T.I. grew up in the Bankhead neighborhood of Atlanta, Georgia, born to Violetta Morgan and Clifford Harris Sr. His original stage name, T.I.P., stems from his childhood nickname "Tip", which he got from his grandfather. T.I. was first exposed to hip-hop at the age of seven, and by the time he was 11 he had decided to pursue a career in rap seriously; he signed his first record deal at age 19.

Due to his Southern drawl, many fans mistook his name for "Chip", so he began spelling it out "T.I.P". Upon signing with Arista Records subsidiary LaFace Records in 2001, he shortened his name to T.I. out of respect for label mate Q-Tip.

He is also known to go by "Rubberband Man" and the self-proclaimed "King of the South" (which has created several cases of controversy between other southern rappers, such as Lil' Flip and Ludacris). He serves as Bow Wow's ghostwriter to this day. He also wrote about 30% percent of his third album Unleashed and he wrote the 3rd verse and chorus to his single "Let's Get Down".[1] He has written lyrics for other artists such as Diddy & Lil Kim.

T.I. is known for his rapid-fire delivery of lyrics; there were also some noticeable changes in the way he flowed through out his career. Earlier in his career, he flowed in a slow-like, southern fashion which can be heard in songs like "I'm Serious", "24's" and "Never Scared". In the second era of his career, he sound more relaxed and laid back (ex. "Bring Em Out", "Soldier", "What You Know", "U Don't Know Me" & "ASAP"). Later on in his career, his flow went from a slow and drowsy effect (ex. "Top Back" and "Drive Slow") to a faster flow which can be heard in "We Takin Over", Touch, "My Love", "Make It Rain Remix" & I'm a Flirt Remix. T.I.'s flow continues to change through out every song he appears on, illustrating his control and expertise at being able to adapt to any beat that is presented to him.