Prince Williams/ATLPics.net
Rapper Tip "T.I." Harris felt "exploited" when he and his long-suffering wife Tameka Harris attended Kanye West's Sunday Service at the invitation of mega church leader Jamal Bryant.
T.I. explained what was going through his mind in the photo below as he attended Kanye's Sunday service at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta last weekend.
The "I'm Serious" rapper captioned the image, "Yeaaahhh Maaaan We MUST discuss what caused this look on my face in Sunday Service...."
T.I. said he was offended by the church shaking him down for a generous tithe before the service.
"When we sat down there was a whole new agenda. It was like they rung the red bell at the Player's Club," T.I. said, referring to the hit movie starring the late comedian Bernie Mac, and actors Jamie Foxx and LisaRaye.
“It's not that I have [anything] against pastors or against preachers so-to-speak. It's just I've been raised in the trenches and I was taught to peep game. You ain't [about to] run no game on me. I will not be extorted."
T.I.'s statement prompted Byrant to deny the allegations. In short, Bryant claims he nor his church put pressure on the rappers to open their wallets and tithe to the church.
"I don't want Sunday to be used as further ammunition as to why people don’t go to church without them knowing at this same church we gave 5000 pairs of new back to school shoes to kids of #Atlanta, or that we spearheaded 9 million campaign to support @bennett_college , or that we bailed out nonviolent offenders or that we partnered with @delta to send 4 cargo to #Bahamas for hurricane release or that we’ve partnered with @_hamptonu to place 95 displaced students or that we fed the furloughed workers for two weeks while the government was shut down or that we went into housing projects to feed kids of #dekalb county during spring break. For none of these projects were you solicited for a donation."
