“Yeah, no problem, no problem,” said the rapper-turned-actor as he bent down to pull off his immaculately white sneakers.
It was only 1 o’clock in the afternoon last Friday, and T.I. — born
rounds. That morning, he’d met with Academy-Award winning producer
Brian Grazer. Now, the 29-year-old and his entourage (manager,
publicist, security guard, driver, reporter) had arrived at Ratner’s
house, where he had been invited to discuss a role in the director’s
next film.
As he waited for Ratner to enter the living room, he sipped a cocktail and surveyed the filmmaker’s expansive
home. The setting, with its polished hardwood floors and plush couches,
was undoubtedly far different than the one T.I. had lived in only last
year. In December, he emerged from a federal prison in
Since then, he’s been busy making up for lost time: the Grammy winner had his first comeback show in
earlier this month; his seventh studio album, “King Uncaged,” is
awaiting a release date; and he’s got a sizable role in “Takers,” the
heist film with an ensemble cast including
“Just another day at the office,” T.I. said,
climbing into a black SUV after his meeting with Ratner had wrapped. “I
just picked up where I left off (after prison.) Most times, you know,
opportunities present themselves. I execute and take advantage. I
wasn’t planning on meeting with
That they do. Even on the set of “Takers” — in which
he plays Ghost, a thief recently released from prison who’s trying to
get back in good with his former posse of bank robbers — T.I. had to
find a way to navigate the challenges imposed by a criminal sentence.
The shooting schedule was complicated by his curfew, which required him
to be in bed by
allowed to hold any gun that fired blanks — all faux weapons had to be
rubber. And during one scene shot at night, the ankle bracelet he wore
to monitor his whereabouts was set off, lighting up and forcing a
reshoot.
But he didn’t find the various impediments distracting, he said.
“Nah, it’s never difficult to focus for me, man. Once I commit myself to something, then I mean it. That’s dead on that.”
That’s not to say he hasn’t had to learn how to behave in
“If I’m going to a concert and they say I gotta be
there at 10, and I don’t show up until 12, everything all good because
the show can’t go without me. Whereas, on a film, if you five minutes
late, you late,” he said. “I had just got from music. I had just got a
7,
Royces, smoke coming out like Snoop Dogg. … I didn’t treat the
circumstances as delicate as they were.”
After a stern talk with director
“I wanted to do it so much I didn’t care whether or
not I made a dollar off of it,” he said of the crime drama. “I ain’t
made no money in movies yet, because of the fact that a movie usually
takes about three or four months to film. … At the time of ‘American
Gangster,’ I was getting
“Takers,” which he also produced, is the first in
T.I.’s three-picture deal with Screen Gems. The studio is already
discussing the possibility of a prequel to the film, depending on how
it performs at the box office.
“He has so much swagger,” said
Back at his suite at the
last week, T.I. collapsed onto a chair after his long day of industry
meetings. The blinds were all drawn in the hotel room, and nearly a
dozen suitcases were scattered across the floor, overflowing with polo
shirts and
TV, mindlessly switching the channel every couple of minutes as he
spoke about his desire to win an Oscar.
“I’d rather be acting full time at 40 than rapping
full time at 40,” he said. “I just think — especially the direction
that music is going in, hip-hop, especially — I think it’s more suited
for a teenager than a 40-year-old. My values, principals, beliefs and
things I consider important are worlds away from where they was when I
just came in the game.”
T.I. has six children, and it’s rumored he married his longtime girlfriend
“Some people see me as a distinguished young
gentleman entering into the next phase of manhood,” he said, yawning.
“And some people see me as a young drug dealer-slash-thug who has
managed to make his way into the entertainment industry. It just
depends on who you ask. Some people think I’m very humble, considerate,
focused and noble. And other people think that I’m very arrogant,
aggressive and just — some people think that I’m just a thug.”
He tries not to pay any mind to those who harp on his past, he said.
“Man, they talk bad about Jesus. So they talk bad
about him as much as he did right, I can only imagine how much they
gonna talk about me.”
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(c) 2010, Los Angeles Times.
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