T.I. is in a bit of a transitional period right now.
The hip-hop superstar completed his obligations to longtime label home Atlantic Records with last year’s Trouble Man: Heavy Is the Head, and as such, he’s been weighing his options as far as where he will sign next. One of the biggest names in the industry, the Atlanta native also has his lucrative Grand Hustle imprint as part of the package — making for a very attractive asset for potential label destinations.
But Tip is taking his time making his decision. Since the end of his Atlantic contract, he’s more or less been operating as an independent. In a recent interview with MTV, T.I. revealed that, while he’s putting in a lot more work now that he doesn’t have Atlantic backing him, he’s got his eye on the bigger prize down the road.
“It’s a lot of work, man, it’s a lot of resources to be dedicated to it,” T.I. said of his current position. “But at the end of the day I think it’s worth it.”
He also said that this period reminds him of his career following the release of his debut album, I’m Serious. That project failed to make a commercial impact when it came out back in 2001 on Arista Records, and as a result, the rapper and that label parted ways. That led to him finding a new home at Atlantic, where his career subsequently took off.
“It put me back into mind of where we were after I’m Serious, where we had to put our own funds and resources into [2003’s] Trap Muzik,” Tip said. “I think that led to a beautiful situation … and I think right now we’re just working to reach another beautiful situation.”
T.I.’s Grand Hustle imprint released it’s Hustle Gang mixtape project, “Get Dough Or Die (G.D.O.D.),” back in May.
