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T.I. would be the first to admit he’s no stranger to hustling.
But these days the rapper (born Clifford Joseph Harris Jr.) is in no rush to do, see, be or get anything. And despite the current commotion in his Atlanta home during his PEOPLE photo shoot and interview for this week’s issue, he’s the epitome of calm.
“It’s just another day at the Black House,” he says, referring to his palatial estate, now filled with his large family, including his wife, Tiny (real name: Tameka Cottle-Harris), and their combined seven children: daughter Zonnique, 30, son Messiah, 26, son Domani, 25, daughter Deyjah, 25, son King, 21, son Major, 18, and daughter Heiress, 10.
“It’s always great when I get all the kids and everybody together at one time, because when they move out of the house, they have their own lives. They’re doing all their ripping and running.”
But not him, not anymore—and that’s exactly how the Grammy winner, 45, likes it these days. This October will mark 25 years since he released his debut album, I’m Serious, and introduced the world to his thick drawl and quick, witty lyrics. He’s responsible for era-defining early-2000s hits like “Bring Em Out” and “Whatever You Like,” as well as chart-topping collaborations like Justin Timberlake’s “My Love” and the Rihanna-blessed anthem “Live Your Life.”
In 2011 he and Tiny, 51, a music star in her own right with the ’90s girl group Xscape, took their talents and troubles, along with those of their boisterous blended family, to reality TV, starring on VH1’s T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle, which ran until 2017. Now, after a protracted break from both music and TV, and having survived no shortage of controversies in the public eye, the rapper is officially signing off from music with one final album, the recently released Kill the King.
Why now? “I’ve gotten everything I prayed for from the game,” T.I. explains.
The star has indeed exceeded his own expectations. Raised primarily by his grandparents in Atlanta’s low-income Central Hill neighborhood, he started rapping as a young kid and began building his lyrics and reputation off of criminal activity. “Around 17, 18, I was really willing to do the most outlandish s---,” he says, describing a time he and a friend stole a new car from a local gas station. “I was on a high-speed chase with civilians.”
In retrospect, he adds, “I should have been somewhere reading or writing, learning to play the piano. I would tell my younger self, ‘Man, focus this time and this attention into something that could better serve you later on in life, because you going to need it.’ ”
