Originally posted Friday, October 5, 2018 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Two months after I wrote a story confirming that VH1 was reviving "T.I. and Tiny" a year after cancelling the reality show, VH1 finally announced its return Thursday by releasing a trailer.
VH1, when shooting in Georgia, is required to inform the Georgia Department of Economic Development to qualify for the state’s generous tax credits. So it was clearly stated over the summer that the rap star and actor T.I. and his wife Tiny were back shooting the television show. VH1 didn’t get back to me in August to confirm or deny this.
And oddly, when another site the Jasmine Brand broke the story weeks before I wrote mine, T.I. went on social media to deny it in a way that effectively showed in retrospect that he was outright lying. Jasmine Brand later broke the story that it would be back this fall.
The show returns October 22 under a slightly different title: “T.I. & Tiny: Friends & Family Hustle” instead of “T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle.”
According to VH1, T.I. Harris; his wife, Tameka "Tiny" Harris; and their children Zonnique, Messiah, Domani, Deyjah, King, Major and Heiress will appear. They are joined on what is being defined as a "new" series by Atlanta friends R&B singer Monica Brown, author Antonia "Toya" Wright, actress and former Destiny's Child member Letoya Luckett, Zonnique Pullins and Wright's daughter Reginae Carter.
Wright was part of a previous BET reality show with Tiny called “Tiny and Toya” that ran for two seasons in 2009 and 2010. At about the same time, Monica had her own BET reality show as well. Both Pullins and Carter had previously been on WE-TV’s ‘Growing Up Hip Hop Atlanta,” which is returning soon for a third season with some new cast members.
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