T.I. announces retirement from performing

Originally appeared on E! Online

T.I. is gonna do whatever he likes.

And for the “Live Your Life” rapper, that means calling it a day on touring. T.I. revealed that his final performance would be at 96.1 The Beat’s Jingle Ball concert in Atlanta on Dec. 19 and that he would be retiring after that.

“I appreciate y’all for offering me my last working gig because I do not need the money anymore and I will not be performing,” T.I. shared during an interview on the radio station Oct. 10. “I don’t want to do it anymore.”

The 44-year-old added, “I don’t want people to pay me to hop around and sweat for their entertainment anymore.”

When host Ferrari Simmons asked if he was still planning to “do anything for the PSC” — also known as the Pimp Squad Click, a rap group which T.I. originally helped found in 2001 alongside Big Kuntry King, Young Dro, Mac Boney, C-Rod and AK —the “Whatever You Like” rapper assured Ferrari he had some ideas in mind.

READ T.I. and Tameka “Tiny” Harris Win $71 Million in Lawsuit Against Toy Company

“Of course,” he quipped. “I’m going to answer the phone to tell them that I will not be performing.”

Luckily Young Dro — who joined his longtime collaborator for the interview — said he was willing to take on T.I.’s performance commitments, joking “I will be picking up all of Tip’s shows that he ain’t going to. Doing them all.”

T.I.’s retirement from performing comes less than a month after he and wife Tiny were awarded $71 million in a trial against toy giant MGA Entertainment.

T.I. and Tiny (real names Clifford Joseph Harris and Tameka Dianne Cottle-Harris) had accused the toy company of violating the intellectual property rights of the couple’s music group the OMG Girlz with their L.O.L. Surprise! O.M.G. dolls.

Following the jury decision, Tiny — who is mom to children Clifford, 18, Major, 16, and Heiress, 8, with the rapper — shared how overjoyed she was with the decision.

“I mean, wow. They did more than I thought they would,” the 49-year-old told Rolling Stone. “I would have been happy with whatever. They blessed us more than beyond. We wanted to thank the jurors so bad, but we didn’t get the opportunity.”

T.I. added, “I think justice was served. I think it’s a testament to the relentlessness and resilience of my wife, daughter and nieces. We’re just happy we were able to come out on top and fight for creatives and our intellectual property that large corporations seem to think is just public domain and free for all to come and grab and use.”