T.I. released from Halfway House

By The Hip Hop Writer
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer

There is no imate who has had as much media attention as T.I., who has gone through his troubles with the law. Not even a month after being freed, in 2010, T.I. was caught with drugs and sent back to prison. He was recently forced to spend another month in prison for filming his reality show during the release.

Upon finally being released from prison, T.I. was sent to a halfway house in Atlanta. Early this morning, T.I. was released from the halfway house. One day before his release, T.I. made his return to the mic. Instead of his single with Big K.R.I.T., T.I. remixed Future's "Magic" track.

With T.I. finally being a free man, he is focused on putting together a new album. When he was released, in 2010, T.I. planned to release an album titled King Uncaged. But, upon learning he would be sent back to prison, T.I. released his No Mercy album. T.I. has not announced the title of his new album, nor has he come up with a release date.

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T.I.'s "No Mercy" Goes Gold

By The Hip Hop Writer
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer

Things did not turn out the way T.I. had hoped last year. The rapper initially had plans of celebrating his freedom. He had began working on his seventh album, King Uncaged. The album was led with his triumphant comeback single, "I'm Back."

Despite all the energy T.I. was putting in the album, the songs were not receiving much radio play. T.I.'s comeback was not going according to plans. Soon, T.I. began receiving attention, but it was for all of the wrong reasons.

T.I. was pulled over by the police in Los Angeles and ended up being searched. After being found with illegal drugs in the vehicle, T.I. found himself in a mess. It appeared as if he was going back to prison.

The entire format of his album was changed and the title soon became No Mercy. Half of the songs promoted for the King Uncaged album were dropped and T.I. recorded new songs. These new songs talked about his struggles to keep himself straight while working on rebuilding his career. The most-notable song off the No Mercy album was "Get Back Up" with Chris Brown.

Despite the confusion, the song did fairly well and the album was released before Christmas. T.I. has defied most odds and has put together an album that has certified gold.

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T.I. changes Album Title and Returns to Prison

By The Hip Hop Writer
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer

The road to redemption for T.I. is going to be a little bit longer than he expected. When he first got out of prison, T.I. worked overtime to repair his image. Last month, all of the hard work went right out of the window. Now, T.I. is headed back to prison for 11 months.

His album was supposed to be titled King Uncaged, since T.I. was celebrating his return. But, since he is headed right back to prison, there is no need to celebrate. Because of this, Tip has renamed his album to No Mercy. Not only has T.I. lost his perfect album title, but he has also lost endorsements.

Axe deodorant has decided to pull their endorsement from T.I. in the wake of his legal woes. Remy Martin liquor had given T.I. a lucrative contract, giving him an executive role. While they claim to still have love for T.I., they have relieved him of his duties.

Now, T.I. will spend his remaining free days making his rounds and rerecording his track. Because of his recent legal troubles, T.I. will not be able to celebrate his freedom, so he is creating music to match the feeling. Just like last time, T.I. will be preparing his team for the promotion of his album because he will not be able to do it in person. Not only is T.I. headed back to prison, but it is the exact same place he went before in Arkansas. Before he heads back to Arkansas on November 1, T.I. plans to shoot a few videos for the album.

No Mercy, T.I.'s seventh album, is currently set for a December 7 release date, although many feel the album will be pushed back until sometime in 2011.

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T.I. avoids Drug Charges, Suffers Album Delays

By The Hip Hop Writer
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer

Late last year, T.I. was released from prison and he promised himself, his family, and his fans that he would do better this time around. Earlier this year, T.I. made his first public appearance. For the sake of his company, the Atlanta rapper turned from an urban look to a professional look. No longer wearing the baggy clothes, T.I. was only found wearing suits.

Things were looking great for T.I. until his trip to Los Angeles last month with his wife, Tiny. While driving through the city, the newlyweds were pulled over by the police. During a routine search, the officers found drugs in the car and T.I. had violated his parole. For almost two years, T.I. had been doing all he could to repair his image in the spotlight.

Despite T.I.'s guilt, the fans have not given up on him and they have rallied behind their hero. All of their well-wishes have benefited T.I., as he will not be brought up on drug charges. While he will not be charged for drug possession, all things are not well with Tip. Though he beat the drug charges, the parole violation may land him back in prison for eleven months.

In the wake of this news, Atlantic Records decided to push T.I.'s comeback effort, King Uncaged, back from a November release to a December 7 release date. While the album has currently been delayed to a release in December, most people believe his album has been pushed back until sometime next year. Even with the possibility of the album being delayed even farther, Young Dro reported that T.I. has filmed over eight videos for the album.

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T.I. explains why “Swagga Like Us” video never came

By The Hip Hop Writer
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer

One year before the “Forever” track, there was another major posse cut that featured the bosses of rap on one track. At the time, T.I. was preparing to take his seat among the other bosses at the top of the game. Having recently received a beat from Kanye West, T.I. sought out to leave his mark on the game. Soon after receiving the beat, T.I. reached out to his friends in the game.


Doing it LL Cool J style, T.I. invited Kanye West, Lil Wayne, and Jay-Z to join him on the track, which ended up becoming a major hit. Featured off his Paper Trail album, it was one of many songs from the album to land in the top ten. Not only was more expected from the single, as far as performances, but a music video was promised.

T.I. had told fans a video would likely come before the end of 2008, but when 2009 came and went and T.I. went behind bars, nothing more was said. Now in full swing promoting his latest album, King Uncaged, T.I. decided to break his silence on the “Swagga Like Us” video. While it is great to unite the top rappers in the game on a track, it is hard to have them all together.

Recently, the Atlanta rapper admitted a theme for the video had been chosen. However, when it came time to do a video, the schedules of Jay-Z, Kanye West, and Lil Wayne would not agree long enough for a proper video to be filmed. However, multiple fan videos were made for the single featuring clips from their previous videos.

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T.I. talks Eminem, Fashion, and Alfamega

By The Hip Hop Writer
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer

Three years ago, T.I. shocked the hip hop world, when he was able to pull Eminem out of hiding for a collaboration. Working on T.I.'s 2007 album, T.I. vs. T.I.P., the duo united for "Touchdown." Most people responded well to the song. Lack of promotion led to it not becoming a radio hit, but it is a fan favorite.

Many listeners believed the song was a one-time-only collaboration between Eminem and T.I. But, following the recording, a bond was made between the two rappers. While the two have yet to collaborate again, T.I. said it is possible the two unite for King Uncaged. On his return album, T.I. plans to pull out all the stops.

Outside of the hip hop game, T.I. has branched out into clothing, making himself into a mogul. For the past three years, T.I. has been promoting his clothing line, AKOO. The line has steadily grown each year and will soon rival other established hip hop brands. When asked of his biggest inspiration in the fashion game, T.I. pointed to Diddy and Jay-Z, founders of Sean John and Rocawear, two of the biggest mainstays.

When T.I. first created AKOO, he hoped to have similar success to Rocawear. Pharrell, who worked with him on his debut album, hailed T.I. as the Jay-Z of the South. Once T.I. launched Grand Hustle Records and began putting albums out on a frequent basis, he started living up to the title. Now, branching out into clothing and film, the former rubberband man is hoping to be the successor. Had he not been in prison for most of last year, T.I. would have been hard at work on another album and cross promoting it with other projects.

The time T.I. spent in prison has been under much scrutiny, especially after he was released from prison early for good behavior. Former Grand Hustle artist, Alfamega suggested T.I. may have given information to the police to ensure his release. This is something T.I. has denied and other rappers, such as Ja Rule, have spoken up for T.I. Rule has known T.I. for a little while and he said he is not the type of man to give someone up for his own personal gain. T.I. said he would ignore all digs from Alfamega as they have not talked since 2008.

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T.I. lands Eminem and Lady GaGa for "King Uncaged"

Today has been a great day for T.I., as he continues to work on his latest album, King Uncaged. Earlier today, he released the second single from the album, "Yeah, Ya Know (Takers)." The song features Chris Brown and it will be on the soundtrack of their new film, Takers. Having been out of the spotlight for a while, T.I. is aggressively reclaiming what was his.

Frequently, T.I. compares his album to the classic album released by Tupac Shakur in 1996, All Eyez on Me. Tupac released the album after his time behind bars in 1995. Many people saw that album as the ultimate back from jail album. Using this as his goal, T.I. plans to outdo All Eyez on Me with King Uncaged. Like Tupac, T.I. hopes to have multiple guests on the album.

Until now, nothing has been set in stone as far as collaborations go on King Uncaged. However, recently T.I. decided to join forces, once again, with Eminem. The two collaborated in 2007 on T.I.'s T.I. vs. T.I.P. album on the "Touch Down" track. For the first time in three years, the two will be doing a song together. Aside from landing Eminem for the album, T.I. has reached out to Lady GaGa for an experimental track.

T.I. plans to released King Uncaged towards the end of the summer on Grand Hustle and Atlantic Records.

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“King Uncaged” will be a Classic Album

Before he was sentenced to prison, T.I. was finally on top of the rap world. Initially, people wrote him off as another Southern rapper, but on his Paper Trail album, he proved otherwise. As he finally reached his peak, T.I. was forced to go behind bars for one year. During this year, he watched, helpless, as he went from being on top of the game to being an afterthought.

T.I. is not the first rapper to go through this. Long before he was in the rap game, Tupac Shakur was in a similar position to T.I. For years, many people thought of Tupac as simply a social activist rapper. However, he was finally able to break through on his Me Against the World album. Right before he began working on his follow-up album, he spent a year behind bars.

Rap music was not the enterprise that it has become today, so Tupac was unable to post bail, himself. Instead, Death Row Records CEO, Suge Knight, came to bail him out. Following his release, Tupac recorded the classic album, All Eyez on Me. The album is still relatable to today’s times despite Shakur being long gone.

Due to the fact that times have changed, T.I. was able to handle his situation easier than Tupac fifteen years later. Immediately following his release from prison, T.I. began recording new music. Soon, the music took the form of his comeback album. Finally free from the prison walls and the legal troubles, T.I. has titled his album King Uncaged.

When T.I. compared himself to Tupac Shakur, he did not mean the overall legacy. T.I. meant that his album will end up having the same effect on 2010 as All Eyez on Me affected 1996. T.I. plans to create the best post-prison rap album in history. Most people credit the rawness of Tupac on All Eyez on Me to his personal feelings after being behind bars. With T.I., fans have come to expect that anyway.

But, after being behind bars seven months, the people are curious to hear what T.I. has to say. He plans to release King Uncaged towards the end of summer.

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