T.I. has left Columbia Records.
According to an interview Tip did with popular news and sales tracking website Hits Daily Double, the Atlanta rapper confirmed his departure from the label he signed with late in 2013.
Having just exited my deal at Columbia, I was a rogue artist, busting creativity, just waiting to put music in the marketplace. so while I’m sorting out my next situation, I’m blessed enough to be able to control my destiny and put music out as quickly as I want to, and was able to release a TIP album, which I had wanted to do for a long time.
During his Columbia Records tenure, T.I. released one studio album, Paperwork, which was executive produced by Pharrell Williams, a Columbia Records artist. The album wasn’t much of a commercial success–it has sold less than 250,00 copies thus far–but it debuted at #2 on the Billboard 200 the week of its release, and contained “All About The Money,” one of the biggest rap hits of 2014 and one of the songs that helped jump start the career of Young Thug.
It will be interesting to see what T.I. does next. After releasing 4 platinum albums over a 10-year span on Atlantic Records, Tip left the label in search of an extremely lucrative situation for both him and his Grand Hustle imprint, which includes artists like Iggy Azalea, B.o.B. and Travi$ Scott, all of whom have become formidable stars over the past 5 years. Not to mention Young Dro, who released a #1 album of his own under T.I.’s Grand Hustle imprint in 2006.
Musically, Tip’s plans are still to release a new album before this year is over, called The Dime Trap. Dr. Dre is expected to be a part of it.
