***** Admin Note *****
I know it took wwwaaaayyyy too long … but there is a new poll up finally. Vote for a change … just cause Barack’s in office doesn’t mean voting still isn’t important!!!
– SBM
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Josephine: “I just love T.I.”
SBM: *rolls eyes* “If one more girl says this …”
J: “Stop hating.”
SBM: “I’m not hating, but I just can’t figure out exactly what it is about T.I. that gives him across the board appeal. Girls will disagree on models like Tyson or Movie stars like Idris … but damn if every single girl alive wants to f*ck T.I.”
J: “It’s hard to explain … he just has this …”
SBM: *re-rolls eyes as he knows what she is about to say*
J: “Swagger about him”
While my fellow writer Slim Jackson, and his crew, officially killed the word swagger on their blog (keep your head up Mr. Swagger … the word ain’t dying that easy) … if there is one person who seems to universally embody the word swagger (according to black women) … it is Mr. T.I.P. himself.
Personally … I think its the sideways cocked hat that never moves.
I know your used to coming here and finding well written and in depth looks at relationships, sex, and dating … but not today. I’m just a man looking for answers … and where else can I turn? Bear with me …
T.I. is a great rapper in my opinion. He is actually one of my favorites, and has made some songs that literally got hours of burn in my car and ipod … just from one song (Rubberband Man still elicits deep down feelings). I’m not real happy with his acting ability (he has one emotion … T.I.), but he’s not bad. Overall he seems like a “good” celebrity. Sure he has a little issue with guns, but who doesn’t. He’s on TV mentoring kids now, the guy can’t be all bad. It has been proven time and time again that I cannot tell what makes a man attractive (I’m fine with lacking this ability), but I can’t see anything about him that would give him this universal appeal (I mean … all hating aside … n***a is short and scrawny).
Alas … from Strippers doing something stranger for a little bit of change out there trying to pay tuition … to the elitist of black women with degrees upon degrees, an independent streak, and a sense of arrogance … they all love T.I. There is not one single celebrity that I have had more women tell me that they love than this man … none. And when asked why their willing to break their 6 foot minimum rule, or their 200 lbs of muscle rule, or their light skinned guy rule, I always get the same answer … his swagger.
So, T.I., if you ever grace my site … hats off to you. You have managed (in my personal research) to outshine and leave a greater impression than LL Cool J, Taye Diggs, Keith Sweet, and Bobby Brown (well he did that to himself … with the crack and all). And you managed to do all this while still putting out hot music (not some R&B sh*t … looking at your a$$ LL!) that I can crank in the car without being soft. T.I. … your my hero.
Damn … does this make me a T.I. groupie too?
Anyways, can one of the women please explain it to me? Is there any other guy out there turning down concert tickets in order to remove temptation from your woman? Does T.I. have competition that I just don’t know about?
I JUST CAN'T SEE ANYTHING SPECIAL ABOUT T.I.
Agree with MOZAMBIQUE187. He's okay, not a ugly man by far. He got a permanent eviction from my list when I saw a pic of him on a celebrity blog with his hand down his pants. It wasn't the hand in pants that I had a problem with but rather with the wild over growth creeping out of said pants, yuck. I digress. I do know what you mean though because his name gets brought up a lot in the "who would you do game?"
I am in love with T.I., although he goes against everything I am normally attracted to. He's so charming- watch his interview with Chelsea Lately. He does this thing with his eyes when he cocks his head and then smiles boyishly (*****fades off into a fantasy******). Ahhhh.
I can't explain it. He's just….. smooth.
I don't know what it is about TI. He's got that bad boy but can be corporate if I want to be appeal I guess. As far as rappers go, I also like Ludarious. Since I'm old school–LL Cool J will always be the man in my opinion.
Its got to be his voice for me. Im a sucker for a good southern accent, and he certainly has one. I dont even really like rap like that, but I stay buying his albums!
Plus, he looks downright yummy in a suit! Part of his appeal is he can wear the around the way gear, jeans, kicks and fitteds just as convincingly as he can a three piece with an ascot.
The only thing that works against him (you know, besides the gun charges and multiple baby mammas) is his girl Tiny. Chicky is wack with a capital W! Imma need for him to upgrade immediately!
I must admit, I harbor a deep love & desire for TI. His voice/accent is a big draw, as well as his ability to clean up well when needed. And that little half-smile he does gets me everytime.
TI does NOTHING for me, too small and bony..however he is a cool dude and I do like some of his music!
I love him as well and have had several dreams about him, which is sooooo weird to me! I never dream about celebs really (well a few times about Will Smith but… ) A couple years ago I swear every where I was in ATL….he was there too! I laughed out loud at "he has one emotion….TI" that is so true! I tried to retire the S word as well, but I must say Clifford does have it. He's so damn cute to me…with his little self.
About that Chelsea Lately interview…he called Tiny his "situation" which is trife to me and as much as I dig his personality, that was the worst!
"5'9 with the soul of a 6'4 n!" ~ That pretty much sums it up. Yup, he's tiny and weighs 140 lbs soaking wet but T.I. seems like he could protect you. He seems bold and fearless. Women want a tall, dark and handsome man because that's who society told us would protect us and women want to feel protected.
Me personally, I LOVE his Georgia accent, it makes him sound like someone's grandfather, like he would be wise. Although we know he still has lots of knucklehead in him, he just SEEMS wise, lol.
I can't read right now but TI is not what is hott! It's not his frame because my dude now is my height 5'6" and has guns, madd muscle but it looks good on him. TI is just a skinny lil dude with some hit songs. I can see the swag factor but no Niagara over here, no even a leaky faucet. My new celebrity crushes… Channing Tatum and Columbus Short, yummy.
Heh, I recently had this convo with my sister. Turns out, both of us don't "get it". Don't get me wrong, he is handsome and though
he loses brain cells everytime he bobs his head with that sittin' sideways hathe has that thugness, he also seems very intelligent. Which, combined, is definitely sexy. Hood smartness is totally sexy. I love mofos that has that has a little bit of hood in him, but can also carry a decent conversation. I remember really taking notice of him on that BET special about Hip Hop and misogyny (I forget what it was called, but occurred right around the Don Imus – nappyheaded ho comment). And yeah, he was also kinda cute on Chelsea Lately.Still, amidst all of that, I'm not completely crazy about him. And his accent kinda bugs…sowwy.
"I’m not real happy with his acting ability (he has one emotion … T.I.)"
HAHAHA! This is that trueness.
I had to chime in on this post. TI COULD GET IT – ALL DAY EVERYDAY, and 5 times on Sunday! I've LOVED him since I'm Serious came out. It's a combination of everything – his smile, hit hat, his swagger, his accent, his wordplay, his thug side, his corporate side, his voice…..everything. He's just SEXY!
Reecie me and you are ><. I can recall a dream I had about him VIVIDLY. It wasn't even a freaky type of dream; it was a party going on and we were just kicking it poolside. Sometimes I have to tell remind myself that it was just a dream because it felt so real.
This is too funny.
I was out with a female friend of mine yesterday and we were listening to Lil' Wayne when he said a line in the song "I wish I could fuck every girl in the world". She said she wondered if the line would work on other women.
I then asked her who could just "get it" with her if they just walked up.
Her answers:
T.I. and Michael Ealy.
I don't know, he's just so FINE! the accent, the laugh, the lips, EVERYTHING!
Call me Ms. Niagra.
Ay man, I've been wondering the exact same thing as you bro!
The only guys calling for the death of the word "Swagger" are the guys that don't have it.
But I digress…
In regards to T.I. and his ability to make a phenomenal amount of women shout "He could get it", he just has "it". Call it swagger, the cool, presence. Whatever it is it makes women stand up and holler. Someone up thread said that he appears to basically be a decent guy that is hood yet can hold a descent conversation. He is a charmer and has MANNERS. He may be 4 foot nothing weighing 105 soaking wet with a brick in his hand but his presence is 6'5, 250 of solid muscle. He's the kind of guy that will take care of you, protect you and handles his man business while allowing women to be ladies. While I don't find T.I. to be attractive I believe that 5 minutes in his presence will probably have me forgetting he looks like a middle school kid.
Other men who just have the undeniable, unidentifiable "It", the "swagger" if you will:
Billy Dee Williams
Barack Obama
Prince
I havent read the other comments but methinks T.I. looks like a malnourished child with his bird chest and schmedium frame. Nothing about him is sexy to me. The only thing I wanna do to T.I. is read him a bedtime story and sign him a lullaby. I don't understand the hype over his "swagger". So he walks like he got a slight limp and sneers all the time. WOMP.
LOL This has been Luvvie's Random Rant on why T.I.'s sex appeal perplexes me.
@journey78
"The only guys calling for the death of the word “Swagger” are the guys that don’t have it."
Easy there killer. I wouldn't go that far. There's no denying that "swagger" was one of the words abused in 2008. Just cuz folks are tired of a certain word doesn't mean they lack whatever it's definition is.
I think that TI is pretty cute – but he looks like he is REALLY small (not sure of his height and weight, but I'm guessing around 5'7" and 120 – tops!) I remember when Russ Parr said he had the wing span of a sparrow – I almost crashed on the way to work! But he looks like really cool people. I would rather have him as a cousin or bro than boyfriend.
@Slim
I can agree that "swagger" has been overused and misapplied for the last 15 months. And while my previous statement may not apply to all of those tired of the word it does fit for 90% of the dudes I've come into contact with. Back in '04 I had a male friend that was inquiring as to why I wasn't giving any play to a mutual friend of ours and I explained that why dude was cool he just didn't have any swag. Dude was heated and told me there was no such thing. I realized his response was due to the fact that he didnt have any either. I think the overuse of the word comes from people that claim to have it but don't and are desperate to convince others they do. I tend not to tire of the word so much as being tired of the Bammas overusing it.
I'm not the biggest T.I. enthusiast. So I get where you're coming from.
But I also think I understand part of dude's appeal beyond the "swag." He's actually intelligent, and really can walk with kings and talk with crowds. He knows how to work people, and you know he's always processing what someone is saying to him.
That said, he still has that ridiculous gun charge. And I grew to think he had issues because of it. But then he was one of the first people to call Chris Breezy after "the incident" and give him words of encouragement, although he has his own issues. … from that alone, you know T.I.P. a real dude. He's still a shrimp, though.
I actually wrote him an open letter. It's No. 7 on the list on my blog.
I agree with Niki Sunshine and Britt! And after that Chelsea Lately interview, I was DONE! Then I saw him in concert and that was all she wrote! He took his shirt off, and bared that baby bird chest, and said in that southern drawl like only he can, "you can have whatever you like!"
Like most women, I don't do chittle guys (short & scrawney. But like Britt said, he has the presence of a man 6'5. His accent is the icing on the cake, with that crooked smile :)I can hear him in my ear now, "what'choo know a'bat dat?"
He just has it…style, charm, intelligence, great looks…yea he small but he culd get it ANYDAY..and I BET he'd kno what to do w/ it lol. I luuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuv me sum TI!
I am a reformed TI enthusiast.
Now he just gets on my nerves. But I think that has more to do with the way radio and TV play him to death than his actual personality. And he lost major points with me after the gun charge incident. That was just stupid.
Nevertheless, one thing I did like about him when I was going through my infatuation stage is that you know as a woman that if you ever got out of line with TI, he'd take you in the back room and wear you out. Period.
To me, that is sexy.
When it comes to T.I., he's a man of combined talents. I mean he can switch up his thug mentality to fit in on every level: family, relationships,street, corporate, and community affairs. He just possess what every woman wants which is a man that is sure of himself and knows how to go after what he wants. I really don't play any attention to his physical, because his mindset is so on point.
There are many things that make him attractive. Among the obvious I appreciate the level of intelligence and slight sophistication (compared to most) that he has acquired without even finishing high school and the way he came from nothin, to something negative, to many things positive seemingly right before our eyes or should i say ears via his music.
T.I. is that yumminess!
I once met him in passing in Atl while shopping- and I (at 5'8" + 3" heels 165lbs) engulfed him in my shadow. Despite me not being a huge fan, his presence commanded a certain level of respect. It was after that when I googled him, and became a part of the "T.I. got that Swag" demographic.
I, however, am not the least bit physically attracted to him and I don't really listen to his music at home. I do find his talent, poise, drive, wisdom, non-traditional education, community involvement, and sociability irresistible. It's men like T.I.P. that keeps elderly words like "swag" from retiring.
Yeah I'm secrety in love with T.I.P…can't give a concrete reason why, just am.
I'm glad I'm not the only guy that's had to deal with this, "Their's just something about him" comment coming from females.
I won't turn down tickets but ain't gon be no backstage passes. We leaving together at the end of the show.
Line TI up with 10 other black guys…and wouldn't be able to tell you who he is. I don't listen to his music unless it's on the radio…and even then, I don't know it's him.
Can't knock a chicks likes tho… some would break Jay-Z off some…some swear by 50's body…
Me tho? Well, I am more about dark and scrawny…give me Don Cheadle. Sssshhh, I get enough jokes from my friends…don't need my "man" knowing too…lol
As a Brooklynite I do like TI, dude music gets play at the crib and in the whips of my boys-it for me though was a slow burn. "Bring Em Out" was a start "Rubberband Man", "You Dont Know Me" were really working but it was his overall persona. I am from one of the toughest hoods in my city, I still live there though free of felonies and never trying to get one anyway I am like Balck Thought-me and thugs minds are at times Mutal. I can relate to what they want and how they get it I just dont do it. So I wasnt looking to "live through" his lyrics (as do tons of men do and lots of women) rather I wanted to hear what "he had to say" of what has been a chaotic social era. Also being his peer I can quote what was happening-crack aint just "subject matter" it was even for a non hustla part of the everyday life in East New York. I gave him kudos for actually talking about the emotions of "The Game" and not just the hype. His gun charge?
Well what rappers since say 93 is crime free and had a record BEFORE being a rapper?
So that didnt drop his stock with me-but I did stick him in with the You Too Smart For That crowd but I wasnt shocked. However his case is loose, one he wasnt caught his bodygaurd was and he has a felony so of course he "gave up" TI, he was probably looking at decades worth of time.
But TIP didnt do a Plaxico or even a Tupac but nevertheless he screwed up cuz one as a former felon, to be snitched on it dont take much for any judge to sign that warrant-so Tip was weakend by that. Try that with a guy with money and NO record -man listen his lawyers would make mince meat out of the warrant. But I'll still say he handle that mess with class. As to why the ladies like him-I dont really care being in film sex is something you cant deny nor hide from.