Fans were shocked when T.I. was arrested on drug possession charges this past September.

Initial reports stated that Tip was booked after cops found marijuana in his Maybach, but updates revealed that the king of the south was in possession of codeine and ecstasy pills.

During his sentencing in late October, the rapper pleaded for the judge to keep him out of jail so that he could get treatment for his drug habit. Days before reporting back to Arkansas Forest City prison, Tip sat down with Vibe magazine and explained how he began using drugs.

"I had a lot of work done to my teeth," T.I. told Vibe. "Oral surgery, extractions, six, seven, eight root canals. Between January to February. As soon as I got out, I had a lot of stuff done. In the joint, you eat shit that is unhealthy for you. I had fillings that fell out and stuff that had to get dealt with."

"Of course for the pain they gave me oxycontin and hydrocodone," he continued. "And, mind you, on October 13, 2007, I had cut off everything―weed, alcohol. Then I get these pills and I start taking them for the pain at first. And then I’m like, Wait―this shit makes me feel good. And it’s legal. After the pain went away, I kept taking it. I had like five, six prescriptions. So I had, like 80 pills. Everybody else might have a drink or smoke a blunt, I took a pain pill. Times when I had 18-, 20-hour days, I’d take a pain pill. And eventually I developed―I guess―the beginning stages of dependence."

Tip also shared that he spoke to Eminem about his drug problem. Em recently went through his own bout with addiction to pills and eventually kicked his habit. He's been sober for some time now.

"I asked him how he knew he was an addict," T.I. said. "Basically if you put yourself in harm’s way… if you risk that, you’ve got to assume that there is something fundamentally wrong with your thought process."