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 was met with lukewarm commercial reception. This would be his only project with the label before signing with Atlantic Records, where 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 critical and commercial success 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 alongside Lil Wayne on Destiny's Child's hit single "Soldier", and capitalized on this 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 garnering wider chart success from their lead singles, "What You Know" and "Big Shit Poppin' (Do It)" respectively.