age 17, 18, and they challenged me to stop selling drugs, stop selling crack. they say you want to be a rapper, this is what you want to do you ve already been arrested, you ve did this little bit of time, you got probation, if you get arrested again you blow it all. i then said, okay, take me somewhere where i can create a way for myself. if you want me to leave this behind, then, make me show me an opportunity. they did. took me to a studio with a group named p.a., p.a. put me on the spot, asked me if i could rap on a certain beat. i walked in the booth. did my thing. and they signed me. larry: took a while? no, i think that my first hit was probably 24, a rubber band man my second album. my first project, it was very well received in the southeast region. all throughout the south and some parts of the midwest. it was very well received but i
with a group named p.a. p.a. then put me on the spot, asked me if i could rap on a certain beat. i walked in the booth, did my thing, and they signed me to laface records. larry: did you have a hit early? no. larry: took a while? no, i think my first hit was probably 24s or rubber band man, my second album. my first project, it was very well received in the southeast region. all throughout the south and some parts of the midwest. it was very well received, but i didn t get national exposure until my second album. larry: we ll be back with larry king live. speaking of national or international exposure, mick jagger, tuesday night. we ll be right back. that helplessness again.to l [ male announcer ] be sure to talk to your doctor before you begin an aspirin regimen. talk to your doctor, and take care of what you have to take care of. ay, yay, yay, yay
i m a bad man wild 45 in my other hand i m in trouble man i m always in trouble man worth a couple hundred grand larry: let s take another call for t.i. atlanta, hello. caller: hi, t.i. i am one of your biggest fans. i need a little a little advice because i have a cousin in chicago who is a 20-year-old male and he is accused of murder looking at 40 years. what advice can you give him because, you know, his faith is jaded and he is going through a lot of different things right now. what advice can you give him? man, that s tough. but the advice i would give him is always stay positive, always continue to keep your mind
my experiences, make necessary adjustments and to move forward is what s required. larry: do you ever wonder why you were shot at? do you ever wonder? man, to be perfectly honest, i have a pretty good idea. i think it stems from it all stems from me being in a certain section of the club that everybody else couldn t get to. and when someone patrons of the club were told that they could not get in that section, they became hostile. and then, you know, kind of just larry: it was like a vip section? yeah, kind of like, i live there too. i got money. why i can t be up there? yada, yada, yada. you know, things led one thing to another. and so we have what happened. larry: well, we ll be right back with t.i. on this edition of larry king live. don t go away. [ female announcer ] breathe right asks. [ woman ] could i ask you to strip on the street?
wasn t thinking. larry: so you re not you can t legally have a gun? no. larry: you couldn t then? no, i lost my second amendment right. larry: and you don t get them back, right? not to my knowledge. not unless some things change in washington. larry: do you own a weapon now? absolutely not. larry: are you afraid now for your life? no, you know, in having time to sit and reflect if you actually take the time and use it to your advantage, you see, well, even though all of these rounds of ammunition were fired at you that night, you didn t have a firearm, you re still here. all the things that you ve managed to make it through, you didn t have a firearms in every situation under every circumstance. most of the times you had firearms, you didn t even need to use them. so obviously, the firearms aren t what s keeping you alive. larry: correct. so i had the time to take that into consideration.