T.I. | |
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 T.I. in 2022 | |
| Born | Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. September 25, 1980[1] Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
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| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1999–present |
| Agent | Jason Geter[2] |
| Works | |
| Title | Co-founder of A.K.O.O. Clothing, Grand Hustle, VisionMob, Club Crucial and V Live |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 6 |
| Awards | Full list |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
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| Member of | |
| Website | officialti |
Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. (born September 25, 1980),[1] known professionally by the stage names T.I. or Tip, is an American rapper. Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Harris is credited as one the pioneers of the hip hop subgenre trap music, along with fellow Georgia-based rappers Jeezy and Gucci Mane.[3] He first became acquainted with local music executive Kawan "KP" Prather, and joined his company Ghet-O-Vision Entertainment by the late 1990s. He was led to sign a major-label record deal with its parent company LaFace Records, an imprint of Arista Records in 1999. His debut studio album, I'm Serious (2001), was met with lukewarm critical and commercial reception, becoming his only release with the label. He then signed with Atlantic Records, where he soon reached his mainstream breakthrough and co-founded his own label imprint, Grand Hustle Records by 2003.[4][5]
Harris gained recognition following his high-profile guest appearance on fellow Atlanta-based rapper Bone Crusher's 2003 single "Never Scared". His second album, Trap Muzik (2003), peaked at number four on the Billboard 200 chart and spawned the Billboard Hot 100-top 40 singles "Rubber Band Man" and "Let's Get Away" (featuring Jazze Pha). The following year, Harris guest appeared alongside Lil Wayne on Destiny's Child's hit single "Soldier", and capitalized on this with the release of his third album, Urban Legend (2004). His next three studio albums each debuted atop the Billboard 200; his fourth and fifth, King (2006) and T.I. vs. T.I.P. (2007) were met with continued success and led by the Billboard Hot 100-top ten singles, "What You Know" and "Big Shit Poppin' (Do It)", respectively.
Harris' sixth album, Paper Trail (2008), yielded his furthest commercial success. Earning gold certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for 500,000 in first-week sales, it also spawned two Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles: "Whatever You Like" and "Live Your Life" (featuring Rihanna); the latter replaced the former atop the chart, and made Harris the first rapper to do so while occupying its top two positions. Following an eleven-month incarceration, he released his seventh studio album, No Mercy (2010) to mixed reviews and a commercial decline. His eighth album, Trouble Man: Heavy Is the Head (2012) was met with a dual rebound. Harris guest appeared alongside Pharrell Williams on Robin Thicke's 2013 single "Blurred Lines", which peaked atop the Billboard Hot 100, and did so in 22 other countries.
The following year, his contract with Atlantic expired; he signed with Columbia Records and enlisted Williams as executive producer for his ninth studio album, Paperwork (2014). As with his previous, it reached number two on the Billboard 200 and saw positive critical reception. The following year, he worked further with album collaborator and then-upcoming hometown native Young Thug to form the short-lived hip hop collective, Bankroll Mafia. He then signed with Jay-Z's Roc Nation in 2016 to release his political Us or Else (2016–2017) extended play series and compilation album, We Want Smoke (2017); he later signed with Epic Records in 2018 to release his long-delayed tenth album, Dime Trap, in October of that year. His eleventh album, The L.I.B.R.A. (2020) was his first to be released independently. His twelfth album, Kill the King was announced as his final, although its release slate remains unclear.
Harris, a three Grammy Award winner, has been described as a leading figure in hip hop and Southern hip hop during the 2000s. He has received 19 nominations for the award, as well as 12 Billboard Music Awards, three BET Awards, and two American Music Awards. Prominent industry artists have signed to T.I. through his Grand Hustle Records label since its formation, including Travis Scott, B.o.B, and Iggy Azalea. In his acting career, Harris has starred in the films ATL, Takers, Get Hard, Identity Thief, and in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films Ant-Man and its sequel, as well as the reality television series T.I.'s Road to Redemption, T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle, and The Grand Hustle. As an author, he has published two novels: Power & Beauty (2011) and Trouble & Triumph (2012). By the end of the decade, Billboard ranked him the 27th best artist of the 2000s.[6]
- ^ a b "T.I." AllMusic. Retrieved April 19, 2017.
- ^ "Jason Geter Interview: On Managing T.I. & Career Journey – DJBooth". Djbooth. February 13, 2020. Retrieved October 19, 2020.
- ^ Lee, Christina (August 13, 2015). "Trap kings: how the hip-hop sub-genre dominated the decade". The Guardian – via www.theguardian.com.
- ^ "ATF Agents Search Home of Atlanta Rapper T.I. During BET Awards". Newsweek. The Washington Post Company. October 13, 2007. pp. 1–3. Retrieved October 9, 2008.
- ^ MTV News Staff (February 8, 2009). "Grammy 2009 Winners List". MTV News. Archived from the original on February 15, 2009. Retrieved February 9, 2009.
- ^ "Best of the 2000s -Artists of the Decade – 51–60". Billboard. Retrieved October 18, 2014.