T.I. Plans Return in Final Prison Letter, Talks Nietzsche

Weeks before his scheduled release from an Arkansas prison, T.I. has put pen to paper -- not to compose rhymes, but to write an impassioned letter he posted today (Aug. 16) on his website. In what he calls his final dispatch from the Forrest City Federal Correctional Complex, the Atlanta rapper thanks fans for years of support and promises that, come Sept. 29, he's recommitting himself to hip-hop.

"Next time you hear from me I'll be back out there with you," writes the MC born Clifford Harris, Jr., who was sentenced in October to 11 months in prison following a parole-violating drug arrest in Los Angeles. "Doing for those who can't do for themselves and speaking for those whose voices are never heard. When I touch down, I'm going all the way back to square one, like I'm fresh in the game and never sold a record."

While in the clink, T.I. details, he took inspiration from words he thought were Tupac's but later learned had come from the 19th century German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche: "To live is to suffer and to survive is to find meaning in that suffering."

"When I heard Pac say that it was just some hard s--- to hear your favorite rapper say before he kicked a verse," T.I. writes. "Now that I've gone through it and grown from it those words have a real true meaning to me. I know this won't be my last battle with adversity but it has truly prepared me for whatever else may come in the future."

As fans await the follow-up to T.I.'s last album, 2010's 'No Mercy,' they can check out the single 'We Don't Get Down Like Y'all,' which dropped digitally in June.