The three-time Grammy winner will pay homage to trap music culture with the Trap Music Museum in Atlanta.
ATLANTA — Rapper T. I. took a stroll through one of the toughest neighborhoods in Atlanta as children on school buses screamed his name, several motorists honked their horns and men asked for a selfie.
Bankhead, an impoverished area known in the city for its high criminal activity, is viewed as a “trap” area — where drugs are regularly distributed and used. Most would be fearful of venturing into the potentially dangerous environment, yet T. I. walks the streets where he grew up with no worries and no security, while sporting a glistening gold watch and pinky ring.
That’s because T. I. is highly respected in Bankhead, a neighborhood he helped popularize through his songs viewed as trap music, a subgenre mostly detailing the lifestyle of selling drugs, highlighted by gritty lyrics and heavy beats.
“He is respected because he respects us,” said Rosie Brittain, a Bankhead resident who helped raise T. I. “He represents us. He always comes back home. Nothing but love for him.”
Rapper Clifford Harris Jr., better known as T. I., is paying homage to the trap music culture with its own museum dedicating areas of the exhibit to rappers including himself, Gucci Mane, Jeezy, Rick Ross and Future.| John Amis/AP
The three-time Grammy winner will pay homage to trap music culture with the Trap Music Museum, even dedicating areas of the exhibit to rappers like Gucci Mane, Jeezy, Rick Ross, Future and himself. It opens Sunday in Atlanta.
The pop-up museum will offer an “Escape the Trap” experience — much like the popular Escape the Room adventure game — where visitors have to use clues to find their way out of a house littered with illegal drugs before authorities arrive.
While sitting on his grandfather’s front porch, T. I. spoke with The Associated Press about the museum and his 10th studio album, “Dime Trap,” out on Oct. 5.
