Last month, shots were fired at New York City’s Irving Plaza, occurring ahead of T.I.’s scheduled performance (May 25).

Since then, the saga that followed led to the arrest of rapper Troy Ave, who yesterday (June 20) dodged a murder charge but is still is facing five felony charges as a result of his involvement in the unfortunate violent incident.

For the first time since the shooting went down, T.I. recently spoke with TMZ, doing what he could to keep his personal views about the criminal case private.

“I ain’t gon’ get into no discussion about any details of any criminal case for anybody,” Tip told TMZ. “That’s what lawyers are for.”

“Me, myself, I’ve got a lot of love for Troy, and I just think he has enormous potential,” the rapper continued. “He has his own relationship with God. All you gotta do is keep God first, and you can pull through it. Sometimes there are things that involve situations that go beyond what the eye can see. So for things like that, you’ve gotta step out on faith. And him being able to do that — hopefully that will make the difference.”

Wise words from someone who also has been convicted of felonies in the past and worked through it. Hopefully Troy will take his advice and keep his faith as he navigates the uncharted waters ahead.

Check out T.I.’s full commentary in the video clip below.