Biography - T.I.

Who is T.I.?

T.I., whose real name is Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. is an American rapper and actor. He is also known by the name Tip or styled as TIP or T.I.P. He formed the Southern hip-hop group P$C, is the CEO of Grand Hustle Records, and is the one who popularized trap music.

T.I. – Age, Parents, Siblings

T.I.’s birth took place on September 25, 1980, in Atlanta, Georgia, USA. He was born Clifford Joseph Harris, Jr. to parents Clifford "Buddy" Harris Sr. and Violeta Morgan. He has three siblings, sisters Precious Harris, LaTeisha Harris, and brother Brice Harris.

On February 22, 2019, T.I.’s older sister Precious Harris was in a car accident. She was put on life support and died a week later.

Education, Ethnicity

He grew up with his grandparents in Atlanta's Center Hill neighborhood but did visit his father in New York City. He attended Douglass High School but dropped out instead of graduating.

T.I. – Wife, Children, Girlfriend, Divorce

In 2001, T.I. began a relationship with Tameka "Tiny" Cottle, an Xscape member. After dating for around 10 years, he married his girlfriend on July 30, 2010, in Miami Beach, Florida.

Together they have welcomed three children. Their sons Clifford Joseph Harris III were born on August 25, 2004, and Major Philant Harris was born on May 16, 2008. Their third child, daughter Heiress Diana Harris was born on March 26, 2016. T.I. and his wife lost a daughter in 2007. Llayah Amour Harris was stillborn after six months into pregnancy. 

Through his marriage to Tiny, he became the stepfather of Zonnique Pullins (born March 20, 1996). He also has two sons, Messiah Ya' Majesty Harris and Domani Uriah Harris from his relationship with Lashon Dixon, and a daughter, Deyjah Imani Harris (born June 17, 2001) from a relationship with R&B singer Ms. Niko.

On December 2016, Tiny filed for divorce from T.I. Their divorce is on hold and there are been attempts at reconciliation as the two are often pictured together.

T.I. – Career

Before fame

The rapper began rapping at the age of eight. His name Tip came from his paternal great-grandfather. In 1996, he met rapper Big Kuntry King. Together, they sold mixtapes out of the trunk of their car. T.I. was discovered by a record executive Kawan "KP" Prather who signed him to his label Ghet-O-Vision Entertainment.

He later signed with Arista Records in 1999 and also changed his name to T.I., to avoid confusion with fellow rapper Q-Tip. His first debut album I'm Serious was released in October 2001. But the album only peaked at number 98 and only sold 163,000 copies in the United States. He was soon dropped from Arista Records.

T.I. then formed Grand Hustle Entertainment and with the help of DJ Drama, started releasing mixtapes. In 2003, he was featured in Bone Crusher's hit single, Never Scared.

He released his second album Trap Muzik on August 19, 2003, through Grand Hustle Records, which reached number four and sold 109,000 copies in its first week. The album was named one of the classic albums of the last decade in 2012 while allhiphop.com placed it as #5 as the best southern hip-hop album of all time in Feb 2013.

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Worked in

After the initial success of Trap Muzik, he released his third studio album, Urban Legend, in November 2004. In its first week, the album reached number seven on the US Billboard 200, selling 193,000 copies.

This was followed by the release of albums King (2006), T.I. vs. T.I.P. (2007), Paper Trail (2008), No Mercy (2010), Trouble Man: Heavy Is the Head (2012), Paperwork (2014), Dime Trap (2018). T.I. also collaborated with P$C for the 2005 album 25 to Life.

T.I. has also appeared in numerous films and TV series including ATL (2006), American Gangster (2007), Identity Thief (2013), House of Lies (2013), Entourage (2015), Ant-Man (2015), Sleepless (2017), Ant-Man and the Wasp (2018), and the upcoming film Monster Hunter (2020).

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Worked with

Over the years T.I. has worked with countless artists. Some include Beenie Man, Pharrell Williams,  Pimp $quad Click,  Big Kuntry King, and Mac Boney.

T.I. – Awards, Nominations

Over the course of his career, T.I. has been nominated for 170 awards and has won 64 awards. The awards, he has won include American Music Awards, BET Awards, Billboard Music Awards, BET Hip Hop Awards, and Grammy Awards, among many others.

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T.I. – Legal Issues

T.I. has had a long history of legal issues starting from 1994. He has been arrested for Drugs, weapons, and assault from 1994 to 2006, a Weapons conviction from 2007 to 2009, a Public disorder arrest in 2018, and tax evasion of more than $4.5 million from 2012 to 2013.

He and his (now ex) wife Tameka Harris were arrested on September 1, 2010, for drug charges and was sentenced to an 11-month prison sentence. He was released on August 31, 2011, to serve out his sentence in a community living facility.

T.I. has also intervened and helped people including  Creed's lead singer, Scott Stapp from suicide attempts.

T.I. – Net Worth, Salary

The net worth of T.I. is estimated to be around $20 million while the figure for his annual salary is not known.

T.I. – Instagram, Twitter, Salary

On social media sites Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook, T.I. is followed by thousands of followers. His official website is trapmuzik.com.

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