In this week's T.I. And Tiny: Friends And Family Hustle episode, LeToya looks to expand her family, Tiny ditches Ryder for her first show, Tip gives back to the community, and Niq Niq and Nae start their very own babysitter's club. Read last week's recap here.
Warning: Spoilers ahead.
LeToya Looks Ahead
After splitting her time between Atlanta and Houston to support husband Tommi as he deals with his mother's rapidly declining health, LeToya gets a wakeup call about what's really important in life. Realizing that no one is promised tomorrow, LeToya makes an effort to spend more time with her own mother and to focus on her own small family with husband Tommi and daughter Gigi. "It gets you thinking," says LeToya, attempting to process the changes swirling around her. "Tommi and I are now like, 'Yo, we gotta make sure that we're living a healthy lifestyle, making sure that we take advantage of the time that we spend with our family."
With her mother by her side, LeToya then drops the news that she and Tommi and ready to give Gigi a sibling, but that a natural pregnancy and delivery may not be the best route to accomplish that goal. "I never thought I would have to have this conversation or even consider surrogacy or adoption, but I love kids and I want to have a big family of my own," says Toya, weighing her options after considering her previous pregnancy and delivery complications.
Inspired by the conversation with her mother, LeToya then consults an OBGYN to weigh her options. With her previous postpartum hemorrhage likely to repeat itself, surrogacy is looking like a more viable option than ever before.
With this big debut performance on the horizon, Tiny's general manager arranges a listening session for a number of journalists and music critics. Thankfully, LeToya comes through for Tiny and shows up to the listening session in order to lend some moral support. Thankfully, the feedback on Tiny/Ryder's new EP is nothing but positive. "I really got great feedback from the press and I'm more excited about my solo project than ever but I'm conflicted whether to release as Ryder, or Tiny...so I think I gotta think about this some more," says Tiny, now considering what persona to use to branch out on her own.
Ultimately, Tiny decides to ditch Ryder for the first show--a decision that Tip is more than happy to back up, considering the fact that he was never behind his wife introducing her bedroom alter ego to the public.
Tip Gives Back
As Messiah gets ready to enter the music industry as a producer, Tip takes it upon himself to remind his son that with great reward comes great responsibility. Stressing the importance of giving back to the community, Tip brings Messiah along to a meeting aimed at determining ways to better the Center Hill and Baker roadblocks, which happen to be the rapper's old pre-fame stomping grounds. Ready to give back, Messiah takes over the community betterment planning and agrees to gather a group together in order to complete their "Adopt A Block" project.
True to his word, Messiah comes through and gets the gang together to help clean up a block in Tip's old neighborhood. Toya, LeToya, Tiny, Tip and the kids put their back into it and sweep the block to its former glory. "It feels good to see all my kids out here cleaning up for the cause," says Tiny, proud of her family and friends' joint effort. "We all came together as one big family and friends...I like to call us 'framiliy' and I'm really thankful that we're all in positions in our life that we can give back to the community in this way."
Reginae Moves Back Home
With the lease up on her apartment and her new home search still ongoing, Reginae bites the bullet and moves back in with Toya. Stressed out about moving back in with her mother, Reginae reminds Toya that she's homeless. Not on-the-streets homeless, of course, but definitely "without a home." Unsurprisingly, Toya is more than excited to have her daughter back under her roof and gets busy planning movie nights and girl time - all while Nae stresses about how long she's gonna be stuck without her own crib.
However, after Toya reminds her daughter that she's going to have a move a little different while not in her own space and be respectful of her temporary home, Nae trips up and spots a potential problem. "Actually, that's a problem," says Nae. "Cuz I wanna be free and just be loud if I want, step if I want." After then revealing that she's ready to invite boyfriend Lucci over to her mom's house, Toya playfully excuses herself out of the room and reminds her daughter that there are rules to follow, and if she refuses--she's out "like a cat."
Niq & Nae's Babysitting Club
With Nae now in the house, Toya decides to take her new live-in-babysitter for a test drive by leaving her daughter Reign in the care of her half-sister. Making it a full playdate, Niq pops by with Heiress in tow and the two settle in for some wholesome family fun. In no time at all, Nae throws Toya's "no phones while babysitting" rule out of the window and she and Niq Niq hop on Instagram Live to crowdsource some ideas for their newly-founded Youtube channel.
Ever the watchful parent, Toya quickly busts up their live stream from afar with a FaceTime call and drags Nae over the coals for spending time on her phone instead of keeping an eye on her sister. With Reign crying in the background and putting slime in her mouth during the live stream, Nae reconsiders what it would really take to live day-in, day-out with her mother now that she is an adult. "I love babysitting my sister but after today's adventure I think it's best for me to find my own home," says Nae. "Before my mom kicks me out,"
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Church Is In Session
Looking to get down with some praise and worship with her girls, Monica invites LeToya, Toya and Tiny to her stepfather's church for his first post-chemo sermon. Each carrying burdens of their own, Toya and Monica "let go and let God" in Pa's house of worship and are moved to tears by his message focused on finding beauty in one's own personal imperfections.
"Monica's stepdad's sermon really struck a chord with me," says a teary Toya. "There's a lot of good things in my life and I need to stop focusing on the negative. I need to start embracing the good stuff." As Toya says, the ladies that pray together...stay together.
Read the recap for Part Two right here!