Labeled Jay-Z from the South by Pharrell Williams, T.I. unquestionably possesses all the quality needed to receive such title looking from the superb talent and skills he has shown through his growing career in American music industry. A native of Atlanta Georgia born Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. on September 25, 1980, T.I. has been rapping since he was still a nine-year-old boy. He then signed a deal with Arista Records subsidiary LaFace Records at the age of merely nineteen. Initially going under the moniker of T.I.P., a version of his childhood nickname Tip, he later shortened it to T.I. out of respect for fellow rapper Q-Tip who also joined the company as its recording artist.