T.I.
Has anyone else noticed that T.I. seems to be in the news more since he's been in prison? Well, now he's wheedled his way into the headlines again, this time by deciding to release his next album from behind bars.
Personally I thought that you shouldn't be able to 'do business' whilst you were incarcerated, but it looks as though T.I. has gotten around the law, and his new album will be released next month, whilst he's still in jail.
The hitmaker, real name Clifford Harris, Jr., surrendered to authorities in Arkansas on Monday and began serving an 11-month sentence after violating his probation connected to a previous stint behind bars on illegal weapons possession charges.
But his latest prison spell isn't going to halt his career - T.I. has released a video he shot before his sentence began announcing his plans to hit the top of the album charts before the end of 2010.
Following in the footsteps of Lil Wayne, who released I Am Not A Human Being during his eight-month sentence at Rikers Island in New York, which ends on Thursday, T.I. has announced - via the video - that his new album, No Mercy, will hit shelves on 7 December.
In the video, recorded exclusively for MTV, T.I. says, "I have big news for you guys today - my new album, entitled No Mercy, will be released on December 7. "I just wanna give a shout out to all the fans for standing by me all this time. Without you, I'm nothing... I appreciate you from the bottom of my heart. You'll hear more from me soon. Hold it down 'til I get back."
The music video for the album's lead single, Get Back Up, which features another troubled star, Chris Brown, premiered on Wednesday's (03Nov10) 106th and Park show in America.
Originally titled King Uncaged, No Mercy will also feature guest spots from Kanye West, Eminem and Christina Aguilera.