T.I Says Atlantic Records Wanted the Gangsta T.I

Last year, after T.I dropped his Trouble Man album (his 8th studio album), he parted ways with Atlantic Records. He signed his Grand Hustle Records to Atlantic Records in 2003, and was with them for a full decade before his contract ended last year. T.I was very successful with his gangsta/trap music style throughout the mid and late 2000s. He started going in and out of jail in the late 2000s, and his last two albums, No Mercy and Trouble Man have been reflection albums; more of a T.I trying to be a responsible man than portraying a gangsta self. He didn't go all out with the gangsta persona, and he says Atlantic Records never liked that. In a recent interview with XXL Magazine, T.I said Atlantic Records preferred the hardcore T.I to the "family man" T.I-

"Nah, Atlantic Records hated it. Labels love hardcore T.I. That keeps the cash register ringing. They don’t want me to go to prison and caught though. They want me to be the Teflon Don, and I can’t blame them. That shit’s sexy. But I’m older, man. I’m wiser, I’m calmer… I’m better, stronger. I’m ready for whatever tomorrow got coming."






Hmm! I guess the labels are all about the money. Well, you can't blame them; they are a business venture. At his peak, "hardcore" T.I was selling millions, but "family man" T.I can only go Gold. Urban Legend (2004) sold over a million copies; King (2006) sold 522k first week, and went on to sell over 1.7 million copies; T.I. vs. T.I.P (2007) sold 1.5 million copies; Paper Trail (2008) sold 568,000 copies first week, and went on to sell 3 million copies in the U.S alone. Compare those album sales with the sales of his albums that were released after he decided to change his hardcore ways, and the difference is clear. In 2010, he released No Mercy, which sold 589,000 copies total; which is what "hardcore" T.I would normally sell in its first week. And his latest effort, Trouble Man: Heavy Is the Head has sold 491,000 copies to date, since it was released last year December.




T.I is currently an independent artist. He was shopping his Grand Hustle imprint to labels earlier this year for 50-60 million, but didn't get through with any deal. The deal was supposed to include the artists under his label (B.O.B, Iggy Azalea...), merchandizing, his TV Show, and some other angles. He didn't get a good deal, so right now, he has decided to do things on his terms, and stay independent.