by Valencia Roner, Your Black World
T.I.'s recent incarceration has been great for business. His business.
Sales for the rapper's clothing line, A.K.O.O. (A King Of One's Self) have skyrocketed while he's been behind bars, according to a rep for the brand.
The company's sales soared by 25 percent in the last year while the rapper served time for violating probation on a drug charge (later dismissed).
A.K.O.O. hadn't seen such a surge since T.I.'s MTV reality show Road to Redemption premiered in 2009.
A.K.O.O. is a clothing line started in late 2008 and founded by T.I. and Jason Geter, both co-founders of Atlanta-based recording label Grand Hustle Records.
After the launch of the clothing line, A.K.O.O faced a lawsuit from Akoo International, a social Music TV Network established years before the clothing line, for copyright infringement. The world’s largest online social music television site had been using the trademarked name since 2004 and thought the infringement would mislead, confuse and deceive potential customers and clients.
The rep says they're preparing for another spike in sales when T.I. is set free from his halfway house next week after completing his drug sentence.
He is scheduled for release on September 26.
