T.I. Debuts at Number 1 on Billboard

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“PAPER TRAIL,” the new album from Grand Hustle/Atlantic recording artist T.I., has made a phenomenal arrival atop the Billboard 200, marking the multiple Grammy Award-winning superstar’s third consecutive #1 chart entry (following 2006’s platinum-certified “KING” and 2007’s platinum-certified “T.I. VS. T.I.P.”).  With total first-week sales in excess of 568,000, “PAPER TRAIL” also enters at #1 on a number of additional Billboard charts, including “Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums,” “Top Rap Albums,” and “Top Digital Albums.”  The album’s unparalleled first-week sales success represents a personal best for T.I., as well as Atlantic Records’ biggest-ever one-week scan since Nielsen SoundScan began tracking data in 1991.

As if all that weren’t enough, T.I. has literally exploded into the top spot on Billboard’s “Hot 100” with “Live Your Life (Feat. Rihanna),” the second single from “PAPER TRAIL.”  In only its second week on the chart, the single has ascended into the pole position from last week’s ranking at #80 – the biggest-ever one-week leap to the top.  The #1 success of “Live Your Life” shatters the previous record for largest ascent to #1 – a feat set just six weeks ago by T.I.’s own “Whatever You Like,” the RIAA platinum certified first single from “PAPER TRAIL.”  That track rocketed to #1 from #71 the week of September 6th and has remained there until this week.  This remarkable achievement establishes T.I. as the first artist to replace himself at #1 since Usher in 2004.

With sales of nearly 335,000, “Live Your Life” has logged the biggest-ever first-week digital singles sales in history. The first solo chart-topper of T.I.’s remarkable career – and second overall following “My Love,” his Grammy-winning collaboration with Justin Timberlake – “Whatever You Like” is currently dominating multi-format radio outlets nationwide. Furthermore, “Whatever You Like” continues its #1 reign over Nielsen Ringscan’s “Top 200 Mastertones” ranking, with sales now approaching three-quarters of a million.  The chart success marks Warner Music Group’s second-ever #1 ringtone, following Flo Rida’s record- breaking “Low.”

Currently starring on the cover of Giant, T.I. has been featured in a stunning array of recent national publications, spanning XXL, Vibe, Blender, Rolling Stone, People, and King (where he will serve as “Guest Editor” on the upcoming November issue).