T.I.

Clifford Joseph Harris, Jr. (born September 25, 1980), better known by his stage name T.I., and formerly T.I.P., is an American rapper, record producer, actor and entrepreneur from Bankhead, Atlanta, Georgia. T.I. embarked on his music career with his longtime friends and fellow rappers in the Southern hip hop group Pimp Squad Click (P$C). He is also the founder and co-chief executive officer (CEO) of Grand Hustle Records, which he launched in 2003.[1][2] T.I. has released eight studio albums (I'm Serious, Trap Muzik, Urban Legend, King, T.I. vs. T.I.P., Paper Trail, No Mercy and Trouble Man: Heavy Is the Head), with the most recent seven being highly successful on the commercial market. He has won three Grammy Awards during his career. He has also released successful singles such as "Bring Em Out", "What You Know", "Big Shit Poppin' (Do It)", "Swagga Like Us" (featuring Kanye West, Jay-Z and Lil Wayne), "Dead and Gone" (featuring Justin Timberlake) and "Ball" (featuring Lil Wayne). He began to gain prominence with 2003's Trap Muzik, also appearing on Destiny's Child's top ten single "Soldier", with Lil Wayne in 2004. T.I.'s sixth album, 2008's Paper Trail, became his most successful album to date, with first-week sales of 568,000 copies in the United States, making it T.I.'s third chart topping album in a row. It included three international hit singles "Whatever You Like", "Live Your Life" (featuring Rihanna) and "Dead and Gone". In November 2013, T.I. announced that he had signed to Columbia Records to release his next album. In 2014, he plans to release his ninth studio album, and a compilation album showcasing his label Grand Hustle. T.I. has served two terms in county jail, twice for probation violations and a federal prison bid for a U.S. federal weapons charge. While serving 11 months in prison he released his seventh studio album, No Mercy (2010). T.I. has also had a successful acting career, starring in the films ATL, Takers and Identity Thief. He is also a published author, having written two novels Power & Beauty (2011) and Trouble & Triumph (2012), both of which were released to moderate success. T.I. has also starred in the American reality television series T.I.'s Road to Redemption and T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle. In 2009, Billboard ranked him as the 27th Artist of the 2000s decade.