T.I Clifford Joseph Harris
Clifford Joseph Harris Jr., (born September 25, 1980), better known by his stage name T.I., and also by his alter ego T.I.P., is a Grammy Award-winning American rapper, songwriter, producer, actor and co-CEO of Grand Hustle Records. As of January 2009, T.I. has had nine Top 10 Billboard Hot 100 singles, with three of them reaching number one ("My Love" with Justin Timberlake, "Whatever You Like", and "Live Your Life" featuring Rihanna).
T.I. was born in Bankhead, Atlanta, Georgia. He was raised by his grandparents and was a drug dealer as a teenager. T.I. explained the origin of his nickname Rubber Band Man, saying, "We used to wear rubber bands to signify how much money, how much blow we had." He was nicknamed "Tip" after his paternal great-grandfather. Kawan "KP" Prather, a record executive, discovered and signed T.I. when he was a teenager. Upon signing with Arista Records subsidiary LaFace Records in 2001, he shortened his name to T.I. out of respect for label mate Q-Tip. T.I. has been in a relationship with former Xscape member Tameka "Tiny" Cottle since 2001. Together, they have two sons: Clifford 'King' Joseph III and Major Philant. Their daughter, Llayah Amour, was stillborn six months into a complicated pregnancy. He has two sons with ex-girlfriend Lashon Dixon: Domani Uriah and Messiah Ya'Majesty. T.I also has a daughter called Deyjah Imani from another relationship.
