T.I. is a rap veteran with over 14 years of hard work under his belt. Throughout his career, he has managed to produce several chart-topping songs. The Atlanta rhymer opens up about his creative process when making a hot track for The Boombox's '16 Bars' series.

"My favorite type of song to make is the one that's tailor-made to fit that a particular occasion," he states. "I try not to go into the making of a song with the idea of it being a single."

Tip says that most of his tunes were made naturally and without any premeditated thought.

"The times that I feel like my records had the most impact is when I went in and just made a jamming-ass record and it just so happened to be a single -- like 'Whatchu Know About That' and 'U Don't Know Me,'" he states. "Those are the records that speak to my core demo."

His latest album, 'Paperwork,' boasts the street banger 'All About the Money' with Young Thug, 'New National Anthem' featuring Skylar Grey and the Iggy Azalea-assisted 'No Mediocre,' which was frowned upon by many rap fans who felt he was trying to go pop.

However, the Grand Hustle leader insists that he knows how to balance his street-edged persona with today's pop sounds without totally alienating his fans.

"I tried to toe that line and balance myself between the very new and current [sounds], and the loved, the appreciated and the historical traditions that people like about T.I.," he explains. "I try to balance those [things]. That's the Libra scale in me. Trying to have the best of both worlds."

He also discusses his self-described "killer-ant-with-a-sledgehammer mentality." The southern MC admits that his excessive nature has attributed to both his rise and fall.

Watch T.I. talk about his latest album, 'Paperwork,' how he makes great rap songs and the advice he'd give to himself in 2003.

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