T.I.’s New Look Has Fans Doing A Double Take

Courtside seats are supposed to keep eyes on the basketball, but T.I. managed to steal some attention from a playoff game without doing much more than sitting there. Footage from the Atlanta Dream’s Wednesday night matchup against the New York Liberty began making the rounds after viewers noticed the rapper looked noticeably different from the version they were used to seeing. Between his closely cropped hair and a much more bronzed complexion, plenty of people needed a second look before deciding it was really Tip.

The Atlanta native was at State Farm Arena for Game 2 of the WNBA semifinals, where the Dream defeated the Liberty 101-98 in overtime to take a 2-0 series lead. T.I. was seated courtside in a black Magic City hoodie and appeared in arena footage joking with people nearby, cheering on the home team, and even spinning a basketball for the cameras.

However, once those clips escaped the arena, the score stopped being the main attraction. Social media users zeroed in on T.I.’s appearance, particularly the deeper tone of his complexion. Some joked that they initially mistook him for someone else, while one especially popular response declared, “That’s not T.I.P., that’s T.A.N.,” according to Atlanta Black Star.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by The Neighborhood Talk (@theneighborhoodtalk)

Part of the surprise may come from how dramatically T.I.’s hair has changed over the past year. He spent several years wearing locs before cutting them off in January, returning to the close Caesar style associated with an earlier stretch of his career. The haircut was revealed while he was rolling out “Let Em Know,” his Pharrell-produced single.

There is at least one thing about the appearance that required no explanation. Showing up for the Dream is very on-brand for an artist whose Atlanta identity has followed him throughout his career. The team left State Farm Arena one win away from their first WNBA Finals appearance since 2013. T.I. left with the internet examining screenshots of his face. Playoff basketball can be cruel that way.