Maggie Mendiola
Period 5
02.22.12
T.I Research Paper
Clifford Joseph Harris Jr., better known as T.I is an American rap artist, film and
music producer, actor and author. He was born on September 25, 1980. He formed a
record label called “Grand Hustle Records. As a young child, T.I had lived a very tough
life. He lost his father at a very young age, which resulted in him getting into lots of
trouble. He was involved with selling drugs; that led him to jail several times. T.I began
rapping since he was about 9 years old. He has released about seven studio albums. Some
of his biggest & successful singles were “Bring Em Out”, “Swagga like us”, “Whatever
you like”, “Live your life”, “Dead and Gone”, and “Got your back”. He is married to
Tameka “Tiny” Cottle. Together they have 2 sons, Clifford "King" Joseph Harris III and
Major Philant Harris. They have children from previous relationships who are Domani
Uriah, Messiah Ya'Majesty, Deyjah Imani, and Zonnique Pullins. He has been in jail for
federal weapon charges which slowed down his career a bit; but he was able to get back
up and be more successful.
In my opinion, I think his biggest achievement would have to be his ability to
head in a good path after all the troubles he has been in. He has released many successful
songs after his time in jail which most people thought he wouldn’t be able to do. He was
able to gain back many of his fan’s support. Although there were other big
accomplishments that he did such as some of the successful songs he made, I feel that his
capacity and determination in being more successful after jail was the biggest
achievement he has done in his life.
The thing that surprised me the most about T.I was the things that happen during
his childhood. I never knew his was raised by his grandparents in Bankhead, Atlanta,
Georgia; and not by his parent. I didn’t know that his father died when Clifford was just a
young boy. In my opinion, I think that explains why Clifford had got into lots of trouble.
The most outrageous fact that I didn’t know about T.I was that he was a drug dealer and
that was one known as the “Rubber Band Man”. The Rubber Band Man was an indication
to the custom of wearing rubber bands around the wrist to symbolize wealth in terms of
drugs or money. I didn’t know he was arrested at a very young age due to drugs, as well.
Another interesting fact about T.I was that he was nicknamed “Tip” from his greatgrandfather.
If I was given the choice to become this person, I don’t think I would. Being a
celebrity, you gain a load of wealth and popularity which is what most people want in
life; but there are other things that come with that. For instance, there is lots of pressure
being in that kind of business. You are expected to act the way somebody else wants you
to act to please other people. I don’t really enjoy being under lots of pressure, and being
told how to act and what to be. T.I was exposed to many positive things; as well as
negative. I think it would have been great to gain the wealth and fame that Clifford had
gained, but I wouldn’t want the pressure being given to me. Clifford was also involved
with lots of drugs and was entered into jail several times; which is the opposite of what I
want to be involved with.
The biggest thing about life that I learned from this person was to never give up.
When T.I was sentenced to go to jail, many people didn’t believe that he would come
back being more successful. Although he was in lots of trouble, he came back with more
confidence and determination in his career to prove those people wrong. He continued
making more successful songs and gaining more fame. He ignored all the negative
comments and people who didn’t believe he would do well after jail and strived to do
better; which I think most people should live by. T.I is not only a successful rapper; but a
person that has influence many young people lives.
Websites:
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1939267/bio
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T.I.