T.I. hosts Welcome Home party at Club Esso

By The Hip Hop Writer
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer

A free man, once again, T.I. celebrated his freedom and his future. The Grand Hustle rapper hosted a party at Club Esso in his hometown of Atlanta.

T.I. took the stage and performed "What You Know," among other hits. Several other stars attended the party, including Maino, Grand Hustle label-mates, B.o.B. and Young Dro, Nelly, and DJ Drama.

Watch the video below:

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Young Dro - "Racked Up"

"Racked Up" is Young Dro's contribution to DJ Smallz' Southern Smoke mixtape.

Listen to "Racked Up" by Young Dro below:

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Young Dro - "Kush Dog"

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Young Dro provides and Update on T.I.

By The Hip Hop Writer
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer

Fans felt let down when T.I. was caught with drugs last September, only months after being released from prison. Before going back to prison, T.I. promised his fans he would do better. Since going back behind bars, T.I. has managed to remain in the headlines.

Five years ago, T.I. introduced the world to Young Dro. Young Dro, in turn, introduced the world to the "Shoulder Lean." Following his explosive hit, Young Dro was expected to blow up. He did a few collaborations since, but has not released another album.

Recently, Young Dro gave fans an update on T.I. Despite being behind bars, T.I. is staying connected. Young Dro said he spends most of his time on the internet. Dro usually emails him catalogs of different clothes and shoes and T.I. will phone him to tell him what he wants.

T.I. is currently serving his final month in prison and Young Dro said he will come out a better man. Despite slipping up, Young Dro said T.I. will more than make up for his mistakes when he gets out. Dro said because he is not an evil person, T.I. and his team will rise to prosper again.

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Young Dro - "Polo Down"

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Big Kuntry King says T.I. comes home in September

By The Hip Hop Writer
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer

Unlike when T.I. last faced prison time, Grand Hustle has continued to be operational. The other artists signed to the label have not been hindered because of T.I. going back to prison. Actually, things are still going according to the plan.

The other artists signed to the label, B.o.B., Killer Mike, Young Dro, and Big Kuntry King are all working on new projects. Big Kuntry announced they would be releasing new music. He went on to say he was T.I.'s right hand man and to look out for he and Young Dro.

As the conversation went on, Big Kuntry King spoke about the head of the operation. King said he and T.I. have not talked much since he went to prison. He said he would soon be visiting him, but it would not be long until T.I. was released.

When asked, Big Kuntry King announced T.I. will be released from prison in September.

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T.I. gives Young Dro a Chance to Shine as the Face of Grand Hustle

By The Hip Hop Writer
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer

Last year, T.I. was forced to go to prison right as he hit the peak of his career. He and his Grand Hustle team have been suffering to rebound ever since. When Lil Wayne realized he was going to prison, a few months later, he began promoting his crew.

The early favorite was Drake, so Lil Wayne put out his We Are Young Money album late in 2009 and Rebirth early in 2010. It was after this that Drake released "Over" and promised Wayne he would keep Young Money afloat. This is something T.I. had not thought of during his prison stint.

But, since he is back in prison, T.I. has made arrangements to keep his team afloat. In 2006, his popularity was high so he introduced Young Dro to the game. During the summer of 2006, his song, "Shoulder Lean," dominated radio waves. Following the success of the song and the album, Dro was a star.

There were plans to release Young Dro's sophomore album in 2007, but those plans were nixed when T.I. decided to release another album in 2007. Then, by 2008, T.I. was gearing up to release yet another album, which would become the biggest release of his career. But, following this success, T.I.'s 2007 weapons charge caught up to him and landed him in prison. With nothing set in place, Grand Hustle had no choice but to shut down until T.I. came back and reopened business.

After watching the show Young Money put on while Lil Wayne was in prison, T.I. has decided to go back to what worked a few years ago with his own team. This time around, Grand Hustle plans to continue cranking out hits while T.I. serves time. The long-delayed fourth album from Young Dro will be coming out in the near future. T.I. is trusting Young Dro to anchor the ship while he is away. Some time ago, Young Dro delivered a top ten hit, now it is his job to do this on a regular basis.

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Album Preview: T.I. - "No Mercy"

By The Hip Hop Writer
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer

After coming out of prison, T.I. re-entered the spotlight with his single, "I'm Back." It was the lead single for his properly-titled album, King Uncaged. But, as he was uncaged, the king found himself in trouble that landed him back in jail.

Upon learning he had to return to jail, T.I. changed the name of his album to No Mercy. Since he let his fans down twice, T.I. felt as if he did not deserve any mercy. Also, to all of his haters, T.I. will not be showing any mercy.

His first album in two years, T.I. has teamed up with the stars to celebrate his return. With an album loaded with collaborations, T.I. leaves the fans with something they will remember for years to come.

Track listing

  1. "Welcome to the World" featuring Kanye West and Kid Cudi
  2. "How Life Changed" featuring Mitchelle'l and Scarface
  3. "Get Back Up" featuring Chris Brown
  4. "I Can't Help It" featuring Rocko
  5. "That's All She Wrote" featuring Eminem
  6. "No Mercy" featuring The-Dream
  7. "Big Picture"
  8. "Strip" featuring Young Dro and Trey Songz
  9. "Salute"
10. "Amazing" featuring Pharrell
11. "Everything on Me"
12. "Poppin Bottles" featuring Drake
13. "Lay Me Down"
14. "Castle Walls" featuring Christina Aguilera

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Young Dro responds to 50 Cent

Back in 2008, it appeared that 50 Cent was heading into a feud with T.I. There was a track that he released with G-Unit that spoke of someone who had snitched. No one was mentioned by name, but at the time, there were rumors that T.I. had snitched in order to receive a lighter prison sentence.

50 Cent would come back later to say that he would never diss anyone without saying their name. He said that if he wanted to feud with T.I., it would be no secret. However, he has said negative things about T.I. in the years since. T.I. said that he has no time for petty feuds.

Recently, Young Dro spoke on the negative comments that 50 Cent has had for T.I. Dro said that he has known T.I. for most of his life and he would never snitch. As far as 50 Cent, Young Dro said that he will always have something to say, so he will let him keep on doing so. But, Dro knows the truth and the people who know about the Grand Hustle crew know the truth.

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