"This is what you call Down to Earth" — Internet reacts to T.I.’s son Buddy Red giving free live performance for the public in Atlanta

On Monday, April 21, @ArtOfDialogue_ posted a video clip of Buddy Red, the guitarist and son of rapper T.I., who was giving a free live performance for the public on the streetside along the Atlanta BeltLine.

The video, seemingly taken from an Instagram story, also featured a caption that read:

"You know it's a good day in ATL when you catch @BuddyRed on the beltline"

The video clip of Buddy Red, born Messiah Harris, has since gone viral, receiving more than 117K views and 4K likes within hours of uploading. Netizens have been reacting to it, with one of them commenting:

"This is what you call Down to Earth. Respect"

Some netizens praised Buddy Red for doing "his own thing," while others mentioned how he appeared to have a genuine love for music.

"I like this kid. Just does his own thing," commented an X user.

"If his kids didn’t go hyper corporate entrpreneur out the womb this was the second most likely outcome,"added another.

"You can tell he really got a love for music" wrote a third netizen.

"One thing about @Tip he raised some extremely talented children!" posted a fourth one.

Red's talent as a guitarist was also widely praised in the comments section.

"I want to see more young Black Americans playing the blues. Good stuff," added another.

"He's very talented!," commented a sixth one.

"Wow, talented young brotha… Love a good lil bluesy jam session! :)," added a seventh user.

Red is T.I.'s oldest son, whom the rapper shares with his former girlfriend, Lashon Dixon.

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Buddy Red opened up about his motivation behind becoming a Blues and Rock artist on a talk show

Buddy Red's viral clip, where he is performing live for free for the general public in Atlanta, comes months after the artist appeared as a guest on the Atlanta talk show, Portia (on February 24, 2025).

Talking to Portia Bruner (the host), Buddy Red revealed that he had wanted to step out of T.I.'s shadow since his days on the VH1 reality show, T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle.

Harris also shared that he first picked up a guitar in 2018 after being motivated by Bohemian Rhapsody, Freddie Mercury's biopic, saying:

“Down in the dumps, I went to the movies one day, and I saw this movie called ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’—the movie about Queen and Freddie Mercury."

Red, who was only 18 at the time, continued to detail the movie's impact on his musical journey, adding:

"When I saw that movie, I didn’t even know what it was about, but once the music began and I discovered for myself classic rock and roll, I forgot all about producing for the most part, and I said, I want to be on the stage, and I want to do that."

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Buddy Red's decision to become a Rock and Blues artist was also supported by his father. Red mentioned that he wanted to represent a version of T.I. who "didn't have to do the things that he had to do growing up".