T.I.

This article is about the rapper. For other uses, see TI.

T.I.

Clifford Joseph Harris, Jr. (born September 25, 1980), better known by his stage name T.I., and also by his alter ego T.I.P., is an American rapper, songwriter, actor, record, philanthropist, and executive producer as well as the co-CEO of Grand Hustle Records.

Background

T.I. was born in Atlanta, Georgia. He grew up in the Bankhead neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia, the son of Violetta Morgan and Clifford Harris Sr. His original stage name, T.I.P., stems from his childhood nickname "Tip", which he got from his grandfather. T.I. was first exposed to hip-hop at the age of seven, and by the time he was 11 he had decided to pursue a career in rap seriously; he signed his first record deal at age 19.

Due to his Southern drawl, many fans mistook his name for "Chip", so he began spelling it out "T.I.P". Upon signing with Arista Records subsidiary LaFace Records in 2001, he shortened his name to T.I. out of respect for label mate Q-Tip.

He is also known to go by "Rubberband Man" and the self-proclaimed "King of the South" (which has created several cases of controversy between other southern rappers, such as Lil' Flip and Ludacris). T.I. wrote about 30% percent of Bow Wow's third album Unleashed as well the third verse and chorus to "Let's Get Down". He has written lyrics for other artists such as Diddy and Trina.

T.I. is known for his rapid-fire delivery of lyrics. There has been some noticeable change in the way he delivers his lyrics throughout his career. Earlier on, he flowed in a slow-like, southern fashion which can be heard in songs like "I'm Serious", "24's" and "Never Scared". In the second era of his career, he sounded more relaxed and laid back (ex. "Bring Em Out", "Soldier", "What You Know", "U Don't Know Me" & "ASAP"). Later on in his career, his flow went from a slow and drowsy effect (ex. "Top Back" and "Drive Slow") to a faster flow which can be heard in "We Takin Over", Touch, "My Love", "Make It Rain Remix" and "I'm a Flirt remix".

Music career

I'm Serious

His debut album I'm Serious was released on October 9 2001 through Arista Records, which spawned the single of the same title which featured reggae vocalist Beenie Man. His debut album included Pharrell Williams of The Neptunes (who named him the Jay-Z of the south), Jazze Pha, and Youngbloodz. Production was by The Neptunes, DJ Toomp, and The Grand Hustle Team. However, the album did not sell very well, and he was dropped from the label. The album sold 268,000 copies.

T.I. released the first single "I'm Serious" with Beenie Man. The single had little airplay and failed to meet the charts. The label would not release another single or video for the album, so T.I. created a video for "Dope Boyz", which had not a video nor single released, but can be seen on YouTube.

He released several mixtapes with the assistance of DJ Drama, which created an underground buzz. He resurfaced in the summer of 2003 on Bonecrusher's song "Neva Scared". He parlayed this attention towards the release of his second album, Trap Muzik.

Trap Muzik

T.I. released Trap Muzik in the summer 2003 and it debuted at #4 and sold 193,000 copies in its first week. It was more of a success than his debut album because of the singles "24's", "Be Easy", "Rubberband Man", and "Let's Get Away". The album featured guest appearances by Eightball & MJG, Jazze Pha, Bun B, & Macboney and producers include Jazze Pha, Kanye West, David Banner, & DJ Toomp. The success of the album was followed by some controversy; while on tour, T.I. was charged with violating his probation over a 2003 drug charge, and turned himself in. He was sentenced to three years in prison. While there, he was granted rights to film the music video for "Let's Get Away". Trap Muzik was released through Grand Hustle Records and sold over 1 million copies in the U.S. and was certified Platinum.

Urban Legend

T.I. released his third album Urban Legend in late 2004. '

His 3rd single "A.S.A.P" reached #75 on the U.S. charts, #18 on the U.S. R&B charts, #14 on the Rap charts, and #35 on the U.K. singles chart. T.I. created a video for "ASAP"/"Motivation". However, "Motivation" appeared on the U.S. R&B singles chart, but not on the other charts like "A.S.A.P".

In 2006, T.I. received two Grammy Award nominations: Best Song Collaboration ("Soldier" w/ Destiny's Child & Lil Wayne) and Best Rap Solo Performance for "U Don't Know Me" at The 48th Annual Grammy Awards.

King

His fourth album, King debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart in the first half of 2006, selling 522,000 copies in its first week. It became Atlantic Records' best-selling album in 15 years. T.I. released his promo-singles "Front Back" and "Ride With Me" before the album's release date. The singles had small attention, but it helped promote the album and his debut movie ATL. The album also included other singles, "What You Know", "Why You Wanna", "Live In The Sky", and "Top Back". KING has earned numerous awards and nominations including a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Album.

What You Know won for "Best Rap Solo Performance" and was nominated for Best Rap Song at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards.

T.I. collaborated with Justin Timberlake for My Love which proved to be a worldwide hit. It earned him a Grammy Award for Best Collaboration with Justin Timberlake at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards.

T.I. vs. T.I.P.

T.I. is done working on his fifth album T.I. vs. T.I.P.. The album was released on July 2007 and it was released a day earlier in United Kingdom.

The first (street) single off the album was "Big Things Poppin' (Do It)" which was produced by Mannie Fresh. The single was released to radio stations on April 17.

T.I. released his second single "You Know What It Is" featuring Wyclef Jean on June 12th, 2007.

T.I. vs. T.I.P. shifted 468,000 units in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan, and debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. The Grand Hustle/Atlantic set is T.I.'s second chart-topper in the past year-and-a-half; King opened at number one on the Billboard 200 with 522,000 copies in late March 2006. The album included guests by Jay-Z, Busta Rhymes, Wyclef Jean, Nelly, and Eminem with productions by Eminem, Jeff Bass, Mannie Fresh, Grand Hustle, The Runners, Just Blaze, Wyclef Jean and Danja. This is his first album without production by long time producer DJ Toomp.

On October 3 2007, T.I. released his third single, "Hurt", featuring Busta Rhymes. This song is produced by Danja.

Paper Trail

T.I. has confirmed through one of his representatives that he is working on a new studio album while being under house arrest pending his gun charges. He has completed 6 tracks for the album already. The album will be titled Paper Trail, which comes from lyrics he has written down on paper. Like many other rappers, such as Lil' Wayne, T.I. abandoned this style of rapping after his debut album I'm Serious by just memorizing lyrics. "He wanted to take more time to really put something down (this time)," explains his rep. The album is expected about September 2008.

Other music projects

P$C

Main article: P$C

T.I. is also the leader of the southern rap group P$C. P$C are a group of artists who started in the music industry performing back-up functions for successful southern rapper T.I. The letters "P$C" are an acronym for "Pimp Squad Click," the name given to them and referenced by T.I. in many of his songs, to which the P$C often contribute.

On September 20 2005, the Pimp Squad Click released its own full-length album entitled 25 to Life on Atlantic Records.

Other ventures

Grand Hustle Records

Further information: Grand Hustle Records

T.I. formed Grand Hustle Records (distributed by Atlantic Records) in 2003 with his manager Jason Geter after being dropped by Arista Records.

Acting career

In Spring 2006, T.I. starred in his first film, ATL. The other cast members included Lauren London, Andre Patton, Evan Ross, Mykelti Williamson, Jason Weaver, and Keith David. The movie was written by Tina Gordon Chism and Antwone Fisher, produced by Timothy M. Bourne, Tionne Watkins, and Will Smith, and directed by Christopher Robinson. T.I. played the character Rashad Swann, an orphaned 17-year-old senior in high school. He grew up on the southside of Atlanta. He lives with his uncle and has a younger brother named Ant. In its opening weekend, the film grossed a total of $11.5 million, ranking third in the United States box office, and went on to gross $21.2 million nationwide.

T.I. also appeared in American Gangster with fellow rappers Common and RZA. and was featured on the soundtrack.

According to HHNLive.com T.I. revealed that he is launching Grand Hustle Films. The first project from the movie division of his Grand Hustle brand is titled "Once Was Lost". T.I. will star in the film alongside veteran Hollywood actor Danny Glover, who will also act as producer. Shooting is expected to begin in October 2008.

Producing

T.I was co-executive producer of B.G.'s upcoming album and making beats for artists like Mariah Carey, Cassidy, Rick Ross, Yung Joc, Young Dro, and himself. He also executive produced the soundtrack to the film Hustle & Flow and released the collection through his record label.

Executive TV Producing

Late 2007, T.I. linked up with Los Angeles based production company 828 Entertainment to executive produce a new reality show titled "Life On Mars" which chronicles the life of young prodigy music producer LaMar "MARS" Edwards. T.I. partnered 828 Entertainment with his company Grand Hustle Records to produce a slate of both television and film projects.

Lil' Flip

He was also engaged in a high-profile battle with Houston rapper Lil' Flip, who he heard insulted him on stage at a concert in Atlanta while he was incarcerated. T.I. believed that Flip mocked his claim as the "King of the South". Apparently, T.I. only learned of the alleged insult through a friend of T.I.'s girlfriend. T.I. says he heard from several sources, and even has a tape, of Flip insulting him at a few Atlanta concerts. Flip's alleged treason supposedly happened when T.I. was locked away in jail in spring. Lil' Flip is said to have asked different audiences who the king of the South was before telling the crowd to inform hometown hero T.I. that "the game was over." T.I. says he heard this was followed by the Houston rapper performing "Game Over."

The members of his clique were holding up old publicity shots of Lil' Flip dressed in a leprechaun outfit. One picture has Flip holding a bowl of Lucky Charms cereal, the other one has Flipper in a fighting stance. Both flicks have been blown up to poster-size and copied several times.

The two released numerous insults on mixtapes and on the radio. UGK's own Pimp C encouraged, in his song "Knockin' Doorz Down," Lil' Flip and T.I. to end their feud ("If them niggas come together know how much paper we could see?").

According to website, T.I. and Lil' Flip had an altercation in Lil' Flip's neighborhood, the Cloverland section of Houston. It has been said that T.I. went there to create a DVD exposing Lil' Flip to be a fraud. The same day T.I. went on a Houston radio station talking about the altercation. He revealed that he had the tape and he was going to release it with an upcoming mixtape, but that didn't happened due to the fact that J. Prince stopped him from distributing the tape. It is unknown whether T.I. still has the tape or not. The feud was squashed by Rap-A-Lot's J. Prince after having them sit down and squash their beef behind closed doors. The feud was documented by the Houston Press.

T.I. released a mixtape titled "Down With the King" featuring several tracks insulting Flip directly. Including a track titled 99 Problems Freestyle. The entire song is devoted to making fun of Flip and dissing him. The chorus of the track is even "I got 99 problems, Lil' Flip ain't one." There was a phone-call skit with legendary Houston rapper Scarface claiming he doesn't know Lil' Flip and hasn't seen him around in Cloverland, he revealed that he didn't want to be "The King of the South" and T.I. can have the title.

On T.I.'s album King, there are several tracks which have been disputed by the hip-hop community to be shots at Lil' Flip ("What You Know", "You Know Who" and "I'm Talkin to You"). In an interview with a popular online hip hop website on March 24, 2006, T.I. was quoted as saying he and Lil Flip have no beef. This is somewhat contradictory to the events that occurred during Young Dro's video "Shoulder Lean". As Young Dro delivers the line "Lucky Charm Diamonds, but nah, I ain't Flip". T.I. is seen making a laughing gesture towards the video camera. The beef seems to be squashed making T.I. the victor according to the hip hop community and as Lil' Flip said in a freestyle: "I ain't got beef with Tip no mo' ".

Chaka Zulu

On Sunday afternoon (June 24) at the Sunset Tower Hotel in West Hollywood, California, T.I. was involved in a brawl. During a luncheon held by Kevin Liles of Warner Music Group (parent company of T.I.'s label, Atlantic Records), the MC got into a fight with Ludacris' manager Chaka Zulu. According to witnesses, T.I. punched Zulu in the face and choked him and a small, brief melee ensued.

T.I. brought home the award for Best Hip-Hop Artist at the BET Awards, and took the opportunity to apologize for his scuffle with Disturbing Tha Peace executive Chaka Zulu earlier in the week. While accepting his award, he expressed regret over the situation. “They say it’s a fine line between brilliance and insanity,” he said, in an apparent reference to his troublesome alter ego, T.I.P. During the broadcast, cameras showed his onetime rival Ludacris smiling in the audience. The audience stood up and clapped for T.I.

Community work

In addition to helping with Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, T.I. worked with troubled youths at Paulding Detention Center in Atlanta, provided scholarships for single parent families at Boys and Girls Clubs, and headlined Boost Mobile's RockCorps concert at New York's Radio City Music Hall, which featured such performers as Fat Joe, Slim Thug, and Kanye West, and was held exclusively for community service volunteers. In June 2005, The Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes Foundation, named for the deceased member of multi-platinum female group TLC, and Atlanta's V-103 honored T.I. with the 2005 Lisa Lopes Award for groundbreaking achievements in music and community service which was court ordered. With this steady list of growing accomplishments T.I. is being recognized as the "Jay-Z of the South," according to Pharrell Williams of multi-platinum production team The Neptunes.

T.I.'s night club, Club Crucial, where he and V-103 announcer Greg Street will give away 200 bicycles to neighborhood children in the Boys & Girls Club.

Discography

Main article: T.I. discography

• 2001: I'm Serious
• 2003: Trap Muzik
• 2004: Urban Legend
• 2006: King
• 2007: T.I. vs. T.I.P.
• 2008: Paper Trail

Filmography

Television

• The O.C. (2005), himself
• Punk'd (2005), himself

Films

• ATL (2006), Rashad Swann
• American Gangster (2007), Stevie Lucas
• Once Was Lost (2008), Slam

Awards

Main article: List of T.I. awards

External links

• Official Artist website
• Template:MySpace
• T.I. at IMDb
• Template:Amg
• Atlantic Records website
• Official site of Grand Hustle Records
• Streetcred.com T.I.'s New Venture