Family Hustle patriarch T.I. gave a touching eulogy to the packed pews at the funeral of his Grand Hustle signee Doe B this Saturday (Jan. 4).

"I'm up here to celebrate the life of a young man whose path I crossed a little over a year ago," Tip said, after taking the pulpit at the True Divine Baptist Church in Montgomery, Ala. "I admired Doe because, as a young man at the age that he was, he always presented himself to be more mature."

Doe B, born Glenn Thomas, was tragically gunned down at a local restaurant/performance venue just before the new year in an incident that has also claimed the lives of Kimberle Johnson, 21, and Tim Hamilton, 20, reports HipHopDX. Thomas was just 22 years old.

"It's very rare that you could find somebody at the age of 20 or 21, and sit them down in front of somebody they aspire to be like, and they are as composed and poised and postured and looking eye to eye with this person. It's very rare that you find somebody at the age of 20 or 21 and you could walk them into the room with a Nelly, or you could walk them into a room with a Timbaland or Jay Z, and they not lose their cool, they’re composed, postured, with the morals, standards, and the principles that were instilled in him from his family, his mom, his dad, grandmama, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles ... I saw that in him day one, off top, and that is what drew me to him even more so beyond the music."

Tip spoke for several minutes, adding that Thomas continues to inspire him, "Over here, a lot of people look at us like a record family. A lot of people look at us like an entertainment house. [But] to be honest with you, we a family, this is a family business, so I want everybody to know that, one thing I will never do, I will never let this hard man's hard work go to waste. I'll never let his work go to waste, I'll never let his life be lived in vain."

In the wake of Thomas's shocking Dec. 28 death, musical tributes have also surfaced. DJ MLK released "Flying With Angels (RIP Doe B) featuring T.I. and Doe B, and Pastor Troy released "Y'all Ain't Do Him Right (Doe B Tribute)." 

Two men, Jason McWilliams and Darius Thomas, both 25, have turned themselves in for the shootings, and have been charged with murder. The venue has been shut down permanently.

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