T.I.’s Short Film ‘Us or Else’ Debuts Tonight on BET

T.I. addresses police brutality in the debut of his new short film titled Us or Else on BET tonight (April 24) at 11 p.m. EST.

The Atlanta native stars as three different characters in the community – a pastor, a police officer and a hustler – who all deal with an unexpected death of a young black man in the neighborhood in their own way.

Following the premiere, T.I. and CNN political commentator Angela Rye will have a discussion about police brutality and gun violence. T.I. also spoke on the topic in an interview with CNN ahead of Us or Else’s premiere.

“Police brutality is really just a tentacle to a larger problem — the racial divide and the systemic racism that goes on from the highest of highs to the lowest of the low of society in America,” T.I. told CNN.

The film is part of Tip’s “Us or Else” movement he started with his Us or Else EP released in September 2016 followed by a full-length album Us or Else: Letter to the System released exclusively on Tidal in December.

On tomorrow (April 25) at 9pm on BET Jams and BET Soul, Rye will moderate a panel discussion with a diverse group to include Tip and community thought-leaders including: one of the most socially-aware rappers, Talib Kweli; Cleveland police officer Nakia Jones whose emotional Facebook post went viral after the shooting death of Alton Sterling; activist and co-founder of the police reform project Campaign Zero Brittany Packnett; activist and co-chair of the Women’s March on Washington, Tamika Mallory; Pastor Eric Mason a/k/a “Pastor E” from the Epiphany Fellowship in Philadelphia, PA and Mt. Vernon, New York Mayor Richard Thomas.