Rapper T.I. back to prison for violation

Grammy-winning rapper T.I. was sent back to federal prison after corrections officials discovered a manager and a TV producer were traveling with him on a luxury bus as he transferred to a halfway house in Georgia, according to documents obtained Thursday by The Associated Press.

The two were not authorized to travel or conduct business with T.I., whose real name is Clifford Harris, during the 375-mile journey from the Arkansas federal prison, the Department of Justice incident report said. It said T.I. indicated he was discussing a new reality series and book with the individuals but said he wasn't being interviewed.

T.I. was traveling last week after being released a month early from serving a sentence for violating probation, and a VH1 reality show and book deal were announced within hours of his release.

Attorney Steve Sadow said the rapper didn't violate prison rules because those deals already were finalized.

"There wasn't any business to conduct," he said. "These were just two people riding back with him." The Bureau of Prisons declined to comment. The performer remains in federal custody.

T.I. made the trip from Arkansas to Atlanta with his wife, Tameka Cottle Harris, manager Brian Sher and producer Cris Abrego, the co-president of 51 Minds Entertainment, a company that specializes in reality TV shows, according to letters provided to the AP.

Sher and Abrego said in letters sent to Bureau of Prisons officials that they had visited with T.I. a few times before his release and that no business was conducted during the ride to Atlanta.