T.I. Sounds off on Recent Success

Not one for modesty, T.I. has told MTV that he’s finally getting the recognition he deserved from the start, as his fourth LP, King, topped the Billboard Album Charts earlier this week.

The self-proclaimed ‘King of the South’ saw his new album move more than 520,000 copies in its first week of release, claiming the No.1 spot on the Billboard charts.

“I have mixed feelings, because I feel like I should have been here when I dropped my first album,” he said. “I feel I should have been right here in this position. I feel like I should have had Nelly’s or 50’s career. I should have dropped and debuted #1 and went hard from the top. But God don’t make mistakes, and I don’t regret none of the things I went through.”

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T.I.’s debut album, I’m Serious, was very much an underground gem, and it wasn’t until his follow-up, 2003’s Trap Musik, that he garnered the critical acclaim he craved. The album’s turning point came with the release of Rubber Band Man, which helped the LP sell close to one million copies.

Then came the ground-breaking Urban Legend, which shot T.I. to superstar status with hits like Bring ‘Em Out, ASAP and U Don’t Know Me.

T.I. will be releasing his next single, Why You Wanna, soon. The song uses a sample from the well-known dance track, Gypsy Woman by Crystal Waters.

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“I will not tell a lie, I cannot take any credit for that sample,” he explained. “Kato, a Grand Hustle producer, he came in and gave me the track. I didn’t know what the sample was from. I think [my publicist] was like, ‘That’s from an old song.’ Then when people started singing it, I was like, ‘I remember that.’ I like the response from that song, that’s a definite bond with the ladies I haven’t had.”