If you know me, you probably know who this post is about...yes, you guessed it, one and only T.I. Born Clifford Joseph Harris, Jr. on September 25, 1980, he is an American rap artist, film and music producer, actor and author. He is also the founder and co-chief executive officer (CEO) of Grand Hustle Records a.k.a, my CRUSH!
I know i know, he is a married man, presumably happily married to Tameka 'Tiny' Cottle, i don't like her very much due to obvious reasons. Together, they have two sons: Clifford "King" Joseph Harris and Major Philant Harris. Their daughter Lelah Amore Harris was stillborn six months into a complicated pregnancy.
In addition, T.I. has two sons with ex-girlfriend Lashon Dixon: Domani Uriah, born in 2000, and Messiah Ya'Majesty, born in 2001. T.I. also has a daughter named Deyjah Imani, born in 2001, from another relationship. Through his marriage to Cottle, T.I. has one stepdaughter, Zonnique Pullins, born in 1996.
T.I. began rapping at age nine, He attended Douglass High School, but later dropped out. As a teenager, he was a drug dealer, he was once known as Rubber Band Man, a reference to the custom of wearing rubber bands around the wrist to denote wealth in terms of drugs or money. By age 14, he had been arrested several times. He was nicknamed "Tip" after his paternal great-grandfather who signed T.I. when he was a teenager. 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.
T.I. released his debut album, I'm Serious, in October 2001 through Arista Records. Due to the poor commercial reception of the album, T.I. was dropped from Arista Records. He then formed Grand Hustle Entertainment and started releasing several mixtapes.He resurfaced in the summer of 2003 with fellow Atlanta rapper and former label-mate Bone Crusher's song "Never Scared." Then he released his second album Trap Muzik on August 19, 2003 through Grand Hustle Records. It debuted at number four and sold 109,000 copies in its first week. It spawned the single rubberband man.
In March 2004, a warrant was issued for T.I.'s arrest after he violated his probation of a 1997 drug conviction. He was sentenced to three years in prison but he was released on bail shortly after being arrested. T.I. released his third studio album, Urban Legend, in November 2004 with singles like bring 'em out, you don't know me, ASAP and collaboration with Destiny's child-Soldier. This is where i got hooked, i was already singing along to rubberband man, but after soldier, i wanted to know him, I did and loved him.
T.I.'s fourth album, King, debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart in the first half of 2006, selling 522,000 copies in its first week. The album included the singles, "What You Know," "Why You Wanna,". He was also featured in the single "Shoulder Lean" by Young Dro. That same year he won Rap Artist of the Year, Rap Album Of The Year, Rap Album Artist Of The Year, Rap Song Artist of the Year and Video Clip Artist of the Year on the Billboard Music Award and Best Male Hip-Hop Artist on the BET Awards. "What You Know" won a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance, Also that year, T.I. collaborated with Justin Timberlake for "My Love," which proved to be a worldwide hit, and won a Grammy Award for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration with Justin Timberlake at the 49th Annual Grammy Awards and also won Best Male Hip-Hop Artist at the BET Awards for the second straight time.
T.I. released his fifth album, T.I. vs. T.I.P., on July 3, 2007. The first single from the album was "Big Shit Poppin' (Do It). The second single, "You Know What It Is" featuring Wyclef Jean. On October 13, 2007, federal authorities arrested T.I. four hours before the BET Hip-Hop Awards in Atlanta. He was charged with two felonies — possession of three unregistered machine guns and two silencers, and possession of firearms by a convicted felon.
While under house arrest, T.I. began writing lyrics down on paper for his following album. The first promotional single from the album, "No Matter What," was released in April 2008, my all time favourite single. The official lead single was "Whatever You Like" for his sixth album, Paper Trail, released in September 2008. "Swagga Like Us",featuring Kanye West, Jay-Z and Lil Wayne,Live Your Life" featuring Rihanna, "Dead and Gone", featuring Justin Timberlake, Remember Me", featuring Mary J. Blige and "Hell of a Life".
On March 27, 2009, T.I. was sentenced to one year and one day in prison and ordered to pay $100,300 for federal weapons charges; T.I. had his sentence reduced from a maximum 10 years and a $250,000 fine with a plea bargain. He was released from FCC Forrest City on December 22, 2009 and was moved into a halfway house in Atlanta and was released on March 26, 2010. He was in the studio working on his seventh studio album titled King Uncaged.
T.I. released a new street single titled "I'm Back" on March 8, 2010. He made a featured guest appearance on Diddy-Dirty Money's single "Hello Good Morning". He also made a guest appearance on Larry King Live on May 13 to discuss with Larry King about his nine-month prison term on federal gun charges and other topics. T.I. released a promotional soundtrack single entitled, "Yeah Ya Know (Takers)" on May 24 2011. He released another promotional single entitled, "Got Your Back" which featured American R&B singer Keri Hilson.
On September 1, T.I. and his wife Tiny were arrested on drug charges in Los Angeles. The arrest for drug charges led to T.I. being sentenced on October 15, 2010 to 11 months. On October 25, the drug charges against T.I. were dropped though. T.I. changed the title of his seventh studio album from King Uncaged and renamed it No Mercy due to his new prison sentencing. He then released the first single from the newly titled album, "Get Back Up" featuring Chris Brown on the same day that he was sentenced back to prison for violating the terms of his probation.
On November 1, T.I. reported back to the Forrest City Federal Facility to serve his 11-month sentence. His date of release was set to be September 29, 2011. No Mercy was released on December 7, 2010. The album peaked at number four in the US and it sold over 159,000 copies in its first week. His second and last single off the album "That's All She Wrote" featuring Eminem was released on December 19.
On September 30, T.I. released the first promotional single from his upcoming eighth untitled album named "I'm Flexin'" he revealed the title of the album, Troubled Man. The album is due out February 2012, can't wait! On December 5, his new reality show "T.I. and Tiny: The Family Hustle" premiered on Vh1, i have watched the first five episodes and its not so bad.
He has also starred in films like in 2006 T.I. starred in his first film, ATL. He also appeared in American Gangster, and starred in the crime heist film Takers.
Why do I love him you ask? He looks calm, cool, collected one minute, and ready to take anyone who crosses him head off the next. Not your typical bad boy, he is laid back, down to earth and there is this aura around him i just love, the way he carries himself to how loyal he has been to Tiny. His sense of style, the way he talks to the way he raps, his looks, he is tall and handsome. Need i say more? XO!
