By Tai Saint Louis and Nolan Strong
T.I. will be sharing his take on the ins-and-outs of the entertainment business with eighteen students in Atlanta today (April 10), after requesting to participate in the FOR ME, Inc's Music Producer Workshop.
The four-week, eight-session workshop, which launched on Tuesday (April 8), is the first of a four series program organized by the Future of Real Music & Entertainment, allowing the selected students to learn various aspects of the entertainment business from experts in those fields.
To allow for T.I.’s inclusion, the Workshop has created a special event: a “Conversation with T.I. – ‘Reality vs. Entertainment."
Hosted by producers Isaac “Ike Dirty” Hayes, III, Teddy Bishop, DJ Montay, and Big Korey, The Music Producer series is paving the way for three more workshops set to take place through the summer, bringing basic knowledge, hands-on experience, and professional perspective on specific topics in entertainment.
FOR ME, Inc. will also present a songwriter series hosted by Sean Garrett, a DJ series hosted by the Southern Style DJs and a Teen Music Executive and Dance Series.
The Music Producer Workshop is being sponsored by Grammy Award winning producer, and longtime collaborator DJ Toomp.
Following the leak of what was supposed to be a track from T.I.’s forthcoming release Paper Trail earlier this week, DJ Toomp confirmed to AllHipHop.com that he and his former protégé have already hit the studio to complete tracks for T.I.’s highly anticipated album.
The pair are recording tracks for the new album that are on some “2010-ish,” which feature T.I.P. in rare form.
"[The album is] very futuristic with it and we're gonna take it to that level," DJ Toomp told AllHipHop.com. "We both had our break where he was doing movies and I was working with other artists, so now we're bringing the different elements into the mix to make another hit album. The world has been requesting it and here we go...it's going to be a classic."
T.I. himself also issued a recorded statement to fans explaining the origins of the song, which hit the web on Monday (April 7) under the title “Hunt ‘Em Down.”
He denounced the song’s release, which he called “unwarranted and unauthorized,” explaining that it had been recorded under a different name nearly two years ago.
“It was actually the very first record that I recorded after my big homie Philant died,” he said in the recording. “So it was a lot of rage, a lot of anger, a lot of frustrations on that record. It was never really even meant to be released. It is not a Paper Trail selection. It is not of the same standard or the same quality as the records that I’m doing right now. So I don’t want nobody to get it misconstrued or think that’s the first single, or that that’s even a release on Paper Trail .“
The Grand Hustle/Atlantic recording artist, who recently pleaded guilty to gun possession charges, reportedly spent a large portion the five months he spent under house arrest working on Paper Trail, which will be his sixth studio album since his 2001 debut, I’m Serious.
Though T.I. promised fans that a first single from Paper Trail will soon be made available to the public, no further details other than the title of the new album have been released.
“He's been positive and has never stopped being in work mode,” said DJ Toomp, who crafted T.I.’s 2007 Grammy Award winning hit “What You Know,” as well as “You Don’t Know Me,” which was nominated for a Grammy in 2006.
“We've both matured over the years and this album will reflect that," DJ Toomp continued. "It's very grown man and that sound will show up in my production."