His original stage name, "T.I.P.", stems from his childhood nickname Tip. Due to his southern drawl, fans mistook his name for "Chip", so he began spelling it out "T.I.P". He later shortened it to T.I. when he was on Arista out of respect for Q-tip who was also an Arista artist. He also previously had a feud with Houston rapper Lil' Flip. They both claim to be the "King of the South", which led to an album created by a southern DJ. This album is called Fight for the Throne. The CD has unreleased songs and freestyle raps of the two rappers slaying words of hate and insult to each other. The CD was never put on shelves for music label reasons, but can be downloaded from Limewire and Kazaa. The thirty two track CD is a smash hit in the underground rap world.

T.I has four children (three boys and one girl) by three different women.

T.I. signed to Arista Records subsidiary LaFace Records in 2001. He is a member of an underground "posse" known as P$C (Pimp Squad Clique). He runs his own record label called Grand Hustle Records. He generated a buzz after releasing his debut album I'm Serious, which spawned the single of the same title which featured reggae vocalist Beenie Man. His debut included Pharrell Williams of The Neptunes, Jazze Pha and The Youngbloodz.

Due to lack of promotion he left LaFace. After a two year hiatus, T.I. reemerged on Bone Crusher's single Neva Scared and from that success he was quickly signed to Atlantic Records. His success since his departure from Arista came from his Platinum-selling sophomore album Trap Muzik.

Trap Muzik quickly became one of the fastest selling records. Hits "24s," "Rubberband Man," and "Be Easy". The success of the album was followed by some controversy: while on tour, T.I. turned himself in and was charged with violating his probation over a 1998 drug charge. He was sentenced to three years in prison. While there he was granted rights to film the music video for his introduction at WHTA/Hot 107.9's Birthday bash.

--Wikipedia