Rapper T.I. pens open letter to Barack Obama

T.I. said that the letters are meant to be "a voice for the people who may be thinking of something to say but, for some reason, may not be able to say it" and a way for him to use his celebrity platform "to be a voice for those who can't speak for themselves."

In a letter published Friday by The New York Times, T.I. wrote directly to Obama, saying he was "filled with gratitude, outrage, grief, anger, humility and appreciation, both for the things (the president) helped bring to light and the many things (Americans) still have yet to realize."

"You entered humbly into our worlds from the streets of the South Side of Chicago and galvanized a generation," T.I. wrote. "You resonated from the barbershops to the airwaves to the streets of every hood across America. Many of US did not know your name, nor did we truly understand the impact you would have on the world in the years, months and days that followed.

"For years you fought to keep this nation from the very thing we have now become.

"For years, many of us failed you because, as I've said before, we were not all ready for the change you wanted to bring about.

"But rest assured that we heard you. Rest assured that we felt you and rest assured that your legacy will live on long after your presidency."

T.I. went on to say that Obama "defined a culture" and "shook up and woke up a generation," in part by demonstrating that "whatever color your skin is, you don't have to be a white man to be president."

"As you transition out of office, we continue to watch you carry out your final agenda with precision, integrity and purpose," he wrote. "That is what we will remember as signature Obama."

Read more at The New York Times.