T.I.

Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. (born September 25, 1980), better known by the stage names T.I. and Tip (often stylized as TIP or T.I.P.), is an American rapper. Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, Harris is known as one of the pioneers of the hip hop subgenre trap music, along with fellow Atlanta-based rappers Jeezy and Gucci Mane. Harris signed his first major-label record deal in 1999 with Arista Records subsidiary LaFace. In 2001, he released his debut album I'm Serious, which would be his only project with the label until signing with Atlantic Records. He would soon become the co-founder of his own label imprint, Grand Hustle Records in 2003. Harris first gained national recognition following his high-profile feature on fellow Atlanta-based rapper Bone Crusher's 2003 single "Never Scared". Harris earned further prominence with the release of his second album Trap Muzik (2003), which included the Top 40 songs "Rubber Band Man" and "Let's Get Away" (featuring Jazze Pha). The following year, Harris appeared on Destiny's Child's international hit "Soldier" (alongside Lil Wayne), and capitalized on it with the release of his third album, Urban Legend (2004). Harris would then have his next three studio albums peak the Billboard 200 chart— beginning with King (2006) and T.I. vs. T.I.P. (2007)—while steadily garnering wider success from their lead singles, "What You Know" and "Big Shit Poppin' (Do It)" respectively. Harris' sixth album, Paper Trail (2008) ultimately became his most successful record to date, as it received gold certification for first-week sales of over 500,000 copies in the United States. It included Harris's first Billboard Hot 100 number one singles "Whatever You Like" and "Live Your Life" (featuring Rihanna); the latter replaced the former atop the chart and made Harris the first rapper to do so while occupying the top two positions. Following an eleven-month prison sentence in county jail, he would release his seventh and eighth studio albums No Mercy (2010) and Trouble Man: Heavy Is the Head (2012), which were met with generally mixed reviews and a slight commercial decline. In 2013, Harris was featured alongside Pharrell Williams on Robin Thicke's single "Blurred Lines", which peaked at number one on the Hot 100 and several other countries.