Rapper T.I. said the largest payout that he has ever received was eight figures.
In an interview last week with Tony the Closer YouTube channel, he revealed he once received a check for $26M. The host posted a clip of their conversation on his Instagram.
When asked by host Tony Robinson what that moment it felt like, the Grand Hustle rapper said it was “like the devil could potentially pull you under.”
“It feels like a lot of scrutiny,” he continued, adding, “People are after this. This is what everybody wants. I am holding it in my hand, and it has my name on it. And it feels like a lot of responsibility.”
Tony the Closer quipped, “It feels good to have that responsibility.”
“It feels better than being broke, I can tell you that,” Tip concluded.
While the Atlanta native, who currently has a net worth of $20 million, did not reveal in the clip what the check was for, followers of his enterprises likely understand that he has several avenues it could have come from.
As an actor, whose real name is Clifford Harris Jr., has cashed in his ability to morph into different characters while maintaining his own sense of style. His debut role as Rashad in the film “ATL” brought him accolades that carried over to the small screen. He had two recurring roles on television: as Lukas Frye on the hit series “House of Lies” and Luke on “Single Ladies.” One of his most substantial roles to date was in the revamp of the 1977 Alex Haley masterpiece, “Roots.” In 2016, he played the role of “Cyrus” on the History channel’s version of the pivotal miniseries.
His television career is not just linked to his scripted roles.
The entire Harris family became household names when he starred in and served as the showrunner and executive producer on six seasons of the “T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle” show.
By watching the show, fans fell in love with his insight on life and other matters, opening a lane for his “expeditiously with Tip T.I. Harris” podcast, which in just three years has received 42,576,515 views on YouTube.
Outside of entertainment, as T.I. also has a recording label where he discovered top artists like Iggy Azalea, he is seriously into real estate, small businesses, and creating cultural institutions.
One local business is his community development project in the Bankhead section of Atlanta, where he is a partner in building 143 units of affordable housing.
The artist-turned-developer says to his 14.5 million fans in the three-minute clip, “Checking on my development here in Bankhead.”
He continued to say, “I’m proud of it. This our first project,” an effort in a community that he knows well.
“If anybody got anything to say about me… don’t look at me look at my work. Look at my moves. We can kill all the cap!” he snapped.
The community will be complete with basic resources for the residents who have traditionally been underserved.
“I grew up in the 1980s and 90s in the Center Hill section of Atlanta, just off Bankhead Highway. Back then, that part of town was considered the lower end of the middle class,” T.I. revealed. “After the crack era, the community stalled, and from 1994 to 2012, it became an extremely desolate area for businesses. There’s no major grocery store chain. There’s no fresh produce. There’s no CVS. There are liquor stores.”
T.I. has partnered with Killer Mike and used their own money to buy the Bankhead Seafood building and invest in six other lots in the area. But he is not just focused on just building community, but also on helping to support the businesses that propel commerce.
During the height of the pandemic, the “About the Money” rapper co-hosted a virtual town hall to help viewers gain access to PPP loans.
He also has a tech company called Tech Cypha, an investment syndicate that “focuses on providing startups with capital, marketing, and branding direction through guided mentorship and various partnerships that include leveraging influencers.”
Still, the chart-topper’s “Trap Museum” has connected his music, the city of Atlanta, and small businesses all in one, preserving the history of the genre of music and becoming a tourist site for the city.
That $26 million check could have come through some of those, or some of his other businesses (Including a new cannabis company). Either way, we know the Grand Hustle emcee remains the “King of the South,” because no one can outwork him.
