Studio Press

Rap star T.I. was sentenced in Atlanta federal court Friday to one year and one day in prison and ordered to pay a $100,300 fine on weapons charges related to purchasing machine guns and silencers.

The rapper, whose real name is Clifford Harris, reached the terms of the sentence in a plea agreement with prosecutors last year.

"I would like to say thank you to some, and apologize to others," Harris said at his sentencing.

"In my life, I have been placed in the worst-case scenario and had to make the best of it," he said. "Most often, things I have learned have been from trial and error. I knew no way to protect myself than to arm myself."

He was dressed in a gray suit and black shirt and tie.

Harris, 28, also was sentenced to some property forfeiture, supervised release for three years after his prison sentence, 365 days of home confinement and 1,500 hours of community service. He has already served 305 days of home confinement and 1,030 hours of service.

He also must undergo DNA testing and drug counseling, cannot own firearms and must submit to reasonable searches and a financial audit.

"We are very pleased with the result in this case," U.S. Attorney David E. Nahmias said. "Mr. Harris has received a significant penalty for the serious firearms offenses he committed. ...

"His prison sentence was reduced from what it might have been, but the public got something very significant in exchange: the extensive and unique community service program that Mr. Harris committed to doing when he pleaded guilty.

"By all accounts, his community service has been a remarkable success -- it certainly exceeded our expectations -- and there is still more to come when he gets out of prison."

Former Atlanta Mayor and U.N. Ambassador Andrew Young spoke on behalf of Harris, comparing black-on-black violence to the Ku Klux Klan decades ago. Young said he regarded working with Harris not so much as a chance to help him but more as "an opportunity for him to help me."

"We hit it off immediately," Young said. "It was a grandfather type of relationship."

Bishop Eddie Long of the New Birth Baptist Church also spoke in support of Harris.

Harris will be taken into custody no earlier than May 19.

The plea agreement, which federal authorities called unique, allowed the rapper to remain out of prison for a year while he performed community service.