“I think of all the things that plague our communities, sticking together will solve 99% of it,” T.I. tells host Ebro Darden in the second episode of Apple Music's The Message. “I think the message has always been liberation—just providing the info that could lead people to the understanding that, hey, look, we're going to have to come together if we're going to overrun this.” The veteran MC knows what he’s talking about. He’s lived it for a large portion of his career, right in front of our eyes on T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle, his family’s long-running reality show now in its second incarnation as T.I. & Tiny: Friends & Family Hustle. He’s shown it through a plethora of philanthropic efforts in the Atlanta area, including founding the non-profit organizations Harris Community Works and For the Love of Our Fathers. And we’ve heard it in song on recent offerings like DIME TRAP and The L.I.B.R.A. But who motivates the motivator? If his The Message playlist is to be believed, it’s voices a lot like his own: 2pac, N.W.A., Boogie Down Productions, Lil Baby and Kendrick Lamar. The playlist is anchored by classic hip-hop, with T.I. including songs like The Notorious B.I.G.’s “My Downfall” and Puff Daddy’s “Victory” as testaments to the vantage points that have reassured him he’d weather any storm. “They both talk about overcoming the odds,” T.I. says. “People expecting you to fail, and you didn't, and you showed them. No matter how hard they worked at being negative, you still used that as positive energy. That messaging is near and dear to my heart. These are records that I listen to when I need to get myself together.”