![T.I. wants to help a rapper in need. [Image via WikiCommons]](https://staticr1.blastingcdn.com/media/photogallery/2018/6/4/660x290/b_502x220x82/ti-wants-to-help-a-rapper-in-need-image-via-wikicommons_2023509.jpg "T.I. wants to help a rapper in need. [Image via WikiCommons]")
Hip-hop star T.I. has been making headlines lately for a variety of issues and confrontations. Among those was his calling up Kanye West to engage in a discussion after West made controversial remarks about slavery and was tweeting about his support of Donald Trump. The Atlanta-based rapper has also been trying to get Showtime to set up a boxing match between him and his rival, boxer Floyd Mayweather, Jr., but that has yet to happen. Most recently, a report from Hip Hop Overload suggested that T.I decided to get involved in providing rapper Tay-K with some help for his legal defense based on a meme that's been circulating.
Tay-K's situation
Tay-K, real name Taymor McIntyre, is currently 17 years old and awaiting his sentence for an aggravated robbery and two capital murder charges that occurred in the past few years. He's currently facing the death penalty in the state of Texas for one of his charges, a 2016 murder in which he was tried as an adult.
However, the flip side of that is the fact that Dimitrios Pagourtzis, the 17-year-old responsible for the Santa Fe school shooting last month, has a different sentence. Despite numerous capital murders and the aggravated assault of a public servant, Pagourtzis is not facing the death penalty. Instead, he's looking at 40 years in prison with parole possible after that.
T.I. helping Tay-K's legal defense
That's where T.I. (real name Clifford Harris) comes into the story, as he feels the discrepancy in the two different sentences is unjustified and a "double standard." Basically, T.I. feels it boils down to a "black vs. white" issue where one of the two minors isn't facing the death penalty despite his heinous crime and the number of lives that Pagourtzis took.
In an Instagram post, T.I. mentioned that the "same standards" need to be applied to all Americans, "no matter the color of their skin." He mentioned that there has yet to be a conviction in either of the two minors' cases, but that one of them was arrested on the scene of a school shooting (Pagourtzis), while McIntyre was arrested with not much physical evidence and just "word of mouth.
Instagram users react to 'fake meme'
As of this report the hip-hop star's Instagram post about the two minors facing charges has received over 14,000 comments. There are a number of people calling out T.I. for a fake meme to generate controversy. Some are suggesting that it's impossible for Taymor "Tay-K" McIntyre to face the death penalty in Texas.
Other commenters are going so far as to call T.I. "racist" for his comments on the Instagram photo. At the very least, one can say that maybe T.I.'s Instagram post is getting more discussion going regarding race issues that still affect America today.
Complex shed some light on the whole situation, reporting that Tay-K's manager has since said that his client is not facing the death penalty under Texas law, and can't, due to a previous court ruling.
He will effectively face the same sentence as Pagourtzis with the possibility of parole in 40 years if he's convicted.
Whether or not you agree with T.I.'s Instagram post, it has at least stirred up the conversation a bit, although it's doing so with a non-existent comparison that could fuel some heated exchanges online.
