Messiah Harris, also known as Buddy Red, wanted to break free from his father T.I.’s shadow before launching his career as a blues and rock musician.
The 24-year-old, whom T.I. shares with former partner Lashon Dixon, appeared on Atlanta talk show Portia on Monday (Feb. 24), where he shared his journey to becoming an artist. T.I. has six biological children altogether, including rappers King, 20, and Domani Harris, 23. T.I.’s stepdaughter, Zonnique Pullins, 28, whose mother is Tameka ‘Tiny’ Harris, is a member of OMG Girlz.
Early in the interview, Red explained that he “shied away” from the spotlight while appearing on the six-season reality show T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle as a child.
“It was more so because I didn’t really know myself yet because a lot of people look at me and they think they know me because they know my father,” he said around the one-minute mark of the video above.
“So I didn’t have much to say because I didn’t really have a lot of confidence in what I said, ’cause I felt like a lot of people weren’t listening, because nobody really knew my name. Nobody knew my name was Messiah for the longest time. They’d look at me and say ‘T.I.’s son,’ and that does something to your mind after years and years. You kind of feel like, That’s just me.“
But it was as a teenager when Red emerged from his shell, first as a producer, before watching Freddie Mercury biopic Bohemian Rhapsody and picking up the guitar at 18.
“When I saw that movie, I didn’t even know what it was about. But once the music began and I discovered for myself classic rock ‘n’ roll, I forgot all about producing for the most part and I said, I want to be on a stage and I want to do that,” Red added.
The musician took guitar lessons before telling his father, who was surprised by the genre choice but supported it. “I like to think that I represent a version of my pops that didn’t have to do the things that he had to do growing up,” Red said about T.I.
“While he was rapping, originally, he was making beats and stuff, too. He wasn’t doing it seriously but he had the ear to hurry up and get something done instead of pay for a producer–that hustler mentality.”
Red launched his career as a blues and rock artist in 2022 and has dropped tracks like “1958” and “You Know.”
