Since becoming a prominent figure in hip-hop, T.I. has regrettably spent some of his fortunes on lavish items that brought him fleeting happiness.
From expensive luxury cars to shelling out millions on clothing, the rapper said there was once a time that he viewed “just throw it in the bag” as a way of life, though he has since outgrown those spending habits.
In the latest episode of NFL Hall of Famer Shannon Sharpe’s podcast, “Club Shay Shay,” the Grand Hustle Records founder revealed that one of the less-than-intelligent purchases he ever made had to do with a house.
The self-proclaimed King of the South recalled that he and Tiny were in the market for a new home when they set their sights on a home on Lake Spivey in Jonesboro, a suburb located roughly 20 minutes south of Atlanta. “It was her dream to stay on the water, to stay on the lake,” said T.I.
He said they went through the process of submitting an offer, having it accepted, and being ready to move forward when the sale fell through. “I don’t know if a neighbor came out and saw us looking at it, [but] some kind of way, word got back to the seller of the house, they wouldn’t sell it to us,” said T.I. He noted that he was unsure of the seller’s rationale but questioned if it was “because I was a rapper, because I was young, because I’m Black, [or] a combination of all three, but they wouldn’t sell to us.”
The “Libra” artist said seeing the anguish on Tiny’s face was enough for him to take the issue personally, and so the couple took matters into their own hands, literally. He explained, “We started knocking door to door. I started riding around finding houses, ‘I’ll stay there’ [pointing].
‘We pulled up, ‘Hey, y’all wanna sell y’all house?’ And we found one, the one that I’m in now on the lake, it was a middle-aged Indian family. … He has just built the house maybe two or three years ago. … I paid him about $500,000 over what it was worth, and that was one of the dumbest things. … That’s one of the dumbest things I’ve done.”
According to multiple reports by real estate websites, T.I. forked over $4.26 million in 2006. The mega-mansion boasts a 3-acre lot, has five bedrooms, seven full baths, four stories, and a personal dock to Lake Spivey. In the series spinoff “T.I. & Tiny: Friends & Family Hustle,” they showed viewers some of the extensive renovations that were completed at the home in 2019.
He continued, “We have so many memories in the house, raised a family, children grew up, it’s the house that y’all see on ‘Family Hustle.’” The couple’s original show, “T.I. & Tiny: Family Hustle,” debuted on VH1 in 2011.
