Tag: T.I. (11-20 of 34)

Jan 4 2011 04:47 PM ET

Georgia rapper Waka Flocka Flame jailed on drug, weapons charges: Depressing day for hip-hop fans continues

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Waka-Flocka-FlameImage Credit: Jordin Althaus/WireImage.comWaka Flocka Flame is currently incarcerated in Henry County, Georgia, the county sherriff’s office confirms. The rapper, whose major-label debut album was released in October to positive reviews, was arrested yesterday and booked on charges including possession of marijuana (less than one ounce), possession of firearm by a convicted felon, possession of hydrocodone, possession of a firearm during the commission of a felony, violation of probation for driving on a suspended license, and violating Georgia’s Criminal Street Gang and Terror Prevention Act. The charges stem from a police raid on his home last month.

A preliminary hearing for those charges today set Waka Flocka Flame’s bond at $31,950. His bond has not yet been paid, but even if it is, he must remain behind bars awaiting a probation hearing on Jan. 6 (this Thursday). A rep for Waka’s label declined to comment. READ FULL STORY »

Dec 15 2010 01:18 PM ET

Susan Boyle's 'Gift' spends its fourth week at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart

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Susan Boyle’s The Gift comes in at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 albums chart for the fourth (non-consecutive) week, selling 243,000 more albums. And again, Taylor Swift’s Speak Now follows at No. 2 with 201,000 albums sold. Meanwhile, Glee‘s Christmas album jumps up a slot to No. 3 with 193,000 sets moved.

The chart’s highest debut is T.I.’s No. 4 No Mercy with an underwhelming 159,000 albums sold. His current jail stint leaves him unable to properly promote it. These kinds of numbers were surely expected. Check out the entire top 10 below.

Dec. 15, 2010′s Billboard 200 albums top 10

No. 1 – Susan Boyle, The Gift: 243,000

No. 2 – Taylor Swift, Speak Now: 201,000

No. 3 – Glee‘s Christmas album: 193,000

No. 4 – T.I., No Mercy: 159,000

No. 5 – Jackie Evancho, O Holy Night: 149,000

No. 6 – Nicki Minaj, Pink Friday: 82,000

No. 7 – Josh Groban, Illuminations: 75,000

No. 8 – Glee, the Music: Season Two: Volume 4, 74,000

No. 9 – Rihanna, Loud: 71,000

No. 10 – Daft Punk, TRON: Legacy: 71,000

(Follow the Music Mix on Twitter: @EWMusicMix.)

Dec 7 2010 04:08 PM ET

T.I. releases 'No Mercy': Can he make his new album a hit from jail?

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TIImage Credit: Arnold Turner/WireImage.comT.I. couldn’t have picked a worse time to be missing in action. The rapper-actor, 30, should be out hawking his long-delayed seventh album, No Mercy, which finally arrived in stores today. Instead he’s sitting in a federal prison cell in Arkansas, where he began an 11-month sentence on Nov. 1 after violating probation. “We were gearing up to put an album out,” sighs Michael Kyser, head of urban music at Atlantic Records, T.I.’s label since 2003. “But we wanted him to help market and promote it. That would have been nice.”

Click through to the jump for more of this magazine preview. READ FULL STORY »

Dec 7 2010 02:32 PM ET

T.I., Duffy, and Charlie Wilson albums in stores today: Which ones will you buy?

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ti-duffy-wilsonToday marks the release of albums from T.I., Duffy, and Charlie Wilson. T.I.’s No Mercy, whose sales will no doubt be affected by his incarceration, is a solid effort. Here he’s apologetic at times. But more often than not, he’s the brash rhymer we know him to be. R&B icon Charlie Wilson returns with another EW-revered effort, rife with smooth tunes and a few bouncy dance tracks as well. While Duffy’s Endlessly finds her teaming up with ’60s writer Albert Hammond for some more retro stylings.

Which albums are you looking out for this week? Let us know.

(Follow the Music Mix on Twitter: @EWMusicMix.)

Dec 7 2010 11:09 AM ET

T.I. blasts hypocrites and suggests he's the next Tupac in 'No Mercy' video: Watch here

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T.I. sits somewhere between remorseful and irritated in the video for his new album’s title track, The-Dream-assisted “No Mercy.” Sitting in a church, the now-incarcerated rhymer blames poor school systems, poor upbringings, and hypocrite haters for his current issues with the law, while taking some of the blame for possibly blowing amazing opportunities afforded to him by his talent. He also likens himself to slain rapper Tupac Shakur, who also had numerous run-ins with the law before being shot.

“Could it be possibly the second coming of ‘Pac is me?” he asks in the song. “Remember that? When he was here? And when he died you realized you need him here? God with me, partner. Ain’t no one for me to fear.” T.I. also says the money and success he’s earned just make it harder to believe that his life is still a rough one. “You can be for certain ain’t nobody perfect. But when you’re rich, nobody gives a s—, no mercy.”

True as that may be, it’s difficult to feel for a person as gifted and [seemingly] financially well off as T.I. when he makes so many ill-advised, potentially career-ending mistakes. If he’s to be held at the same regard as his peers, then he has to be able compete with them. And that can’t be done from jail. Jay-Z, an admitted former drug dealer, has been on the up and up for more than a decade now. And for all the bonehead moves Kanye West is criticized for, he’s at least managed to avoid the revolving door that sometimes appears to vacuum rappers into jails and courthouses.

Watch T.I. plead his case after the jump and let us know what you think of the video.

READ FULL STORY »

Dec 6 2010 08:00 AM ET

T.I. performs 'What You Know' on his VH1 Storytellers: Check out the EW exclusive here

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On the heels of T.I.‘s No Mercy release, VH1 will air their latest edition of Storytellers–featuring the Atlanta rap star this Friday (Dec. 10) at 11 pm. Recorded months ago when Mercy was still entitled King Uncaged and T.I. was still a free man, the show mostly focuses on the stories behind his biggest hits as well as old cuts he’s hardly performed, rather than even a few songs from his new offering. In this EW exclusive clip, he explains what inspired his chart-topping 2006 single “What You Know.”  It was recorded while he was filming ATL,  his first movie and, well, I’ll let him explain it himself. Check out the clip after the jump.

READ FULL STORY »

Nov 30 2010 11:50 AM ET

New T.I. track feat. Christina Aguilera, 'Castle Walls': Hear it here

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TI-AguileraImage Credit: Frank Micelotta/Getty ImagesThough he is currently living behind walls of a different kind, T.I.’s “Castle Walls” hit the internet today, featuring a melancholy chorus courtesy of one Christina Burlesque Aguilera that goes, in part: “Everyone thinks that I have it all / but it’s so empty living behind / these castle walls (these castle walls) / If I should tumble if I should fall would anyone hear me / screaming behind these castle walls?”

It’s a mournful, lonely song, the latest in a line of Trust Me, The Platinum Grass Isn’t Any Greener hip-hop confessionals (see also: B.o.B, Drake, Kanye): READ FULL STORY »

Nov 23 2010 12:27 PM ET

Kanye West and Kid Cudi team up for T.I.'s 'Welcome to the World'

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TI-KANYE-WESTImage Credit: Arnold Turner/WireImage.comT.I. is back in prison, but he’s still proceeding with plans to release his album No Mercy on Dec. 7. The track that just leaked online should help rev up his fans. It’s called “Welcome to the World,” and it features Kanye West and Kid Cudi, two of T.I.’s most talented peers in rap right now.

The vibe is suitably dark given T.I.’s current situation. West introduces the listener to a lifestyle defined by “fast money, fast cars” but also “fake smiles” over an unnerving piano loop. “If you’re looking for your real love, you won’t find it here/If you’re looking for your real love, well, good night my dear,” he says caustically. “If you’re looking for real love, don’t come around here,” adds Cudi through heavy reverb. Man, these guys don’t make being a world-famous rap star sound like any fun at all.

T.I. kicks a typically nimble verse, full of the chattering flows and casual threats that are second nature to him. But the verse on this song that everyone’s going to be talking about belongs to West. He sounds as furious and focused as I’ve ever heard him here. “You must not really know where I come from/Exactly where my heart,” West raps, his voice rising in intensity. “Or you would never, never, NEVER — where do I start?” After addressing the moronic rumors that he’s part of some Illuminati secret society, he moves to an even more sensitive topic: T.I.’s legal troubles. “They’d rather see a n—- locked up,” West says of unnamed critics. “Why? For stupid s—/Look how they did my n— Tip/Soon as Wayne get out, Tip go in.”

Right now it’s just an unofficial leak, but a rep for T.I.’s label confirms that “Welcome to the World” will appear on No Mercy. That’s great news. Have you heard “Welcome to the World”? How do you like it?

(Follow The Music Mix on Twitter: @EWMusicMix.)

More on the Music Mix:
T.I.’s No Mercy due in December
EW’s review of Kanye West’s My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy

Nov 19 2010 03:16 PM ET

T.I. calls current prison stint 'truly a pain I've never felt before'

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Moses Robinson/WireImage.com

Rapper T.I., born Clifford Harris, recently returned to an Arkansas state penitentiary to serve 11 months for parole violation, and he is calling the experience “truly a pain I have never felt before and that’s saying a lot for a n—- who’s been down locked up as many times as I have.”

I see this as a real ass whoopin’,” he writes on his blog of serving the sentence, four months longer than the one he finished earlier this year for a 2007 felony weapons charge. “I don’ t know what effect this will have on my life moving forward but I’m certainly sick and mother f*cking tired of going to jail, juvie, prison, the pen, correctional facilities or whatever else you want to call it.”

“I’d have been better off doing a 5-10 year bid one time than going in time and time again for days, weeks and months for the last 15 years of my life,” he continues. “Even though it’s been a long road, I’m still standing, barely but nevertheless still standing.”

“At one time I thought my motivation for continuing was for my fans, my partna Philant, my pops, my grandmama, even for the haters or the people I let down. But nah… I got to do this s— for me!!! I’ll be God damned if I’ve come all this way and made it through so much hell to let it go down like this! F*ck that! If an hour in the dark is worth a second in the sun then pass me my mother f*ckin’ shades cause I’m ready to cash my darkest hours in…ASAP!!”

Read the post in its entirety here.

(Follow the Music Mix on Twitter: @EWMusicMix.)

More on the Music Mix:
DMX arrested in Arizona for violating probation
Akon vows to never release any more Michael Jackson tracks
Cee Lo: Why wasn’t his album a hit?

Nov 3 2010 06:27 PM ET

T.I.'s 'No Mercy' due in December

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takersImage Credit: Suzanne TennerTwo days after T.I. reported back to an Arkansas prison to begin an 11-month sentence for probation violation, his album No Mercy finally has an official release date. Atlantic Records announced today via press release that No Mercy will arrive in stores Dec. 7.

No Mercy, originally titled King Uncaged before a recent switch, has seen numerous delays. A tracklist has yet to be revealed, but Atlantic also revealed that Kanye West, Eminem, Chris Brown, The-Dream, and Christina Aguilera will all provide guest vocals.

Looking forward to No Mercy? Let us know in comments.

(Follow The Music Mix on Twitter: @EWMusicMix.)

More on the Music Mix:
T.I. sentenced to 11 more months in prison
T.I. changes album title: He’s a King Uncaged no longer

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