T.I.

Clifford Joseph Harris Jr., known professionally as T.I. or Tip, is an American rapper and actor born on September 25, 1980, in Atlanta, Georgia. Raised by his grandparents in Atlanta's Center Hill neighborhood off Bankhead Highway, he was the son of Violeta Morgan and Clifford "Buddy" Harris Sr. His father lived in New York City and died of Alzheimer's disease in 2002. Harris began rapping at age eight, taking his original stage name from his childhood nickname Tip, which was given by his paternal great-grandfather. Along with fellow Georgia-based artists Jeezy and Gucci Mane, he is credited as a pioneer of the trap music subgenre.

In 1996, Harris befriended rapper Big Kuntry King, and the pair sold mixtapes out of the trunk of their car. Music executive Kawan "KP" Prather discovered Harris and signed him to Ghet-O-Vision Entertainment, an imprint of Arista and LaFace Records, by 1999. He shortened his stage name to T.I. out of respect for label-mate Q-Tip. Following a lukewarm response to his 2001 debut studio album, I'm Serious, Harris parted ways with Arista. He then co-founded his own record label, Grand Hustle Records, in 2003 and signed a deal with Atlantic Records.

Harris gained mainstream recognition in 2003 following his guest feature on Bone Crusher's single "Never Scared." His second album, Trap Muzik (2003), debuted at number four on the Billboard 200 chart and featured the top 40 singles "Rubber Band Man" and "Let's Get Away." In 2004, Harris appeared on Destiny's Child's hit single "Soldier" alongside Lil Wayne and released his third album, Urban Legend, which reached number seven on the Billboard 200 and generated his first top ten single, "Bring Em Out."

His fourth studio album, King (2006), debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. Its lead single, "What You Know," coincided with his film debut in ATL and earned him a Grammy Award. That same year, he collaborated with Justin Timberlake on the hit "My Love," which won another Grammy Award. Harris achieved a second consecutive chart-topping album with T.I. vs. T.I.P. (2007), led by the top ten single "Big Shit Poppin' (Do It)."

Harris reached his peak commercial success with his sixth album, Paper Trail (2008), which earned a gold certification in its first week and spawned the Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles "Whatever You Like" and "Live Your Life" featuring Rihanna. Following an eleven-month incarceration, he released No Mercy (2010) and Trouble Man: Heavy Is the Head (2012). In 2013, he was featured alongside Pharrell Williams on Robin Thicke's single "Blurred Lines," which topped charts globally.

After his Atlantic contract expired, Harris released Paperwork (2014) with Columbia Records, formed the short-lived collective Bankroll Mafia, and joined Roc Nation for his Us or Else series. He later released Dime Trap (2018) through Epic Records, followed by his first independent release, The L.I.B.R.A. (2020), and his final album, Kill the King (2026). Beyond music, the three-time Grammy Award winner has starred in films such as Takers, Get Hard, Identity Thief, and the Ant-Man franchise, appeared in several reality series, and authored two novels.