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T.I. music biography continued...

superstars. Born Clifford Joseph Harris, Jr. on September 25, 1980 in Atlanta, Georgia, T.I. decided to pursue a career in rap at age 11 and was signed to his first record deal at age 19. At the time he was going by T.I.P. based on a nickname his grandfather gave him, but because of his Southern drawl, many fans mistook his name for "Chip", so he began spelling it out "T.I.P". 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.
In the summer of 2003, T.I. exploded into national prominence with the release of his acclaimed sophomore album, "TRAP MUZIK," the first for his new label, Atlantic. The disc debuted at 4 on the Billboard 200 album chart and went on to earn RIAA gold, spawning such top-charting T.I. songs as "24's," "Rubber Band Man," and "Let's Get Away." Following this album, the self-proclaimed "King of the South" came back with his eagerly awaited second Grand Hustle/Atlantic outing, "URBAN LEGEND," which quickly confirmed T.I.'s superstar status by making an explosive debut in the #1 spot on Billboard's "Top R&B/Hip-Hip Albums" chart and in the #7 spot on the Billboard 200. His fourth album, King debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 chart in the first half of 2006, selling 522,000 copies in its first week. It became Atlantic Records' best-selling album in 15 years.
Despite his share of difficulties with the law, T.I. continues to develop as an entertainment impresario. He has acted in such films as ATL and American Gangster, launched his own film production company called Grand Hustle Films and is developing his own clothing line. If the "T" in his name stands for "trouble," it also stands for "talent." There is simply nothing that T.I. touches that doesn't turn into show business gold.