photo credit: Power 106
One of the most out spoken voices in hip-hop and the hip-hop community, and always giving us a plethora of new vocabulary to research, T.I. came through to the Power 106 studios for a “Close Conversation” with #NickCannonMornings.
Both TIP and Cannon are proven vets in entertainment whether it be music, film, production, and more, the two have actually come up together in the industry. Nick Cannon shares how he witnesses T.I. battle rapping early on and during the time of the classic ‘Drumline’, both artists were up for the leading role that ultimately went to Nick. Speaking on coming up together in the industry, T.I. explained how he has never lost sight of who he is even though his is a prominent voice and face of the culture. T.I. tells Nick, “I mean you got to know who you is before you get here. You know it. Just like you, how you stayed square as a chair for all this time. You knew who you was before you got here.” TIP continues saying, “Like, a lot of people, they come in to this trying to find themselves. I was already TIP before I got in the game. And that’s the only me I know how to be.”
As the Atlanta rapper has gained titles of activist and even garnered some comparisons to Civil Rights leaders like the late Malcolm X, TIP confesses that he doesn’t take the comparisons lightly but he would not exactly agree.
I just remember that it ain’t about me. This shit ain’t about me. I’m a vessel. I’m an instrument. Yeah, I’m the messenger. I just happen to be blessed with the message. Like, a lot of other people see sh*t that I see and understand what I know, it’s just that they walk around and mother f***ers thinking they’re crazy because they can’t articulate it the way I can.
Speaking on the origins of the Trap Music genre and whether or not he is the sole creator of the sound, T.I. also explains why he is definitely a founding member of the genre, which includes Gucci Mane and Jeezy, but he is also the first rapper to create Trap Music.
The word “trap” and the word “music” had never been combines before my second album came out. So, that’s why, to me, it’s not a debate. However, I don’t discredit anything that any of the founding contributors of the genre.
T.I. goes on to discuss family life and raising his children under the spotlight and affluence, announces a “Thot Prevention Program” and drops his Mount Rushmore of hip-hop.
Watch the full T.I. “Close Conversations” with #NickCannonMornings below!
