T.I. gives his album ‘Trap Muzik’ credit for making trap music mainstream

Hip Hop fans are divided when it comes to crowing a single emcee as the creator of trap music, but for T.I., at least one aspect of the discussion cannot be disproven: He played a major role in the rap subgenre being widely recognized.

The “Dope Boyz” artist made his mainstream debut with his album I’m Serious. Two years later, he followed up with his sophomore effort, Trap Muzik, and an audible shift in music's landscape was initiated. “I mean, man, statistically speaking, as history has provided us with facts, the word trap and music had never been combined to describe a sound before my second album in 2003, August 19, I think,” T.I. candidly explained when asked about the genre’s origins during an appearance on “The Underground Lounge” podcast.

“Prior to that, there were definitely people who were, you know, that were talking about a lifestyle as a drug dealer, definitely. And they definitely paved a way for people like us. However, if you asking about trap music, under the title of trap music… I don’t want to say it’s just me individually, but you know it didn’t exist before the second album,” said the three-time Grammy Award winner.

Furthermore, he said, “I don’t think that second album and that alone would have been enough to, you know, sustain the levels of success and to be as expansive as [trap music] has been. It took many continuations from Jeezy, Gucci [Mane], you know, [Young] Thug, Migos, [2] Chainz, Future, 21 Savage… Yo Gotti, Killer Mike, Boosie [Badazz].”

In 2018, T.I. launched the Lil Trap House pop-up in Atlanta. Its inception coincided with the 15th anniversary of his second album. The exhibit, which paid homage to the aforementioned artists and several others, has since become a permanent fixture, the Trap Music Museum, in the city. After a successful 20-year run in the industry, the “King of the South” is preparing for his two-album farewell after announcing Kiss the King and Kill the King will mark his retirement. Official release dates for the projects have not been announced.

Check out the full “The Underground Lounge” interview below.

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