Once dubbed “the Jay-Z of the South” by Pharrell Williams, T.I. gradually came into his own and established himself as one of rap’s greatest and most successful MCs during the early 2000s. Like Jay-Z, T.I has always carried a balance of smoothness and toughness, and though 2001’s I’m Serious (released on Arista) didn’t shoot him out of the gate a la Reasonable Doubt, he consistently grew and began a string of major hits with 2003’s “24’s.”
From that point through 2006, there wasn’t any point when T.I. couldn’t be heard within a couple hours on any given urban radio station throughout the U.S. 2003’s Trap Muzik, 2004’s Urban Legend, and 2006’s King — all released through the MC’s deal with Atlantic — were Top Ten albums, and King even spent some time at the very top of the chart. Released in tandem with his debut screen appearance in ATL, the album affirmed his status as a superstar. Some of T.I. most recent jams to grace the radio waves being “Big Things Poppin’” and “ASAP.”
Multi-talented T-Pain has tried his hand at singing, song writing, rapping and producing. T-Pain, real name Faheem Najm, started making music when he was just 10-years-old when he got hold of a keyboard, beat machine, and four-track recorder – he created a beat and made up a rap to it – and hasn’t stopped crafting music since. Since he first grace the rap scene in the early 2000’s he has been responsible for producing such hits as “I’m in luv with a Stripper” “Buy You a Drank” & “Bartender” and is no stranger to the top of the billboard charts.
The T.I. & T Pain takes place at the i Wireless Center on Sunday, Oct. 14th at 7:30 p.m. Tickets for the show may be purchased i wireless Center Box Office, all Ticketmaster outlets, or charge by phone at (563) 326-1111 (Quad Cities), (319) 363-1888 (Cedar Rapids), or (309) 676-8700 (Peoria) or order online at www.ticketmaster.com.