TI in Blender

After years of regional stardom and, oh yeah, selling crack, T.I., hip-hop’s self-proclaimed King of the South, is finally ready to break big. Now if he can just stay out of jail.

On one of his happiest memories (age 8) with Uncle Quinton: “Quint would take me to the strip club and meet with the owner while I sat at the bar drinking Cherry Cokes. We’d get back in the car and he’d throw me a paper sack full of money and say, ‘Count this.’ There’d be like five, six, 10 thousand. I told him ‘When I grow up, I want to be just like you’�

On his past: “I don’t miss the streets at all. I’d be a fool if I did.�

On the consequences of his actions: “I’m mindful of what the consequences are for certain actions. We’re not livin’ the way we used to, so we don’t have to behave that way. But at the end of the day, you threaten me, my family, my livelihood, and I’ma handle my business. I’ll risk it all if need be.�

On taking up golf: “This is just my fourth time to play. But I’m taking lessons.�

On why he was crazy at a young age: “ I was always a crazy little n***. But I had to be, ‘cause I was so small- if I wasn’t crazy, I woulda got swallowed.�