T.I. was born Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. on September 25, 1980, in Bankhead, Atlanta, Georgia.[2] He was raised by his grandparents and was a drug dealer as a teenager.[3] He stated "I carried guns...
T.I. got the name t.i. because when he was young, his family and friends called him TIP. He originated t.i. from tip. I got this from t.i.'s interview on Larry king.