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Atlanta, Georgia, USA. Rapper
T.I. was one of countless up-and-coming artists
to emerge from the south of the USA during the
early twenty-first century. T.I. was first exposed
to hip-hop at the age of seven, and by the time
he was 11 he had decided to pursue a career in
rap seriously. A few problems with the law could
not derail his dream, and he signed a recording
contract with Arista Records, resulting in the
release of his 2001 debut, I'm Serious. On this
collection the young rapper collaborated with
the Neptunes, Jazze Pha, DJ Troomp, and Beenie
Man. The album failed to storm the charts (peaking
just within the Billboard Top 100), resulting
in T.I. leaving Arista shortly after. In the ensuing
period, he issued a few releases independently
on the Grand Hustle label, put together several
mix tapes, and appeared on Bone Crusher's "Never
Scared". T.I. was not without a major label
deal for long though, as he signed with Atlantic
Records and released his second album, Trap Muzik,
in 2003. T.I. also put his new-found fortune to
good use, teaming up with his uncle to start a
company that refurbishes homes in some of Atlanta's
less fortunate neighborhoods.
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