T.I. is a busy man, and for good reason. The rapper, actor, producer and Bankroll Mafia frontman has been doing the press rounds in NYC this week and stopped by Sway in the Morning yesterday (May 25) to discuss all the different pots he's got on the stove lately, first of which is his role in the upcoming Roots reboot mini series, premiering this Memorial Day weekend on The History Channel. Tip, most widely known for his lead role in the 2006 film ATL, will play a freed slave named Cyrus.

"I never saw a character that was non-subservient or that was rebellious. You know these people had to have existed. The fact that there is no Nat Turner story up until now, there has been no Harriet Tubman story 'til now...you know these people existed, you know everybody isn't just with it! But we never saw that part and Cyrus to me is that."

Sway goes on to make the connection between Tip's rebellious character in the film and his own personality and longevity in the rap game, but the 35-year-old MC proclaims that the mini-series role is "the most important piece of work I've done."

Aside from acting, Sway asked the Bankroll Mafia head why, after so many years of being friends with Jay Z, did he choose to strike up a partnership deal with Tidal now? Tip broke it down like a college professor.

"I think at this point in my career I had to surround myself with people who understood my position and who share the enthusiasm of entrepreneurship," explained Tip. "We all share in the same thought that the equity of the art should rest within the artists. And that's the principles that Tidal is set up on." "Whatever we want to do, we pretty much do," he added

T.I. has been doing things his own way in the industry for years and it's been a winning formula. Touching upon working with legends like Dr. Dre and finishing up his next project, Tip promised that his next body of work will be "a dedication to my Day 1 fans. The ones who supported me when I'm Serious trap music dropped and the one who helped build the genre and the foundation of trap music." Check out the full interview above.

Tip joined California crooner Anderson .Paak during .Paak's performance of “Heart Don’t Stand a Chance” followed by “Come Down" on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. Sadly, tragedy struck last night at T.I.'s headlining Irving Plaza show last night (May 25) when a shooting erupted early in the evening, leaving one person dead and three others wounded. Always a good guy, T.I. was seen helping out victims in the stampeding chaos that followed the shooting.

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