TI Biography

The American rapper and actor known as T.I. was born Clifford Joseph Harris, Jr. in 1980 in Georgia. Young T.I. grew up in the Bankhead area of Atlanta, but frequently spent time in New York to visit his father. T.I.’s formative years were tumultuous; he was arrested multiple times and became heavily involved in drug dealing as a teenager. After dropping out of high school, T.I. began a collaborative endeavor with fellow rapper Big Kuntry King, and together their talents eventually garnered the attention of Arista Records.

T.I. signed with the label in 2001 and released his debut album, I’m Serious, shortly thereafter. The title track to the album, featuring Jamaican reggae sensation Beenie Man, became his debut single, although neither the album nor the single rose to the level of success T.I. had hoped for. After leaving Arista Records, T.I. formed his own production company, Grand Hustle Entertainment, and regrouped. This time, he resurfaced with the album Trap Muzik, which rose to the number four status and spawned the hits: “Let’s Get Away,” “Rubberband Man,” “Be Easy,” and “24s.” The album garnered critical acclaim and commercial success, and set T.I.’s career on course for the remaining decade.

Since Trap Muzik, T.I. has released the additional albums: Urban Legend (2004), King (2006), T.I. vs. T.I.P. (2007), Paper Trail (2008), No Mercy (2010), Trouble Man: Heavy is the Head (2012), and Paperwork (2015.) But T.I. has risen to fame over the last decade also due to his business ventures and his appearance in films, starting with the movie ATL (2006), which was loosely based on his upbringing in the Atlanta area of George. ATL was followed by appearances in: American Gangster (2007), Takers (2010), Identity Thief (2013), and most recently Get Hard (2015), Entourage (2015), and Ant-Man (2015.)

T.I. continues to perform and record as a musician, but also to appear in films as an actor. He is scheduled to appear in the upcoming sequel to Ride Along, and he is also credited as an executive producer for the series Sisterhood of Hip Hop, which airs on the Oxygen network. T.I. also owns his own nightclub, Club Crucial, in Bankhead, Atlanta, and he operates the social networking site StreetCred. T.I.’s next album, Paperwork: Love and Liability, is scheduled for release in 2016.