T.I. will be heading back to school this Fall, teaching the “Business of Trap Music” class alongside esteemed hip-hop scholar Dr. Melva K. Williams at Clark Atlanta University.
The Rubberband Man rapper, who considers himself the pioneer of modern-day trap, will utilize lessons from his own lifestyle and translate them into a philosophical presentation of music, so other people going through similar experiences wouldn’t feel alone or alienated.
“When we were coming up, the only artists coming from Atlanta was OutKast, Goodie Mob, and booty-shaking music. The first person to do it is always going to have the hardest time. After me, it was much easier for Jeezy and Gucci [Mane] to be accepted.” Says T.I.
Blending it’s history with the economics behind it, the course will cover trap music’s leap into mainstream hip hop and the business behind the extremely popular sub-genre that has become a mainstay.
On top of the innovative new course, CAU will be honoring the life of Rayshard Brooks, a Black man who was killed by police in early June after falling asleep in a local Wendy’s drive-thru, with a scholarship offer to his four children. In a candid conversation with CAU President George T. French Jr, T.I. recalled:
“What we concluded is if everyone does a little, nobody has to do a lot. We’re doing all we can as a community to uplift the [Brooks] family here in Atlanta. If something happens to one of us, it could happen to any of us.”
Considered the originator of trap music, T.I. was originally inspired to take up rapping because rugged everyday-life stories he saw the Atlanta music scene lacking. We love this!
