Atlanta police got unexpected help talking a suicidal man down from a skyscraper on Wednesday when rapper T.I. showed up.

Officer James Polite says the hip-hop star joined the crowd outside the 22-story office building in midtown Wednesday and told officers he wanted to help. Police said the man agreed to come down in exchange for a few minutes face-to-face with T.I., whose real name is Clifford Harris.

“I told him it ain't that bad. It'll get better, to put the time and effort into making it better,” T.I. said in a phone interview. “I just reminded him know that I know. It looks bad right now, but it can turn around.”

T.I. said he heard about the situation on the radio and drove to the building to help. He recorded a video of himself on a cell phone and rescue workers took it to the man to prove the rapper was really there.

The Atlanta native said the man seemed to be “beat up by life.”

The suicidal man, whose name wasn't released, was taken to a hospital.

The good deed follows recent legal trouble for the rapper, who is due in court Friday for a parole hearing after being arrested on suspicion of drug offenses last month in Los Angeles. He's on supervised release

First Published October 14, 2010, 11:48 p.m.