T.I.: before he had an album, he had a Serious record - Music Spotlight - Brief Article

Interview, Nov, 2001 by Marc Weingarten

As gangsta rap continues to become a B-movie parody of itself and players shuck The Real so they can mock moves gleaned from their forbears, few hip-hoppers are working with dirt under their nails. Which is why southern rapper T.I.'s debut, I'm Serious, is such a refreshing blast of streetwise bravado.

Talk about paying your dues. By the time he was. 14, this Bankhead, Georgia, native had gone the drug-dealing route and been arrested countless times before puberty. He's poured all of that urban ugliness into I'm Serious. "I was hardheaded, to say the least," says the 20-year-old. "I just had no guidance."

A chance audition with L.A. Reid protege KP netted him a recording contact and saved his life. "I'd been rapping since I was seven," says T.I., who counts LL Cool J as a major influence. Just don't lump him in with the Cash Money crowd; despite T.I.'s pronounced dirty South accent, the socially conscious I'm Serious pulls styles from all over the map. "I've got a variety of different music--from North to East to West," he says. 'I wanted to separate myself from everybody else."

Marc Weingarten is the author of Station to Station: The History of Rock 'n' Roll on Television (Pocket Books). Above: T.I. wears a top by VERSACE and pants by D&G.; Styling and grooming: MARIA ESTES. For fashion and photo details see page 151. Photographer: ALLEN CLARK at TIG.