Rapper T.I. has a lot of titles that he wears proudly: King of the South, the Grand Hustler, Tip, Mr. Rubberband Man. But there is one title that he is not trying to have any time soon.
His stepdaughter Zonnique Pullins is having a baby but the “Live Your Life” rapper says that folk should not count on calling him “Granddad” anytime soon. He is not having any of that.
The rapper told Chuck Creekmur, CEO of AllHipHop, that while the pregnancy was a shock, he is not upset about Z’s decision to have a baby, further saying he would be delusional to feel any type of way … especially because she is a young adult who is living life responsibly on her own terms.
“It didn’t upset me, it shocked me.” He says exclusively to the platform. “I mean like ultimately, she is a 24-year-old woman. How naive or delusional would I have to be to actually find some real negative emotion [about her having a baby].”
“That’s her decision.” He continues.
Zonnique is a host on the hit Fox Soul show “The Mix.” She and her boyfriend Bandhunta Izzy made the news public during the summer — after telling T.I. (whose name is Clifford Harris) on the show on August 4.
Like her mother, Z has pushed the envelop to become self-sufficient as a mover and shaker. Since her OMG Girls days, a group she was in with Lil’ Wayne’s daughter Reginae Carter, Lourdes Rodriguez, and Breaunna Womack, she has been working on music and making her own money through various ventures.
And her stepdad couldn’t be more proud.
“She’s a woman, she’s an adult, she works and takes care of herself and has her own business,” T.I. boasts. “The dumbest thing any human being in the world is pay the cost and not be the boss.”
As one might imagine, she is measured with her decisions, learning not just from her “Pops” but also her mother, Tiny Harris who has a new business popping up almost every other month. #FamilyStyleGrandHustle
The two parents, with all of their wisdom, have vowed to have Z’s back and welcome the Harris family’s first grandchild.
“She’s considered that decision and she’s decided that her choice is to have a baby. And that’s what she’s gonna do and we are going to support it,” the “Whatever You Like” rapper states. But then he makes it clear that all the names that people usually use to describe their grandparents better not come out of the little pumpkin’s cuddly coo.
“Ain’t nobody gonna call me no damn, ‘Granddad,’ ain’t gonna be no ‘Grandpa.’ I’m too young, too fly to be a Granddad. I can’t do that.”
But when asked what can the grands call him, he simply noted with a laugh, “I can be a ‘Big Dawg’ though.”