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T.I.'s Tales of the South

Posted on: Thursday, 30 March 2006, 06:00 CST

By Kelley L. Carter, Detroit Free Press

Mar. 30--T.I. likes telling stories.

The Atlanta rapper wants to report what life is like in communities that might be unfamiliar to many people -- street tales with a Southern twang.

He's doing it in two ways this week. He released a new album Tuesday and stars in his first film, "ATL," which opens Friday.

Technically, the new album, "King," which boldly proclaims his status as the premier Southern rap artist, is his fourth. But it has the feel of a sophomore follow-up, because the first two releases did only a little to raise his commercial profile.

His second album, 2003's "Trap Muzik," sold more than 500,000 copies and featured the single "Rubber Band Man," a street anthem of sorts. He wasn't able to celebrate the success of that record for long; while he was on tour, he was charged with violating probation from a 1998 drug charge. He turned himself in, and was released early in 2004.

That's when things changed for the better for the 25-year-old rapper -- real name Clifford Joseph Harris Jr.

In late 2004, T.I. dropped his third album, "Urban Legend," which produced the hot single "Bring 'Em Out." It debuted in the Top 10 and sealed T.I.'s status as a hip-hop heavyweight.

There's a lot pressure to sustain the success of that disc. And there's a lot riding on his new film, "ATL," which opens Friday.

"I I had to make this the album of my career," he says from a hotel suite in downtown Detroit, in town last week on a promotional tour. "I was up for the challenge. I found out what people liked about me and I found out a way to give it to them better."

For the album, he worked with a variety of musicians -- Just Blaze, Jamie Foxx, Mannie Fresh and Travis Barker of Blink-182. The success of the previous album was evident in the atmosphere of making the new one, T.I. says, drawling that "the money was better; the facilities were better."

He also was being handed screenplays and being courted for starring film roles.

In "ATL," he plays Rashod, a high school senior in Atlanta who hangs with a crew at a local skating rink. It's a coming-of-age film with a hip-hop twist, which takes on the challenges of impending college, figuring out the future and simply doing the right thing. It's loosely based on the hangout spot and activities of Atlantans, including Tionne Watkins (T-Boz) of TLC.

The story follows T.I.'s character, who works in the family custodial service business while trying to steer his younger brother away from selling drugs.

And though the rapper is already heading on the path to multi-layered success -- he's already in on a successful Atlanta nightclub and an auto concierge service and has plans for a fall clothing line and a hometown restaurant -- there's only one thing that will really indicate he's done his job well. T.I. hopes that this time next week, he'll be celebrating a No. 1 album and a No. 1 movie.

"Then," he says, "I will have made it known that this is all possible."

Contact KELLEY L. CARTER at 313-222-8854 or carter@freepress.com.

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Copyright (c) 2006, Detroit Free Press

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Source: Detroit Free Press

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