Since he first burst on the scene in 2001 with his impressive solo debut, "I'M SERIOUS," T.I. has proven himself to be more than just a maker of hit records. In addition to the millions of albums sold worldwide over the course of his career, T.I.'s striking good looks, impeccable sense of style, and charismatic personality have catapulted him onto cover of VIBE (January '05) and into the fashion pages of GQ (May '05), earned him the award for Most Stylish Male at the 2005 BET Awards, and secured him spots on BET's "All Shades of Fine: 25 Hottest Men of the Last 25 Years" and Teen People's "The 25 Hottest Stars Under 25" lists. In April 2005, he became the first rapper to appear/perform on the hit Fox TV show, "The O.C." and he's been featured prominently in print ad campaigns for Reebok's S. Carter sneaker line and Sean John clothing. T.I. will make his acting debut on March 31st 2006 in the Overbrook/Warner Bros. feature film, "ATL," directed by famed video director Chris Robinson.
Over the years, T.I. has also continued to expand his already impressive business portfolio. In 2005 alone, he launched his own film production company, Grand Hustle Films, signed a multi-artist joint venture deal for his label, Grand Hustle, with Atlantic Records, and established a music publishing deal for Grand Hustle Music with Warner Chappell. He also co-executive produced the soundtrack to the hit film, "HUSTLE & FLOW," and released the collection through Grand Hustle/Atlantic and did the same for the debut album of his group P$C, "25 TO LIFE."
T.I. has stepped up his community involvement as well, taking the lead on several initiatives to help the victims devastated by Hurricane Katrina, including personally donating $50,000 to the relief effort while leading an on-air Labor Day pledge drive on Atlanta's V-103 FM that raised over $263,000 for Mississippi rapper David Banner's "Heal the Hood" Foundation. He also partnered with David Banner and Atlanta newcomer Young Jeezy for a two-day food and clothing drive at Atlanta's Club Vision and co-headlined a massive benefit concert on September 17, sharing the bill with heavyweights such as Nelly, OutKast's Big Boi, and David Banner - with 100 percent of the proceeds going to "Heal the Hood."
In addition to his Hurricane Katrina relief efforts, T.I. worked with troubled youths at Paulding Detention Center in Atlanta, provided scholarships for single parent families at Boys and Girls Clubs, and headlined Boost Mobile's RockCorps concert at New York's Radio City Music Hall, which featured such performers as Fat Joe, Slim Thug, and Kanye West, and was held exclusively for community service volunteers. In June 2005, The Lisa "Left Eye" Lopez Foundation, named for the deceased member of multi-platinum female group TLC, and Atlanta's V-103 honored T.I. with the 2005 Lisa Lopez Award for groundbreaking achievements in music and community service. With this steady list of growing accomplishments in music, business, and community service, it's no surprise that Pharrell Williams of multi-platinum production team the Neptunes has called T.I. the "Jay-Z of the South."
