T.I. is taking trap music culture to the next level. The rapper celebrated his album, which highlights trap music, with a Trap Music Museum this past weekend. T.I., of course, had his wife, Tameka “Tiny” Harris, and kids in tow to help him celebrate.
Trap music comes naturally for T.I. as the form of tunes are based on the culture of his childhood neighborhood in Bankhead. The Atlanta area is considered one of the toughest with crime and drug use as the norm. Still, T.I. never forgets his upbringing and always comes back home.
“He represents us,” one Bankhead resident, who helped rear T.I. when he was a child, tells media. “He always comes back home. Nothing but love for him.”
When recently asked about his plans to further advance trap music with a museum, T.I. broadened the scope to his childhood community. “I want to celebrate the culture and not just me,” he explained. “The easy thing for me to do is set up a show and it just be me and perform all the songs from trap music, which I was tempted to do. The genre has become so significant that I felt it deserved more than that. It’s really going to be a place where people can take pictures and kind of interact.”
The rapper also commented on critics who scrutinize trap music for its focus on guns, drugs, and overall violence. “If I am being reflective and honestly interpreting the effects my experiences had on me, the people who weren’t there won’t be able to decipher that reflection from glorification,” he explained.
“I’m going to speak about it the same way Al Bundy speaks about scoring three touchdowns in one game at Polk High. That’s how he spent his teenage years. Those were his glory moments. I didn’t play football. I sold dope. … I’m proud I survived those things. I’m not proud of all of things I necessarily did, but proud of all the lessons that I learned from them.”
T.I. and Tameka “Tiny” Harris parent seven children together. Stay tuned for more celebrity family news!
Photo: Paras Griffin/Getty Images
