T I

Clifford Joseph Harris, Jr. (born September 25, 1980), better known by his stage name T.I. or T.I.P., is an American recording artist, film & music producer, and occasional actor. He is the founder and co-chief executive officer (CEO) of Grand Hustle Records.[1][2]
Contents
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* 1 Biography
o 1.1 1980–2000: Early life and career beginnings
o 1.2 2001–02: I'm Serious
o 1.3 2003–05: Trap Muzik and Urban Legend
o 1.4 2006–07: King, T.I. vs. T.I.P. and federal weapons charges
o 1.5 2008–09: Paper Trail and jail sentence
o 1.6 2010–present: No Mercy and drug charges
* 2 Other ventures
o 2.1 Acting career
o 2.2 Music and film producing
o 2.3 Community work
o 2.4 Business ventures
* 3 Controversy
o 3.1 Ludacris
o 3.2 Lil' Flip
o 3.3 Shawty Lo
* 4 Personal life
o 4.1 Family
o 4.2 Rescue of suicidal man
* 5 Discography
* 6 Filmography
* 7 See also
* 8 References
* 9 External links

Biography
1980–2000: Early life and career beginnings

T.I. was born Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. on September 25, 1980, in Riverdale, Atlanta, Georgia, the son of the late Clifford "Buddy" Harris Sr. and Violeta Morgan.[3][4] He was raised by his grandparents in Bankhead, Atlanta, Georgia. His father lived in New York and he would often go up there to visit him. His father suffered from Alzheimer's and later died from the disease.[5] T.I. began rapping at age nine.[5] He attended Douglass High School, but later dropped out. As a teenager, he was a drug dealer.[6][7] 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.[8] By age 14, he had been arrested several times.[5] He was nicknamed "Tip" after his paternal great-grandfather.[9] Kawan "KP" Prather, a record executive, discovered and signed T.I. when he was a teenager.[10] 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.[11]
2001–02: I'm Serious

T.I. released his debut album, I'm Serious, in October 2001 through Arista Records.[12] The album spawned the eponymous single, which featured Jamaican reggae entertainer Beenie Man. His debut single, "I'm Serious," was released on June 26, 2001. The single received little airplay and failed to chart. The album included guests appearances from Pharrell Williams of The Neptunes (who called him "the Jay-Z of the South"),[13] Jazze Pha, Too Short, Bone Crusher, Lil Jon, Pastor Troy, P$C and Youngbloodz. The album featured production from The Neptunes, DJ Toomp, Madvac, and The Grand Hustle Team. Despite the album's guests appearances and production team, the album peaked at number 98 and only sold 163,000 copies in the United States.[14] Critics pointed to the fact that many of the tracks sounded the same and that a few were blatant rip-offs.[15] Other critics commented saying, "T.I. claims to be the king of the South, but fails to show and prove. He does, however, have potential. If his talent ever matches his confidence, he may be headed for stardom."[16]

Due to the poor commercial reception of the album, T.I. was dropped from Arista Records.[12] He then formed Grand Hustle Entertainment and started releasing several mixtapes with the assistance of DJ Drama.[12] He resurfaced in the summer of 2003 with fellow Atlanta rapper and former label-mate Bone Crusher's song "Never Scared." His mixtapes and mainstream exposure from "Never Scared" eventually recaptured major label attention and he signed a joint venture deal with Atlantic Records.[17][18]
2003–05: Trap Muzik and Urban Legend

T.I. 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.[19] It spawned the singles "24s", "Be Easy", "Rubberband Man", and "Let's Get Away". The album featured guest appearances by Eightball & MJG, Jazze Pha, Bun B and Macboney and was produced by Jazze Pha, Kanye West, David Banner, Madvac and DJ Toomp. In March 2004, a warrant was issued for T.I.'s arrest after he violated his probation of a 1997 drug conviction.[20] He was sentenced to three years in prison.[21] While imprisoned in Cobb County, Georgia, he filmed an unauthorized music video.[22] One month later, he was allowed a work release program.[23]
Mug shot of T.I. taken after his arrest in Tampa in 2003

T.I. was on probation stemming from a 1998 conviction for violating a state controlled substances act and for giving false information. After being released on probation, he earned a litany of probation violations in several counties around Georgia for offenses ranging from possession of a firearm to possession of marijuana.[21] In 2006, after appearing in an Atlanta court on (May 10) and having charges that he threatened a man outside a strip club last year dropped for lack of evidence, T.I. was arrested on an outstanding probation violation warrant from Florida. The warrant claimed that T.I. did not complete the required number of community service hours he was sentenced for a 2003 assault of a female sheriff deputy at University Mall in Tampa. T.I. was detained by several mall Security Guards at the time of the incident. According to WSB-TV Atlanta, the rapper’s attorney said that the problem was nothing more than a "technical matter" between Georgia and Florida. The confusion arose because T.I. was also sentenced to community service in Georgia for driving with a suspended license, for which he did complete 75 hours of community service in his home state. The rapper was released on bail shortly after being arrested, and was expected to surrender to Florida state authorities the following week to resolve the matter.[24]

T.I. released his third studio album, Urban Legend, in November 2004. It debuted at number seven on the Billboard 200, selling 193,000 copies in its first week.[19] The album's official lead single, "Bring Em Out", was released in January 2005 and became his first top ten hit, peaking at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100, while the second single "U Don't Know Me" peaked at number twenty-three on the Billboard Hot 100. His third single "ASAP" reached number 75 on the U.S. charts,[25] number 18 on the U.S. R&B/Hip-Hop charts[25] and number 14 on the Rap chart.[25] T.I. created a video for "ASAP"/"Motivation". However, "Motivation" only made it to number 62 on the U.S. R&B/Hip-Hop singles chart.[25] He was featured in Destiny's Child's 2004 single "Soldier" along with Lil Wayne, peaking at number three on the U.S. Hot 100 and the U.S. R&B Charts.[26]

In 2006, T.I. received two Grammy Award nominations for Best Song Collaboration ("Soldier" w/ Destiny's Child & Lil Wayne) and Best Rap Solo Performance for "U Don't Know Me" at The 48th Grammy Awards. 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.
2006–07: King, T.I. vs. T.I.P. and federal weapons charges.