I'm Serious by T.I.

I'm Serious is the debut studio album by American rapper T.I., released on October 9, 2001 through Arista Records.The album included guests appearances from Pharrell Williams of The Neptunes (who called T.I. "the Jay-Z of the South"), Jazze Pha, Too Short, Bone Crusher, Lil Jon, Mac Boney, Pastor Troy, P$C and Youngbloodz. The album featured production from DJ Toomp, Craig Love, Maseo, Brian Kidd, The Neptunes, Jazze Pha, Yung D, Lil Jon and T.I. himself. Despite the album's guests appearances and production team, the album peaked at #98 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, and only sold over 165,000 copies in the United States. Upon its release, critics pointed to the fact that many of the tracks sounded the same and that a few were blatant rip-offs. Other critics commented saying, "T.I. claims to be the king of the South, but fails to show and prove. He does, however, have potential. If his talent ever matches his confidence, he may just be headed for stardom."Due to the poor commercial reception of the album, T.I. asked for a joint venture deal with Arista Records or be released from his contract; he was subsequently dropped from the label. It is his lowest-selling album to date with only over 270,000 copies sold.