signing with Arista Records subsidiary LaFace Records in 1999, he shortened his name from Tip to T.I., out of respect for Arista label-mate Q-Tip. T.I. relays the situation as: 2001–2002: Atlantic Records deal and I'm Serious T.I. released his debut album, I'm Serious, in October 2001 through Arista Records. The album spawned the a single of the same name featuring Jamaican reggae artist Beenie Man on June 26, 2001. The single received little airplay and failed to chart. The album features guest appearances from his Southern hip hop group P$C, Jazze Pha, Too Short, Bone Crusher, Lil Jon, Pastor Troy and YoungBloodZ, as well as Pharrell Williams of American record production team The Neptunes (who called him "the Jay-Z of the South"). The production for I'm Serious, was handled by The Neptunes, DJ Toomp, Madvac and The Grand Hustle Team. Despite the album's guests appearances and production team, the album peaked at number 98 and only sold 163,000 copies in the United States. 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 be headed for stardom." Due to the poor commercial reception of the album, T.I. was dropped from Arista Records. He then formed Grand Hustle Entertainment and began releasing several mixtapes with the assistance of DJ Drama. He resurfaced in mid-2003, appearing on fellow Atlanta-based rapper and former label-mate Bone Crusher's hit single, "Never Scared". His mixtapes and mainstream exposure from "Never Scared", eventually recaptured major label attention and T.I. signed a joint venture deal with Atlantic Records. 2003–2004: Trap Muzik and Urban Legend T.I. released his second album Trap Muzik on August 19, 2003, through Grand Hustle Records; it debuted at number four and sold 109,000 copies in its first week. It spawned the singles "24s", "Be Easy", "Rubberband Man" and "Let's Get Away". The album features guest appearances from 8Ball & MJG, Jazze Pha, Bun B and Mac Boney; and was produced by Jazze Pha, Kanye West, David Banner, Madvac and DJ Toomp. Upon its release, Trap Muzik received generally favorable reviews from most music critics, who generally regarded it as a major improvement over his debut album, I'm Serious. This included Complex