We want to make sure that people know
where trap music came from and why it is,
why it is so relatable. Welcome
to our brand new Series,
11 Alive, uninterrupted,
where we'll bring you in depth
conversations on the culture.
I'm your host, Naima Abdullahi.
In this 30 minute special we sit
down with Atlanta's very own TI,
who opens up about all things from music
to the movement that inspires him.
Joining me right now at the
iconic Trap Music Museum,
we have the founder, the innovator,
someone who envisioned this. How does it
feel to sit here today and just
to see the curation that came from
your imagination? For one, it feels
like a collective effort.
You know, this is,
this is the the combination of thoughts,
ideas, visions and and.
Contributions of so many of
of a community of artists,
you know and and not to mention
the contributions that came from
the most significant contributors
to to the culture of trap music.
How does this space really preserve
the history of trap music versus how
it may be told in the mainstream?
Like what dots does it connect?
That kind of adds texture to that narrative.
I think for one what we do is we
want to educate as much as entertain.
OK, we want to make sure that people know
where trap music came from and why it is.
Why it is so relatable worldwide,
if there were,
if there was no crack epidemic,
if there was no war on drugs,
then there wouldn't be so many people
that could relate to trap music.
The underserved areas of our
communities were. Plagued.
With, with, with drugs and guns and
and and and discriminatory laws that
sent our brothers and sisters and
mothers and fathers and uncles and aunts
and cousins to jail in prison for so long,
which left a generation
on the street looking.
For what? For leadership?
Looking for?
For guidance.
So hip-hop steps in and saves
the day yet again,
and you can express that through music and.
Because so many people.
Have the same story that
music becomes prominent.
The reason?
My album trap music was so successful
was because so many people
heard their stories in my songs.
So many people heard awful relatability.
Absolutely. So many people
heard parts of themselves,
parts of their childhood,
parts of their present
circumstances and my songs.
That's the reason Young Jeezy's
albums were so successful.
That's the reason people
relate to Gucci Mane.
And if you rapping about those things, they
relate to it because of their conditions.
As long as those things still exist,
trap music will still be prominent.
Considering all those, you know,
systemic and societal issues
that we oftentimes face in
marginalized communities,
how are you able to create from
that pain and not let it shackle
you down where it could have
done that to someone else? And I
give a lot of credit to the ancestors
because, you know, historically,
our people have been resilient.
And I think trap music is no different.
I think everybody who who
grew up in in desperate times,
they they they were motivated by that.
It spread and and blossomed
and grew and bloomed into,
you know, something similar to
what you see around you here.
Coming up, TI shares his thoughts on
the protect black art movement in hip
hop as the use of rap lyrics are being
debated in courtrooms across the country.