T.I. is opening up about the early days of his son Domani Harris's music career, and how a dose of tough love helped push the young man toward becoming the artist he is today.
During a recent appearance on Effective Immediately, Tip opened up about Domani carving out his own path in hip-hop in recent years by releasing independent music, earning attention for his thoughtful, introspective style. Despite his son holding his own, T.I. admitted that Domani's first attempts at rapping weren't exactly impressive.
"It sucked at first," T.I. said, recalling how honest he was with his son when he first heard his music.
"'Man, get this shit out of here...Get the shit [out of here], you gonna get beat up.' [...] He was a kid. He about 8, 9 years old and he rapping bout, you know, spending money at the mall and buying ice cream."
T.I. explained that he wanted Domani to understand how important relatability is in music, especially for young listeners who might be struggling.
"And I said, 'Boy, you gonna get beat up and kids not going to want to hear you balling in they face like that, man. You gotta realize people is hungry out there. Talk about stuff that you have in common with people,'" he continued.
According to T.I., Domani accepted the challenge and worked to broaden not only his sound, but his worldview.
"He took the necessary steps and accepted the challenge of expanding not just his production of music, but expanding on how he viewed the world. And, you know, he came back with something that was undeniable."
Elsewhere in the conversation, the focus shifted from family to hip-hop history when the topic of VERZUZerzuz came up. DJ Hed noted that fans have long pushed for a faceoff between T.I. and Lil Wayne, and the King rapper said he would "love" that matchup.
"I would love to see that," T.I. replied. "Wayne on the album. I'ma probably see him later this week. I would love that. I'll pick his brain and see what he's thinking."
T.I. added that while he's open to the idea, he understands Wayne's quieter approach to public moments:
"Wayne don't be really wanting to do much and I respect that because that's where I'm headed," the Atlanta rapper said.
A potential VERZUZ between the two Southern rap icons would instantly rank among the most anticipated clashes in the series, with both artists holding decades' worth of influential hits. T.I. is surely ready, as he explained last year during an interview with The Breakfast Club where he said that he'll battle anyone.
"I'll go in the booth with anybody, I'll walk out with the better verse. I go against anybody. I don't give a damn who you got. Bring em on," he said. "Can't fuck with me. Live performances. Hit for hit. There might be somebody people like better. Ok. That's your opinion. But bottom line, can't nobody fuck with me. Anybody who thinks that what I'm saying is some bullshit, line me up."