T.I. is not the first rapper to go through this. Long before he was in the rap game, Tupac Shakur was in a similar position to T.I. For years, many people thought of Tupac as simply a social activist rapper. However, he was finally able to break through on his Me Against the World album. Right before he began working on his follow-up album, he spent a year behind bars.
Rap music was not the enterprise that it has become today, so Tupac was unable to post bail, himself. Instead, Death Row Records CEO, Suge Knight, came to bail him out. Following his release, Tupac recorded the classic album, All Eyez on Me. The album is still relatable to today’s times despite Shakur being long gone.
Due to the fact that times have changed, T.I. was able to handle his situation easier than Tupac fifteen years later. Immediately following his release from prison, T.I. began recording new music. Soon, the music took the form of his comeback album. Finally free from the prison walls and the legal troubles, T.I. has titled his album King Uncaged.
When T.I. compared himself to Tupac Shakur, he did not mean the overall legacy. T.I. meant that his album will end up having the same effect on 2010 as All Eyez on Me affected 1996. T.I. plans to create the best post-prison rap album in history. Most people credit the rawness of Tupac on All Eyez on Me to his personal feelings after being behind bars. With T.I., fans have come to expect that anyway.
But, after being behind bars seven months, the people are curious to hear what T.I. has to say. He plans to release King Uncaged towards the end of summer.