Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer
Last year, T.I. was forced to go to prison right as he hit the peak of his career. He and his Grand Hustle team have been suffering to rebound ever since. When Lil Wayne realized he was going to prison, a few months later, he began promoting his crew.
The early favorite was Drake, so Lil Wayne put out his We Are Young Money album late in 2009 and Rebirth early in 2010. It was after this that Drake released "Over" and promised Wayne he would keep Young Money afloat. This is something T.I. had not thought of during his prison stint.
But, since he is back in prison, T.I. has made arrangements to keep his team afloat. In 2006, his popularity was high so he introduced Young Dro to the game. During the summer of 2006, his song, "Shoulder Lean," dominated radio waves. Following the success of the song and the album, Dro was a star.
There were plans to release Young Dro's sophomore album in 2007, but those plans were nixed when T.I. decided to release another album in 2007. Then, by 2008, T.I. was gearing up to release yet another album, which would become the biggest release of his career. But, following this success, T.I.'s 2007 weapons charge caught up to him and landed him in prison. With nothing set in place, Grand Hustle had no choice but to shut down until T.I. came back and reopened business.
After watching the show Young Money put on while Lil Wayne was in prison, T.I. has decided to go back to what worked a few years ago with his own team. This time around, Grand Hustle plans to continue cranking out hits while T.I. serves time. The long-delayed fourth album from Young Dro will be coming out in the near future. T.I. is trusting Young Dro to anchor the ship while he is away. Some time ago, Young Dro delivered a top ten hit, now it is his job to do this on a regular basis.