Celebrating 10 Years Of T.I.
Believe it or not, it has now been over 10 years since the release of T.I.’s debut album, I’m Serious.
In an industry where most artists have short-lived careers, even through troubled times, T.I.P. has had one of the most storied and successful runs in Hip-Hop history.
As a salute to the King Of The South, we take a look back at some of the ups and downs of T.I.’s 10 years in the rap game, which has placed him amount the Hip-Hop’s elite.
October 9, 2001
T.I. released his debut album I’m Serious on October 9th, 2001 on Arista Records.
While the album did not sell well commercially, I’m Serious was the building block to what would become T.I.’s core fan base.
2003
After being dropped from Arista Records, T.I. united with Jason Geter and founded Atlanta, GA based record label Grand Hustle.
A heavy presence in the mixtape circuit later led to a bidding war, where T.I. and Grand Hustle signed a joint venture with Atlantic Records.
August 19, 2003
After signing with Atlantic, T.I. went on to release his second album Trap Muzik, which spawned the hits “24’s”, “Be Easy”, “Rubberband Man” and “Let’s Get Away”.
2004
T.I. was arrested in March 2004, after he violated his probation of a 1997 drug conviction.
He was sentenced to 3 years in prison, and was released early on a work release program.
November 30, 2004
Released on November 30, 2004, T.I.’s third album Urban Legend debuted as the top album on the Billboard R&B Hip-Hop and Rap charts.
2005
T.I. began a Hip-Hop beef with Houston rapper Lil Flip. After the mixtape Down With The King Lil Flip’s rap career was basically over.
March 2006
In March 2006, T.I. had both the #1 album in the country, King, and #3 movie at the box office, ATL, in the same week.
May 3rd, 2006
An altercation involving T.I. in a Cincinnati nightclub led to the shooting death of the rapper’s close friend and personal assistant Philant Johnson.
October 13, 2007
Federal authorities arrested T.I. just hours before the BET Hip-Hop Awards in Atlanta.
He was charged with possession of three unregistered machine guns and two silencers, and possession of firearms by a convicted felon.
He was later sentenced to one year and one day in prison.
September 26, 2008
In 2008, T.I.’s Paper Trail sold 568,000 copies in its first week, making it his highest debut week sales to date.
The album has since been certified double platinum.
2010
After his release from prison, T.I. married his longtime girlfriend Tameka “Tiny” Cottle on July 30, 2010 in Miami Beach, Florida.
On September 1, T.I. and Tiny were arrested on drug charges in Los Angeles. The arrest for drug led to T.I. being sentenced to 11 months in prison for violating his probation.
His latest album No Mercy was released on December 7th, 2010.
2011
T.I. was released from a halfway house on September 29th after serving nearly 11 months in prison.
The rest is to be continued…
