T.I. Talks Turning His Early Hustles Into The Grand Hustle

THE PLUG INTERVIEW: T.I. breaks down his business ventures, his BET show - The Grand Hustle, real estate, street knowledge and more.

BYAron A.
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T.I.'s one of the most celebrated emcee's of our time. Since coming into the game in the early 2000's, he's dabbled in film, television and of course, business. His entrepreneurial skills have helped him build his own record label, Grand Hustle, and bring new artists to the forefront. Aside from his ventures in the music industry, he's also dabbled in other entrepreneurial ventures in real estate, nightclubs, restaurants and more. T.I.'s set to debut his new BET show – The Grand Hustle, tonight at 10/9c which finds sixteen "hustlers" competing against each other for an executive position at T.I.'s Grand Hustle empire. Tip recently joined us for the latest episode of "The Plug" where he details his early hustles, taking risks and of course, his show The Grand Hustle.

With T.I. set to launch his forthcoming TV show - The Grand Hustle, it only made sense that we had him for an episode of "The Plug." As someone who built himself from the ground up, T.I. has a lot of knowledge and wisdom when it comes to the business world. He's someone who's translated his knowledge from the streets into the board rooms. The rapper explained that the transition simply comes down to standards and principles.

"You got morals, standards and principles, man. You do what you say." He said, "I think just that, man. Just operating on a platform of principles. I think that's what I take in to it. There's no one deal that's going to make or break me. So ain't no need for me going in here acting out of character for the purpose of gaining this opportunity. I'm not gonna do anything to take myself out of character for this opportunity. 'Cause this one opportunity ain't gonna make or break me. Compromising my character will."

For more information on T.I.’s new show visit www.BET.com/GrandHustle and Be sure to tune in to The Grand Hustle every Thursday at 10/9c #GrandHustleBET

This article is sponsored by BET's The Grand Hustle.


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About The Author
Aron A. is a features editor for HotNewHipHop. Beginning his tenure at HotNewHipHop in July 2017, he has comprehensively documented the biggest stories in the culture over the past few years. Throughout his time, Aron’s helped introduce a number of buzzing up-and-coming artists to our audience, identifying regional trends and highlighting hip-hop from across the globe. As a Canadian-based music journalist, he has also made a concerted effort to put spotlights on artists hailing from North of the border as part of Rise & Grind, the weekly interview series that he created and launched in 2021. Aron also broke a number of stories through his extensive interviews with beloved figures in the culture. These include industry vets (Quality Control co-founder Kevin "Coach K" Lee, Wayno Clark), definitive producers (DJ Paul, Hit-Boy, Zaytoven), cultural disruptors (Soulja Boy), lyrical heavyweights (Pusha T, Styles P, Danny Brown), cultural pioneers (Dapper Dan, Big Daddy Kane), and the next generation of stars (Lil Durk, Latto, Fivio Foreign, Denzel Curry). Aron also penned cover stories with the likes of Rick Ross, Central Cee, Moneybagg Yo, Vince Staples, and Bobby Shmurda.