and how outgunned and we didn't have significant manpower to fend off those kinds of attackers. >> larry: i got it. had you performed that night? >> yes, i did. >> larry: was it a successful performance? >> absolutely, phenomenal. >> larry: but then, in addition to machine guns, federal agents find in your car and your house, a loaded .40 caliber pistol, next to the driver's seat, a loaded .40-caliber pistol, two more pistols and a revolver. a loaded .40-caliber pistol in the back of the seat. magazines in your bedroom closet. two more pistol and a revolver

eye could run out of time here talking about it. were you fearful at home? >> absolutely. absolutely. >> larry: who's after you? >> another thing, in atlanta, during that period of time, there was a rash of home invasions. now, i am not in any way trying to excuse my behavior. because it's unacceptable, and i do realize right now that that was very, very poor judgment on my behalf. and i'm in the best of my ability just trying to explain where my mind was at the time. >> larry: you were afraid? >> i was concerned, extremely. >> larry: why you? >> why me? >> larry: yeah, why you? in other words, there are other rappers? there are other singers? why you? >> why tupac, why biggie, why jam master jay? if you do more research, you will see that the death of a

hip-hop star is the least investigated. there have been no convictions on biggie, no conviction on pop, no convictions on grand master jay, they die and then life goes on. >> larry: what do you think the reason for that is? >> i can only speculate. i don't know. >> larry: what you do you speculate on? >> i speculate some people just don't care. they feel it's not important enough. >> larry: did you get into trouble as a kid? does trouble surround you? in a sense. >> no. >> larry: some people find trouble. >> i don't think -- no, i don't think that trouble surrounds me. you know, i think as a kid, everything that i went through, all that i am today, my experience has been made me that. you've got to understand me the time i was growing up in the environment that i did, and the time that i did there was no

instruction manual. i did not have a mentor. all i had was trial and error. >> who raised you? >> my grandparents and my mother and my uncles. one of which who did it from a federal prison. >> larry: did you get into trouble as a kid? >> i got into some trouble. i mean i was mischievous and i was still respectable and intelligent. i knew i had potential and opportunity. all i had do was execute. >> larry: you were also an "a" student. >> yes, i was. >> larry: shouldn't you have applied that? >> well, i did. i think i'm fairly intelligent. >> larry: i know. so wouldn't you say a fairly intelligent person would try to shy away from this kind of trouble. >> sure. >> larry: it seems like a dichotomy. >> if a fairly intelligent person has been placed into very, very extreme circumstances where their life has been endangered, then they then begin to decide not with their intelligence, but with their instincts. with their instincts. instinctively, when coming from

the environment that i came from, instinctively -- that's the way you handle it. >> larry: we'll be right back with t.i. don't go away.

♪ part of me yesterday >> rap star t.i. was arrested by federal agents on saturday. ♪ ♪ oh >> what make whens you stress out? >> federal court dates. ♪ just trying to find my way back home ♪ >> apologies to my family. ♪ dead and gone ♪ dead and gone ♪ and oh >> larry: he's worked with some the biggest stars in the business. jay-z. justin timberland. rihan rihanna. diddy. his popular songs include "swagger, like us," he's t.i. and you're out -- you say that you're out for good, right. >> absolutely. >> larry: since you were shot at, attacked at, many people who have that happen to them can legally apply for a license to carry a weapon. did you? >> no, i did not. >> larry: why not? >> wasn't thinking.

wasn't thinking. >> larry: so you're not -- you can't legally have a gun? >> no. >> larry: you couldn't then? >> no, i lost my second amendment right. >> larry: and you don't get them back, right? >> not to my knowledge. not unless some things change in washington. >> larry: do you own a weapon now? >> absolutely not. >> larry: are you afraid now for your life? >> no, you know, in having time to sit and reflect -- if you actually take the time and use it to your advantage, you see, well, even though all of these rounds of ammunition were fired at you that night, you didn't have a firearm, you're still here. all the things that you've managed to make it through, you didn't have a firearms in every situation under every circumstance. most of the times you had firearms, you didn't even need to use them. so obviously, the firearms aren't what's keeping you alive. >> larry: correct. >> so i had the time to take that into consideration.

and acknowledge that, and, you know, properly apply it to my daily -- my daily -- the way i live my life. >> larry: have you shot a weapon? >> have i ever before? >> larry: yeah. >> yeah. >> larry: at a range or at someone? come on. >> i plead the fifth. at a range. >> larry: did you know how to shoot the weapons you bought? >> yeah. >> larry: so had you to learn that somewhere. >> absolutely. >> larry: that's pretty heavy armorment. >> yeah. >> larry: when you were in prison, did you say to yourself, why did i do that? >> did i ever say to myself? >> larry: right. well, i didn't have to ask myself why i did it. there's -- i knew why i did it. i did it because i felt i was in danger. >> larry: but you don't feel it now? >> no, i don't. that is the question, you know, -- >> larry: that's why i asked you. >> why do you feel so in danger

then and you don't feel so in danger now. i think now because the story is out there for everybody to know. everybody knows, okay, this is what happened to him. these are the approaches that he took to it. and these are the adjustments that he made. so now, i mean, i'd be in as much danger as i was. >> larry: and you're safe by virtue of what you did? >> well, not really by the virtue. by the knowledge of what happened to me, you know, that's common knowledge. an attack was made on me. this is what he did. this is how he adjusted. this is how he's moving forward. >> larry: when you were 14, though, you bought a handgun, right? >> yes, i did. >> larry: for $115 after seeing a friend get shot? >> absolutely. >> larry: so guns have kind of surrounded you from an early age on? >> yes, guns have definitely been a part of my environment and my culture. >> larry: have you seen people shot? >> absolutely. >> larry: have you seen people killed? >> absolutely. >> larry: how do you ever adjust to that? >> i don't know. some people say you never do. i'm doing the best i can right now, you know?

i think it brings you closer to god. it brings you closer to god. if you're standing next to someone who's shot and died, the first thing is, why not me? now, of course, someone could say, well, obviously, it wasn't your time. but mentally, you kind of deal with things a lot differently when you've been placed in certain circumstances. >> larry: how old are you? >> 29. >> larry: we'll be back with t.i. we'll talk about growing up. lots of other things. we'll have twitters. your calls, too. don't go away. ts reviewed were found to be absorbed by the body. these nutrients help support energy and immunity. science gives you more reason to trust centrum. these what is ipad?p support energy and immunity. ipad is thin. ipad is beautiful. ipad goes anywhere and lasts all day. there's no right way or wrong way. it's crazy powerful. it's magical. you already know how to use it. it's 200,000 apps...and counting.

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♪ i'll never let you down i'm going to shine ♪ ♪ hard, i'm going to ball on the squares ♪ and cars everywhere ♪ ♪ i know ♪ i know >> larry: we're back with t.i. we're getting twitters as we roll along. one twitter asked, did you get special treatment in jail? >> man, believe it or not, i

might have gotten worse treatment as far as from the staff, just because i'm such a -- i was such a high-profile inmate that i couldn't -- i couldn't get anything special. >> larry: where did you serve your time? >> forest city, arkansas. >> larry: why there? >> ask the b.o.p.? >> larry: federal prison? >> yeah. federal prison. >> larry: what was your sentence? >> a year and a day. >> larry: that doesn't sound like a lot for all that you were carrying. >> well, through the blessings of god and also the unconventional methods of this agreement, based on work that i had been doing in the community prior to my arrest and my conviction, the u.s. attorney in the district that i was arrested in at the time, along with the judge and along with their colleagues, they came up with a special agreement for me to perform "x" amount of hours to

help at-risk kids in the community in atlanta and abroad, using my experience to kind of keep them from going through the same thing. >> larry: how long do you have to do that for? >> it's a number of hours. i have 1,500 hours to serve. 1,000 after i started my sentence, five after i was released. >> larry: you've got to stay straight? >> absolutely. without question. >> larry: another twitter question, do you think the sentence was fair? >> do i think the sentence was fair? i mention, asking me -- that's like asking me did i want to spend more time in jail. >> larry: no, it sounds fair for all of the things that you did. it's certainly a great thing that you're doing. >> well, see, i think most times when people think about this situation, they only think about a year and a date. okay, mind you, i had one year of home confinement where i could not leave my house. i was in my house for an entire year.

i could not leave. i could not work. i could not -- you know, it definitely affected my livelihood. i also the year and the date prison sentence. i also had the 15 hours of parole to serve. i also have three years of probation. it's just a creative way to extend the sentence to where society could benefit from me. where i could -- i'm more useful to society in using my life story, in using my life influence to be able to affect the lives of kids in america today. i'm no good behind a cell. i hope nobody then. >> larry: how much of your life was spent around drugs? >> how much of my life was spent around drugs? >> larry: did you get into it early? >> selling, yeah. yeah. >> larry: using it? >> using it? not that much earlier than anyone else. i say about 16, 15, 16. >> larry: how did you come to sell it? >> how'd i come to sell? i was poor, larry.

>> larry: was this in atlanta? >> yeah, this is in atlanta, man. basically, my mom sent me to the store one day to buy a loaf of bread. i had maybe, $30, $40, $50 in my pocket. i was approached -- well, actually, i inquired. a guy i knew was standing outside. and he said that, you know, he was working. and i say, how? and he then introduced the method of purchasing and distributing crack cocaine on a small scale, of course. >> larry: you were arrested for that? >> before i made it back home, i had $50 in my pocket. that was the beginning of my career. i was arrested in 1997, i was 17 years old. possession with the intent to distribute crack cocaine. >> larry: how much time did do you? >> i did about six, seven months, county time and got seven years probation. >> larry: so jail's been a part of your life? drugs' part of your life.

weapon's part of your life. >> yeah. >> larry: and you have -- >> my past life. >> larry: i understand. you have five children. >> i have five children, but i really have six. >> larry: the sixth is what? >> the sixth, she's my daughter through my relationship with a very special young lady. >> larry: all right. do you have a fiancee now? >> yes, i do. >> larry: how old are the kids? >> monique is 14. messiah is 10. demone is 9, deja is 8, she'll be 9 soon. king is 5. and major turns 2 on sunday. >> larry: are they all with you? >> yeah, well i mean, you know, they all come to my house and stay with me. of course with the ones who are in previous relationships, they're with their mothers. >> larry: how many children are with you? >> three. >> larry: isn't it hard with all that you've been through to be a father? >> is it hard? >> larry: a lot of responsibility? >> it is a lot of responsibility. but i enjoy being a father. that's one of the best parts of

my life. i feel like, man, that's one of the greatest things i've got going on, being a father. being able to make a difference in the lives of, not only at-risk youth, but my children. i think that's the greatest way for me to affect the world. bring children up who can contribute some way to the future of america and abroad. >> larry: you say you're a good father? >> absolutely. i love my kids. >> larry: how do they deal with what their father's been through? >> well, first, man, i let them know that they will never go through what i've been through. and i just -- i'm honest and open. and i just try to explain to them the best i can the difference between the way they grew up and the way that i grew up. >> larry: you grew up hard? >> yeah, rougher than most. but then again, not as rough as others. >> larry: you had a relative -- you said a close relative that was in prison?

>> yeah, my uncle. my uncle did ten years. >> larry: how about your dad? >> my pops? no, my pops, i don't think he ever been in prison. no, not that i know of. >> larry: are you close with him? >> my father passed away in 2002. yeah, we were pretty close. i love him a lot. >> larry: was he young? >> he was not young. he was 50 years older than me. he was 72 when he passed. >> larry: close with your mom? >> absolutely, i'm very close with my mom. >> larry: your grandmother living? >> my grandmother passed last year before i went to prison. >> larry: was she a big influence? >> she was a very big influence. >> larry: now in the middle of all of this, how did you get a singing career? there ain't no time for this? >> you're right. actually, man, believe it or not, i was challenged by my america right now. a producer/deejay. and my cousin who passed away. they challenged me. 12, 13 years ago, '98. >> larry: you were 17?

>> age 17, 18, and they challenged me to stop selling drugs, stop selling crack. they say you want to be a rapper, this is what you want to do you've already been arrested, you've did this little bit of time, you got probation, if you get arrested again you blow it all. i then said, okay, take me somewhere where i can create a way for myself. if you want me to leave this behind, then, make me -- show me an opportunity. they did. took me to a studio with a group named p.a., p.a. put me on the spot, asked me if i could rap on a certain beat. i walked in the booth. did my thing. and they signed me. >> larry: took a while? >> no, i think that my first hit was probably "24, a rubber band man" my second album. my first project, it was very well received in the southeast region. all throughout the south and some parts of the midwest. it was very well received but i

didn't get national exposure into my second album. >> larry: we'll be back on "larry king live" with t.i. thinking of national or international exposure, mick jagger tuesday night. ♪

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♪ patron no ice ♪ we could pop bottles all night ♪ ♪ baby you can have whatever you like ♪ ♪ i said you can have whatever you like ♪

♪ yeah ♪ baby i can treat you so special ♪ ♪ so nice ♪ baby you can go wherever you like ♪ ♪ i say you can go wherever you like ♪ >> larry: one of his biggest if not one of his biggest hits "whatever you like." my guest is t.i. by the way, he has an extraordinary record, "live your life" recorded with rihanna. we all know rihanna. broke the record for the biggest jump on the billboard charts in history. it went from 80 to 1. >> yeah. >> larry: are you friendly with rihanna? >> yeah, yeah, man i have a lot of respect and admiration for her as an artist. and you know, what she has done for women. >> larry: what did you make of what happened to her? >> i mean, it was unfortunate for both parties, man. >> larry: do you know him? >> yeah, i do. i do. i think he's paying a huge price for something that he did.

and he has to accept that and make adjustments to his own life and pick up the pieces. >> larry: have you ever been violent? >> have i been violent? with violence. >> larry: you never, like, hit a woman? >> nah. >> larry: asked by one of our people on twitter want to know why black rappers shoot each other. there are no guns for white rockers or country singers. >> i mean i can't answer that question. >> larry: is there a reason for that? >> i can only speculate, just off the top of my head, i mean, our music was born in an environment -- >> larry: turbulence? >> -- in an environment, in neighborhoods, where this is the common activity. you know, that's kind of like asking, you know, why certain rockers behave this way. why do they all have to use this, that and the other to do things. >> larry: a product of the environment?

>> exactly. it's just the way. it's like a common thread. >> larry: wasn't it hard to adjust to prison, especially when you're famous? >> yeah, absolutely. i think that it was a lot more difficult for me. i mean, you know, it was just a lot more meticulous. it was just a lot more mental adjusting, you know what i'm saying? physically, you know, everybody -- everybody -- i approached prison as a normal guy. everybody treated me as a normal guy, as much as they could. >> larry: but you said, you think you had it worse? >> i did, because, you know, there were other things that other people would approach staff and say, hey, can i do this? and they may say, sure, no problem. and they'd say, with me, can i do this? absolutely not. you know what the rules state. it was a lot tighter, stricter on me. >> larry: did you have a job in prison? >> yeah, i had a little gig. >> larry: what was your job? >> i had a little gig. i kept the compound clean from

about 8:30 on 9:30 in the morning. >> larry: that was your job? >> yeah, i just stood and made sure there wasn't no filth around the compound. >> larry: let's take a call for t.i. detroit, hello. >> caller: hello, t.i., so good to talk to you i'm a big fan of you and lovely toya. yes. >> yes, actually, tamika. toya's not my significant other. >> caller: i'm sorry, tiny. i'm so nervous. real quickly, to avoid breaking the law in the future and also i think that you should mention that when you're incarcerated you do live by a day-by-day. it's not just the year. it's day by day, minute by minute. but how do you plan on protecting yourself and your family now? you know, you make a valid point when it comes to tupac and biggie's deaths. >> well, i think that the biggest, the main thing that i can do to protect myself moving forward in the future is

understand my position. understand that, you know, i can put myself in an environment where it requires for me -- where it may require for knee me to have a hand gun or artillery of that nature. >> larry: you can't do that. >> i'm instantly at a disadvantage right there. if i put myself in that environment, i'm at a disadvantage. so i just stay places where you know i can just be cool and i have security now. >> larry: do you take responsibility for a lot of what happened to you? >> i do. i take full responsibility for everything that happened to me. i'm not -- you know, even though in certain circumstances i was put in, i was considered a victim, but i don't feel like i'm a victim of society or anything else. i'm the first one to say, man, your life is what you make of it. society don't owe me anything, you know. i feel like for me to learn from

my experiences, make necessary adjustments and to move forward is what's required. >> larry: do you ever wonder why you were shot at? do you ever wonder? >> man, to be perfectly honest, i have a pretty good idea. i think it stems from -- it all stems from me being in a certain section of the club that everybody else couldn't get to. and when someone patrons of the club were told that they could not get in that section, they became hostile. and then, you know, kind of just -- >> larry: it was like a vip section? >> yeah, kind of like, i live there too. i got money. why i can't be up there? yada, yada, yada. you know, things led one thing to another. and so we have what happened. >> larry: well, we'll be right back with t.i. on this edition of "larry king live." don't go away. [ female announcer ] breathe right asks... [ woman ] could i ask you to strip on the street?

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♪ what's happening ♪ are you haters to get at me

♪ i hear ya ♪ and i'm watching ♪ but i'm serious ♪ haters so all i've got to say is what up ♪ ♪ and i promise that i put you >> larry: reminder, we're on facebook. check us out. see who's coming up on the show. send questions for our guests. tell us what you think about tonight's show with t.i. by the way, we followed t.i. recently to a juvenile detention center in atlanta, where he's doing work with kids. let's take a look at what you told them. watch. ♪ anytime you want to pick up the telephone ♪ >> right now, we're at the juvenile detention centers in atlanta. i'm about to go in here highlight them on why it is cool to be smart, why they shouldn't be joining gangs, why they should be taking education seriously. to be honest with you man, i've got real talk for you. you can't expect to stay right here in the same spot that you're in and win.

you got to be able to change. you got to be willing to grow. you got to be willing to learn. they don't make you no sucker. it don't make you no sucker. it don't make you lame, it don't make you no chump because you want to grow and you want to make something out of yourself, man. it ain't too late. no mistake that you make is too great for to you bounce back from. if you can put all of this effort, all of this energy, if you could put all of this thought into doing the wrong thing, you can put just as much effort, just as much energy, just as much thought into doing the right thing. you actually have somebody who you know been through it, telling you how not to go through it. but how you receive it is up to you. do i consider myself a gangster to this day? i'm retired. i'm retired. [ applause ]

♪ you can have whatever you like i say you can have whatever you like ♪ >> larry: our guest is the retired gangster, t.i., doing a lot of good work. making amends, as they say. birmingham, alabama. another call for t.i. hello. >> caller: t.i., i really love your music. but more so, i love tamika and what she stands for as a woman. can you express how proud you of her and can we look for any appearances of her on your show "tiny & toya"? >> well, i mean, to be perfectly honest with you, ma'am, how proud i am of her exceeds, you know, any professional accomplishment, i'm proud of her for being the mother of my children. for being the love of my life. you know, what she does professionally, that's just icing on the cake. you know, that's wonderful. i love that she was able to, you

know -- in a lot of ways, use her experiences into the things that she's gone through to shed light on situations that kind of inspire others. you mow what i'm saying. she did a great show, i'm proud of her. i'm proud of her because she is the woman that she is. >> larry: are you getting married? >> you know, larry, i definitely plan on doing that. in my eyes, i'm already married. but i do understand. i do understand. >> larry: the kids. >> absolutely, i mean, the -although i live a very public life, there are some slices of my life that i like to keep personal. >> larry: was she very supportive of what you went through? >> absolutely. very, very, very supportive. >> larry: you needed that, didn't you? >> yeah, yeah, i did. >> larry: do you ever fear you'd go back? >> do i fear i'll go back to what? >> larry: to bad things. >> no, i don't fear that.

absolutely not. there's not a chance for that. i mean, after you've gone through it. although on paper you can say this person has been through jail and guns all his life, yada, yada, yada. but when you actually -- this is the most severe, the most severe, just the most severe encounter with the law that i've ever had. and i'm not -- i'm in a position right now where me being gone a day caused me what me being gone a year or ten years for my life. would have caused me. being away from my children at this point, being away from my mom, my cousins, my uncles, my grandparents, my business, businesses, you know, me being gone, like right now, it's just -- it's just not -- there's

no place in my life for anything like that right now. >> larry: his seventh album is coming in august. it's called "king uncaged." >> yeah. >> larry: what about me, huh? anyway, weird. a sneak peek at t.i.'s new movie. coming up. ♪ ♪ oh yeah >> larry: an iconic figure. he doesn't do a lot of interviews. one of our top requests of all time's finally made it. ♪ when i'm on the street [loud music playing and yelling] with chase sapphire you always get an expert advisor immediately. man: chase sapphire, this is brian. hi, brian. we're on vacation and would love to change hotels. you call. we answer. [faint music playing] problem solved. is the music too loud? ♪ ♪ go to chase.com/sapphire.

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♪ ♪ i'm a bad man ♪ wild ♪ 45 in my other hand ♪ i'm in trouble man ♪ i'm always in trouble man ♪ worth a couple hundred grand >> larry: let's take another call for t.i. atlanta, hello. >> caller: hi, t.i. i am one of your biggest fans. i need a little a little advice because i have a cousin in chicago who is a 20-year-old male and he is accused of murder looking at 40 years. what advice can you give him because, you know, his faith is jaded and he is going through a lot of different things right now. what advice can you give him? >> man, that's tough. but the advice i would give him is always stay positive, always continue to keep your mind

working. never give up. never give up. no matter what, you know, you never know what's going to happen in the future. you never know what new developments in your case may present themselves. you never know. you know, the only way you lose for sure is if you quit. >> larry: our guest is t.i. it is time to meet another terrific hero. we do it every thursday. some might think losing a limb, suffering a major spinal cord injury is the end of the world, for others overcoming a loss is what life is all about. a car accident claimed this man's leg. he is doing with one leg what he used to do with two. he is bringing others along for the ride. >> when i learned to surf, it is amazing. you feel such a powerful connection with the earth and

water. when you become disabled you feel trapped. when i felt the first ride of the wave it was so inspiring. i wanted to share that feeling with others. i'm dana cummings. i started an organization to help people focus on their abilities not disabilities through surfing. we work with people with disabilities. a lot are veterans. we feel the power of the ocean and surfing. >> i got up on the first wave. definitely coming back to do this again. >> we want to give our participants the power and passion for life we have. they have to push themselves to the best of their ability. if we can give them that self-confidence. that is a gift no one can take away from them. >> larry: since 2003 dana cummings and his organization have taught over 300 disabled people how to surf. to nominate someone you think is

changing the world go to cnn.com/heroes. back with more of t.i. after this. allergies? chlor-trimeton. hey, one dose of this, six hour relief. chlor-trimeton relieves itchy, watery eyes and sneezing for 12 full hours with less drowsiness than benadryl. it does all that? chlor-trimeton. less drowsy relief that lasts 12 hours. 0 to 60? or 60 to 0? [ tires screech ] how a car performs in a quarter-mile? [ engine revs ] or a quarter-century? is performance about the joy of driving? or the importance... of surviving. to us, performance is not about doing one thing well. it is about doing everything well. because in the end... everything matters. performance without compromise. that is what drives us.

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just got better. ♪ >> what you want? >> i want what you got, uncle frank. i want to be you. >> same plan as before. 25 to 30 mil.

all the cash we can carry. got to move fast though. >> you say fast, how fast? >> next tuesday. >> hey, i believe in you when you are too stupid to believe in your damn self. >> larry: t.i. has a new movie called "takers." watch a little. >> i got in good with this russian. he had comrades put the arm down on the dispatcher. so the dispatcher to do anything to screw the job up, they are wiping out his whole family in the ukraine down to the sheep dog. >> why should we trust the russians? >> they love their sheep dog. >> larry: who do you play there? >> my character name is ghost. he is part of a very, very upscale, extravagant band of bank robbers.

>> larry: you can't escape it, can you? >> hey, experience. experience. >> larry: by the way, you have a parole officer, right? >> probation officer. >> larry: how often do you have to report to him or her? >> well, you know, the specifics -- i'm on probation. the specifics of my probation i would rather keep that, you know, to myself. >> larry: this is fair. did you need permission to come here? >> yeah. >> larry: to leave where? what state? >> atlanta. >> larry: you need permission to atlanta. you have to report when you get back? >> i said the specifics of my probation i would rather keep to myself. >> larry: you did need permission. >> i did. >> larry: as you look at your life now, we only have a minute left. are you on your way? are you a happy man? >> am i a happy man? they say when you are completely happy, you die. i'm the happiest that i've ever

been. i think that right now since i have gotten out of this situation this is the first time i have actually taken advantage of and actually been able to enjoy the fruits of my labor. >> larry: want to rap a little. >> rap a little. >> larry: you have 45 seconds. >> we've been rapping for an hour. >> larry: we've been rapping for an hour. say something? >> no. i don't do that. >> larry: aging jewish guy writes rap songs. >> how about this, whatever you would like for a song to be written for you, just come holler at me. >> larry: all right. i'm hollering. >> all right. cool. right after this we go to the studio and knock something out. >> larry: it will be a companion to king unchanged. >> absolutely. take it easy. >> larry: take it sy