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 I'm Serious, his solo debut and only album with the label, as well as formed the southern hip hop group P$C. Upon being dropped from Arista, Harris signed to Atlantic and soon co-founded his own label imprint, Grand Hustle Records, which he launched in 2002. Harris, a three time Grammy Award winner, has released 11 studio albums, with seven of them reaching the top five of the US Billboard 200 chart. During his career, Harris has also released several highly successful singles, including Billboard Hot 100 number-one hits "Whatever You Like" and "Live Your Life" (featuring Rihanna); the latter replaced the former atop the chart and made Harris one of the few artists who replaced themselves at number one and simultaneously occupied the top two positions. Harris began to gain major recognition in 2003 following his first high-profile feature on fellow Atlanta-based rapper Bone Crusher's single "Never Scared". Harris earned more prominence with the release of 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 Urban Legend (2004) album. His subsequent albums, King and T.I. vs. T.I.P., generated high record sales and were supported by popular singles, such as "What You Know" and "Big Shit Poppin' (Do It)", respectively. Harris' sixth album, Paper Trail (2008), became his most successful project, with the album being certified gold for first-week sales of over 500,000 copies in the United States, additionally making it his third consecutive number one album.