T.I. Admits Leaving Atlantic Records Was One Of The ‘Worst’ Decisions Of His Career After Realizing the Label’s Power Behind His Success

T.I. Admits Leaving Atlantic Records Was One Of The ‘Worst’ Decisions Of His Career After Realizing the Label’s Power Behind His Success

Atlanta rap veteran T.I. is taking a candid look back at a career decision he now says may have cost him more than he realized.

During a recent conversation with Carl Lamarre on Billboard’s “In Conversation” series, the Grammy-winning rapper admitted that leaving Atlantic Records nearly 15 years ago turned out to be one of the most difficult choices of his career.

“One of the toughest decisions I made, arguably one of the worst in my career, was leaving Atlantic,” T.I. said. “I got tired of wondering if my success was because of me or because of them. I had to find out.”

The rapper explained that curiosity drove the move. At the height of his success, he wanted to test whether his chart-topping run was fueled solely by his talent or the label’s infrastructure.

But after stepping away, he quickly realized how much support Atlantic had provided behind the scenes.

“I could immediately tell there were a lot of things being done on my behalf that I probably didn’t even realize,” he said. “When I figured that out, I wanted to understand how those things worked and how to do them myself.”

“I made the music,” he added. “But when I turned it in to them, they helped turn it into the success everybody knew.”

Were you a T.I. fan during the height of his career?