T.I. Vs. T.I.P.: Take Your Pick

The whole alter ego thing has pretty much been done to death in hip-hop. Ever since Kool Keith introduced the idea to rap music, artists including Canibus, Tupac, Eminem and members of the Wu-Tang Clan have created separate identities as a form of catharsis, often to help exorcise their often violent urges. But in a slight twist to the tired gimmick, T.I. (real name Clifford Harris Jr.) has spawned a level-headed, business-savvy persona to complement his often erratic, streetwise counterpart.

While the gangsta image seems to come with being a hip-hop star and carries into every aspect of a rap artist's career, T.I. displays a level of integrity on the business side that's rare in the genre. He attributes it to his upbringing.

"Those were the standards I was taught to maintain," says T.I. in his laid-back southern drawl. "Anyone that doesn't conduct themselves in that matter — sucks to be them. This is life, man, and this is the person my parents raised."

T.I. knows that for rap artists to be taken seriously as entrepreneurs, they have to leave the thug at the door and conduct themselves with a little class. He hopes that he can show younger artists that sometimes they need to shake the gangsta attitude and mature like he did.

"I'm trying," T.I. says about paving a better path for younger artists. "It's not exactly perfected, you know, but those are my intentions.

"Anything that I can do to help hip-hop progress, man, I'm honoured to do it. I care about how I act now. Before, I didn't care. [It was like] whatever I do, I just do it. You don't like it, fuck you. Now I'm a little bit more mindful of my actions."

This past year has been filled with the greatest of highs and the darkest of lows for the Atlanta rapper. King was the highest selling hip-hop album in the U.S. last year and was widely considered an instant classic. First single "What You Know" earned T.I. a Grammy.

But not long after the album's release, one of his close friends was killed when a gunfight erupted outside a nightclub in Cincinnati. Earlier this year, T.I.'s expected daughter was stillborn. These ups and downs are reflected on his latest record, T.I. Vs. T.I.P., which has topped the U.S. sales chart in the two weeks since its release.

"You have to have inspiration to supply the material, and last year was a year that provided enough inspiration," T.I. says. "All of the things people felt and were intrigued by [in my life]. All the triumph and the tragedy, people wanted to know, so I gave it to them."

With T.I.'s headstrong business approach, he has already begun expanding his empire, leaving little time for himself.

"I don't really isolate time just for me," he says. "If I do get time, before I spend time with myself I got to dedicate it to the kids or the rest of my family or more work.

"Just because I got time off from music don't mean time off from movies or fashion or as an executive. Just T.I. as [a rap] artist gets time off."