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Rapper T.I. is drawing attention again for all the wrong reasons. On the newest episode of his ExpediTIously podcast, he referred to the act of spending time with his daughters as “thot prevention hours.” The conversation was a part of a larger discussion on parenting he had with fellow rapper 21 Savage.
In a clip of the podcast’s recording shared by The Shade Room, T.I. says “Lil Duval call it ‘thot prevention hours’ — you’ve got to put in them thot prevention hours. Keep your daughter off the pole! You know what I’m saying? You’re spending time, going to daddy-daughter dances, taking them on trips where it’s just you and her, those are thot prevention hours that you are putting in. You got to do that, if you don’t do that, you’re going to be somewhere at Magic City man, you know what I’m saying? Trying to figure it out. So, that is absolutely necessary, for any father…”
This isn’t the first time T.I. has shared his problematic, misogynistic parenting techniques for his daughters with the world. In late 2019, the rapper shared that he had been accompanying Deyjah, who was 18 years old at the time, to the gynecologist to “check her hymen” and ensure she was still a virgin.
Emphasizing the importance of fathers spending time with their daughters is an important conversation to be had, and it’s important for Black men with a platform to speak on that message. That being said, to promote the outdated generalization that absentee fathers and daddy issues are what lead women to work at strip clubs is wrong. Every woman, including T.I.’s daughters, has the right to their own bodies and can choose for themselves how they want to use them.
Fathers should be spending time with their kids for the simple fact of it being quality time and getting to know their children for who they are. T.I. is always quick to go on a public platform to talk about the time he spends with his daughters and all the efforts he makes to keep them from being sexualized. The unfortunate thing is that when he publicly embarrasses them and brings their sexual autonomy into the limelight, he is the one sexualizing them the most.
