T.I. says his early morning arrest was completely B.S. and believes he got locked up by white police officers for being an affluent African-American celebrity.

The Blast just spoke with Tip minutes after he was released from custody in Georgia, and he says the entire argument was with a security guard outside of his gated community while returning from the studio and started because the dude was allegedly asleep in the guard shack.

T.I. says he called out the guard for sleeping on the job and an argument ensued between the two. He says it was a "very heated debate," but nothing ever became physical. He says the guard eventually called the police, but says the law enforcement near his home are "white cops in a very white area," and he was promptly arrested.

The artist tells us the security guard involved in the argument is black, which added to the frustration of the situation. He says he gave the guard "every opportunity" to apologize for sleeping, but the guy refused.

T.I. is adamant that the guard was the aggressor and "antagonized" him. He says he demanded the guard's name, but the guy refused.



Henry County Police Department

As for the assault charge, T.I. says he "may have been hurt by my words," but says he never laid a hand on the guy.

We're told T.I. plans on pursuing legal action against his HOA for the incident with the guard.

As we reported, he was charged with simple assault, disorderly conduct and public drunkenness. T.I. believes when the truth comes out, the charges will be dropped.

Wednesday after he bailed out, T.I. was able to spend some time with his family and celebrate his son Major's 10th birthday.

T.I.'s attorney has now released a statement on behalf of the hip-hop star, reiterating The Blast's interview with Tip that he believes he was wrongly arrested: