T.I.

One of the most successful rap MCs of the early 2000s, Tip Harris (born Clifford Harris in Atlanta in 1980, and occasionally credited by his musical pseudonym, T.I.), earned the moniker "the Jay-Z of the South" for his ability (like the said East Coast rapper) to meld toughness and smoothness with great dexterity. With such album releases as the 2003 Trap Muzik, the 2004 Urban Legend, and the 2006 King, T.I. not only seemed able to do no wrong in terms of numbers, but attained such popularity that he could soon be heard within a couple of hours on any major urban radio station.T.I. segued into film work in the mid-2000s with two parts: the lead in the gentle, slice-of-life ensemble drama ATL (2006) -- a picture about a young man and his friends growing up amid a difficult and confusing life in Atlanta -- and a small role in the Denzel Washington-headlined period crime drama American Gangster (2007), directed by Ridley Scott.