Clifford Joseph Harris, Jr., better known by his stage name "T.I." or his alter-ego "T.I.P.," is a rapper, songwriter, producer, actor, and co-CEO of Grand Hustle Records.

Harris was born in Bankead, Georgia on September 25, 1980. As a child, he was raised by his grandparents; it was his grandfather who gave him the nickname "Tip." As a teen, Harris sold drugs and was later discovered and given an offer with LaFace Records (subsidiary of Arista Records) in 2001, upon which he shortened his nickname to "T.I." out of respect for rapper Q-Tip.

In October 2001, T.I. released the album "I'm Serious," followed by "Trap Muzik" in 2003, "Urban Legend" in 2004, "King" in 2006, "T.I. vs T.I.P." in 2007, and his latest album, "Paper Trail," in 2008.

In 2006, T.I. starred in the movie ATL, which performed relatively well at the box office. Since then, he has made appearances in other films and television shows as well.

On October 13, 2007, T.I. was arrested just hours before the BET Music Awards for possession of illegal firearms and was charged with possession of firearms by a convicted felon. Upon completing 1,000 hours of community service, T.I. will serve a year in prison beginning March 2009.

Despite experiencing legal troubles and releasing a plethora of albums in a relatively short amount of time, T.I. has one several Grammy awards and has produced nine Billboard Hot 100 singles.

References:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/T.I.