WHO IS T.I.

This rapper, singer/songwriter, producer and actor has been around since ‘99 and released a total of eleven studio albums, the latest having come out in October this year. T.I. is best known as one of the artists that popularised Trap music, among other things.

He was born as Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. on September 25, 1980 in Atlanta, Georgia. While his father, Buddy, was present in his life before passing later because of Alzheimer’s, T.I. was raised by his grandparents.

Having a good social circle goes a long way, and T.I. had just that with the local rapper Big Kuntry King. They sold mixtapes together before T.I. gets discovered by  record executive Kawan Panther, who then signed him to Ghet-O-Vision Entertainment. His debut album, “I’m Serious”, was released in 2001 through Arista Records. The album was poorly received, leading T.I. to be dropped from the record label.

On the brighter side, the incident also led him to form his own label, Grand Hustle Entertainment and start releasing mixtape after mixtape with DJ Drama’s help.

After signing a joint venture deal with Atlantic Records, he released his second studio album, “Trap Muzik” in 2003, which debuted at #4 on the Billboard 200 and was certified platinum. His most critically acclaimed studio album, “Paper Trail”, was released in September 2008, containing his two best performing singles, “Live Your Life” and “Whatever You Like”.

Throughout his music career, he has won three Grammy awards, 9 BMI Urban awards, over 10 Billboard awards and more.