30 Tantalizing Facts About T. I. Every Fan Must Know

T.I., one of the pioneers of the hip hop subgenre trap music, is the “King of the South,” a title he bestowed upon himself. Despite starting off as a drug dealer, T.I has become one of the most successful rappers alive, while simultaneously expanding his empire beyond music. In all this fame and success, the rapper has literally seen it all, as his life hasn’t been a cakewalk. Still, the rapper continues to churn out mesmerizing music. Here are some really interesting facts about T.I. that will make you love him more:

"T.I. Starring In New VH1 Reality Show" by mp3waxx.com is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

1.  With 11 studio albums, out of which 7 of them have reached the top five of the US Billboard 200 chart, T.I. has been ranked as the 27th Best artist of the 2000s decade by Billboard in 2009.
2.  In the year 2006, 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.
3.  His stage name of “Tip,” originally came from his childhood nickname "Tip", after his paternal great-grandfather.
4.  In the year 2010, T.I. starred in the crime action thriller film “Takers” as Delonte "Ghost" Rivers, which grossed $20.5 million in the opening weekend, becoming #1 at the American box office.
5.  The Lisa "Left Eye" Lopes Foundation, named for the deceased member of multi-platinum female group TLC, and Atlanta's V-103 honored T.I. with the 2005 Lisa Lopes Award for groundbreaking achievements in music and community service which was court ordered, in June 2005.
6.  During the 2016 Presidential election, he received backlash when he was speaking on the candidate Hillary Clinton, stating "Not to be sexist but, I can’t vote for the leader of the free world to be a woman.”
7.  T.I. was born as Clifford Joseph Harris Jr., on September 25, 1980 to Clifford "Buddy" Harris Sr. and Violeta Morgan in Atlanta. His father Clifford "Buddy" Harris Sr., suffered from Alzheimer’s disease.
8.  He was fully raised by his grandparents in Atlanta's Center Hill neighborhood just off Bankhead Highway, where his father, who resided in New York City, would often visit him.
9.  He had an older sister named Precious Harris, who died on February 22, 2019, due to a car accident, that put her on life support a week earlier.
10.  He attended Douglass High School, but later dropped out, as he began rapping at the very young age of 8.

"T.I. @ Music Midtown" by ConcertTour is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

11.  He befriended local rapper Big Kuntry King, in the year 1996, and started to sell mixtapes out of the trunk of their car. He was discovered by Kawan "KP" Prather, a record executive, who signed him to his record label Ghet-O-Vision Entertainment.
12.  In the year 1999, after signing with Arista Records subsidiary LaFace Records, he changed his stage name to T.I, out of respect for Arista label-mate Q-Tip.
13.  His debut album “I’m Serious” was released in October 2001, through Arista Records, which peaked at #98 and sold just 163,000 copies in the United States.
14.  Critics were disappointed with the album, despite the high profile guest appearances and production, and pointed out the fact that most of the tracks sounded the same.
15.  Although critics claimed that he has the potential for stardom, the poor reception of the album, led to T.I. being dropped from Arista Records.
16.  Following this, he, with the assistance of DJ Drama, he formed Grand Hustle Entertainment and began releasing several mixtapes.
17.  He was featured in the Bone Crusher's hit single, "Never Scared" in mid-2003, which gave him mainstream exposure, to recapture the major label attention, leading to him signing with Atlantic Records.
18.  His second album “Trap Muzik,” released on August 19, 2003, peaked at #4, selling 109,000 copies in its first week. Complex named the album as one of the classic albums of the last decade in the year 2012.
19.  T.I.'s fourth album “King,” debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart in the first half of 2006, selling 522,000 copies in its first week
20.  He wrote the lyrics for the singles in his sixth studio album “Paper Trail,” while he was under house arrest. The album was released in September 2008.

"T.I. @ Music Midtown" by ConcertTour is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

21.  On November 21, 2008, T.I. testified in the murder trial of a member of his entourage and a close friend, Philant Johnson, who was murdered in a shooting that occurred after a post-concert party at a club in Cincinnati.
22.  He started dating Xscape member Tameka “Tiny” Cottle, in the year 2001. The couple got married on July 30, 2010, in Miami Beach, Florida.
23.  The duo have two sons – King Harris, and Major Philant Harris, and one daughter – Heiress Diana Harris together. With this marriage, he also has one stepdaughter - Zonnique.
24.  The couple had their first daughter in the year 2007, who was stillborn, six months into a complicated pregnancy.
25.  In December 2016, Tiny filed for divorce from T.I. Since then the couple have been working on their reconciliation.
26.  In the year 2009, T.I. created a reality show, titled “T.I.'s Road to Redemption,” which aired on MTV. The series focused on 45 days before his March sentencing, with aims to show teenagers that there is another way.
27.  T.I. also has two sons through his relationship with Lashon Dixon. He also has a daughter from his relationship with R&B singer Ms. Niko.
28.  He opened his own nightclub – Club Crucial, in Bankhead, Atlanta, which is considered to be one of the most popular clubs in Atlanta. Club Crucial hosted a giveaway of 200 bicycles to neighborhood children in the Boys and Girls Club with V-103 announcer Greg Street.
29.  T.I. released his eleventh studio album – “The L.I.B.R.A..,” on October 16, 2020, which peaked at #18 on the Billboard Hot 200 chart and at #9 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart in the United States.
30.  On June 9, 2021, he revealed on his social media page that he has been working on his last and final album to be titled “Kill the King.”
31.  T.I. Net Worth: $50 Million