T.I. Speaks on Atlanta Rap and Wanting to Collaborate with Young Jeezy and Gucci Mane

With just a few weeks before Trouble Man: Heavy is the Head releases on December 18, T.I. traveled to South Beach to have a sitdown with Peter Bailey of NiteCap With Peter Bailey. Their interview was very in-depth, delving into topics such as his relationship with Young Jeezy, being released from prison, and bringing together Atlanta artists.

While the entire talk gives us a closer look on the Grand Hustle boss, you can read some of the video's excerpts below. It reveals his thoughts on a possible collaboration with Jeezy and Gucci Mane—two artists that he has prior beefs with. It also discusses his purpose of reaching out to the major artists in the ATL scene and his initiative of unity.

On if their would be a collaboration between the Atlanta trio:

“Man, I would’ve loved to see that too man. I was really working on trying to resolve all beefs in the town. I was working on trying to get everybody to sit down at the same table. Whether you like each other or not at least have a respect, a mutual respect for one another to where y'all can be in the same buildings and we can work on the same records…And right now it’s like everybody wanna be the man. That’s what it is, that’s really what it is in the town. Everybody wanna be the man and if they ain’t the man then they looking at who is the man and trying to figure out how to take his spot. And that is what killed the scene in New York.”

On his purpose of bringing Atlanta artists together:

"When I came home that was my purpose. That was my intention. I spoke to Jeezy. I spoke to Rocko. I spoke to Chainz. I spoke to so many of the existing who’s who of Atlanta music. I spoke to em about us all having a sit-down at the same table and forming a committee.”

"Those conversations they started out pleasant and productive. Eventually I just started seeing that cats—everybody ain’t for the team mentality. Some cats they tryna get theirs and go home. You can’t make somebody something that they [aren’t]. You can’t make somebody care about everybody when they only care about themselves. You can’t train that. You can’t teach that. You can’t encourage it. It’s either in you or it’s not. And it just so happens that most of the people in the city man it’s in them to see about themselves."

Watch the rest of the interview here.