Pakistanis angry over detentions in Times Sq. case Monday, May 24, 2010
ISLAMABAD – Relatives of three men detained by Pakistan for alleged links to the suspect in the attempted Times Square bombing say the men are innocent.
They
AFP - Thursday, August 6TAIPEI (AFP) - - Taiwan's Beijing-friendly government on Wednesday denied boycotting an Australian film festival amid a row over the e
BERLIN (Reuters) - Chancellor Angela Merkel suffered a double blow on Thursday as a senior party ally in east German
Minister seeks closure of anti-Berlusconi websites Wednesday, December 16, 2009
ROME (AFP) - – The Italian government moved Tuesday to close down Internet sites encouraging further violence against Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who
By ELAINE KURTENBACH,AP Business Writer AP - Wednesday, March 18SHANGHAI - Asia's stock market rally seemed to be running out of steam Wednesday, despite an
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Home
Business
Business Home
Economy
Technology
Media
Small Business
Green Business
Legal
Deals
Earnings
Summits
Business Video
Markets
Markets Home
U.S. Markets
European Markets
Asian Markets
Global Market Data
Indices
M&A
Stocks
Bonds
Currencies
Commodities
Futures
Funds
peHUB
World
World Home
U.S.
Brazil
China
Euro Zone
Japan
Mexico
Russia
Afghan Journal
Africa Journal
India Insight
Global News Journal
Pakistan: Now or Never?
World Video
Politics
Politics Home
Front Row Washington
Politics Video
Technology
Technology Home
MediaFile
Science
Tech Video
Opinion
Opinion Home
Chrystia Freeland
Felix Salmon
Jack Shafer
Breakingviews
David Rohde
Bernd Debusmann
Gregg Easterbrook
Nader Mousavizadeh
James Saft
David Cay Johnston
Edward Hadas
Christopher Whalen
Ian Bremmer
Mohamed El-Erian
Lawrence Summers
The Great Debate
Unstructured Finance
Newsmaker
Money
Money Home
Analyst Research
Global Investing
MuniLand
Reuters Money
John Wasik
Alerts
Watchlist
Portfolio
Stock Screener
Fund Screener
Personal Finance Video
Life & Culture
Health
Sports
Arts
Faithworld
Business Traveler
Left Field
Entertainment
Oddly Enough
Lifestyle Video
Pictures
Pictures Home
Reuters Photographers
Full Focus
Video
Article
Comments (0)
Follow Reuters
Facebook
Twitter
RSS
YouTube
Read
Space taxi delays spur Bigelow Aerospace layoffs
19 Oct 2011
CANADA STOCKS-TSX may open lower after Apple miss, EU plan eyed
19 Oct 2011
Discussed
241
Who’s behind the Wall St. protests?
118
Strike shuts down Greece before austerity vote
97
Obama jobs roadshow seeks to tap anti-Wall St anger
Watched
Japanese airline, ANA, apologises for plane flip
Fri, Sep 30 2011
Rihanna's "inappropriate" outfit halts music video
Tue, Sep 27 2011
Dangerous animals on the loose in Ohio
Wed, Oct 19 2011
Rapper T.I. turns novelist with "Power & Beauty"
Tweet
Share this
Email
Print
Analysis & Opinion
The novel goes global
11 business lessons Steve Jobs taught me
Related Topics
Entertainment »
Fashion »
Arts »
Rapper Clifford ''T.I.'' Harris poses for a portrait while promoting the show ''T.I.'s Road To Redemption'' in New York February 2, 2009.
Credit: Reuters/Lucas Jackson
By Sabrina Ford
NEW YORK |
Wed Oct 19, 2011 7:04pm EDT
NEW YORK (Reuters) - It's been a whirlwind month, to say the least, for rapper T.I.
Since being released from custody last month after serving an 11-month stint in jail on weapons charges, the Atlanta-based rapper and actor has put out a new single, begun filming a reality TV series and debuted his first novel. T.I. the rapper is now T.I. the author.
On Tuesday, publisher Harper Collins released T.I's "Power & Beauty: A Love Story of Life on the Streets," an urban-based novel featuring African American characters co-written by frequent celebrity biographer David Ritz.
"I'm proud, ecstatic," T.I. told Reuters about becoming a published author. "I'm always eager to diversify my artistry. It's a great moment."
"Power & Beauty" is a coming of age story of two Atlanta teenagers, raised by the same woman, who are driven into each other's arms amid the grief that follows her death.
When separated, one falls into a life of crime, testing the pair of lovers who never seem to move on from one another.
"Love is the driving force behind so many things, and it inspires so many other emotions," said T.I. of the decision to make a romance central to the story.
The book was completed last year before T.I.'s stint in prison and after more than a year of back-and-forth work with Ritz. T.I. said he and his co-writer did not immediately agree to collaborate after an initial meeting arranged through a mutual record industry friend a few years ago.
"We had extensive conversations. I needed to know he was serious and he needed to know I was capable."
INSPIRED BY SISTER SOULJAH
The rapper said he was inspired to write "Power & Beauty" by Sister Souljah's 1999 novel, "The Coldest Winter Ever," which invigorated the publishing genre known as Street Lit, or Urban Lit, which is fiction often featuring African-American characters from inner cities.
"I wanted to accomplish, or come close to accomplishing, what that book did -- the ability to entertain, inspire and educate at the same time," T.I. said. "I wanted to bridge the gap between people who would only be interested in Urban Lit and those who would not at all be interested in Urban Lit."
T.I. said that writing music and books were "worlds apart," and although he and Ritz have decided to make "Power & Beauty" a series, the rapper hasn't quit his day job.
Last month, he released a new single "I'm Flexin," featuring Mississippi's Big K.R.I.T., and he said he is working on -- but not rushing -- a new album.
"I'm putting it together now. I want to make sure it is the best collection of music and songs that I can possibly have. I don't want to give myself a date until I have something compelling that I want to put out," he said.
T.I. and his family will also star in an upcoming reality TV series, "Family Hustle," on cable TV network Vh1, although T.I. is reluctant to use "reality show" to describe it.
"There's a stigma that comes with the term 'reality show,'" he said. "It diminishes the effort I put into everything." The rapper adamantly promises "no buffoonery" on his show. "It's about family. It's about the balance between personal and professional in my life.
"We're just creating new memories," he said of the time he's spent with family since his release from jail. "That's what life is about -- creating memories and cherishing them. When you look back, that's how you will access the value of your life."
(Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)
Entertainment
Fashion
Arts
Tweet this
Link this
Share this
Digg this
Email
Reprints
Entertainment News From the Wrap
Sony's John Calley Tribute Is Fond and Funny
1:46am EDT
Led by his former boss Howard Stringer and fellow exec Amy Pascal, the tributes to the late producer flowed fast and like Calley, loose
Sony Scuttles Wide Release Plan for 'Anonymous'
12:35am EDT
Bedeviled by weak pre-release moviegoer surveys, Roland Emmerich's Shakespeare drama will be released in only 250 big-city locations on Oct. 28
Hollywood & the Job Crisis: Just How Bad Is It?
19 Oct 2011
First in a Wrap series: There are pockets of recovery in the entertainment industry, but many are still struggling to weather the ongoing economic storm
WGA's Keyser: There Isn't Enough Interesting Work for Writers
19 Oct 2011
"While we are encouraged by the strength of our employment in television, we are simultaneously more concerned about the movement in the other direction in features"
We welcome comments that advance the story through relevant opinion, anecdotes, links and data. If you see a comment that you believe is irrelevant or inappropriate, you can flag it to our editors by using the report abuse links. Views expressed in the comments do not represent those of Reuters. For more information on our comment policy, see http://blogs.reuters.com/fulldisclosure/2010/09/27/toward-a-more-thoughtful-conversation-on-stories/
Comments (0)
Be the first to comment on reuters.com.
Add yours using the box above.
Social Stream (What's this?)
Edition:
U.S.
Africa
Arabic
Argentina
Brazil
Canada
China
France
Germany
India
Italy
Japan
Latin America
Mexico
Russia
Spain
United Kingdom
Back to top
Reuters.com
Business
Markets
World
Politics
Technology
Opinion
Money
Pictures
Videos
Site Index
Legal
Bankruptcy Law
California Legal
New York Legal
Securities Law
Support & Contact
Contact Us
Advertise With Us
Connect with Reuters
Twitter
Facebook
LinkedIn
RSS
Podcast
Newsletters
Mobile
About
Privacy Policy
Terms of Use
Our Flagship financial information platform incorporating Reuters Insider
An ultra-low latency infrastructure for electronic trading and data distribution
A connected approach to governance, risk and compliance
Our next generation legal research platform
Our global tax workstation
Thomsonreuters.com
About Thomson Reuters
Investor Relations
Careers
Contact Us
Thomson Reuters is the world's largest international multimedia news agency, providing investing news, world news, business news, technology news, headline news, small business news, news alerts, personal finance, stock market, and mutual funds information available on Reuters.com, video, mobile, and interactive television platforms. Thomson Reuters journalists are subject to an Editorial Handbook which requires fair presentation and disclosure of relevant interests.
NYSE and AMEX quotes delayed by at least 20 minutes. Nasdaq delayed by at least 15 minutes. For a complete list of exchanges and delays, please click here.