Hip-hop star TI shies away from the glitz and glamour of fame in favour of being a hands-on dad.

The singer and actor - real name Clifford Harris JR - is father to sons Messiah, six, Domani, five, and King, one, and daughter Deyjah, four.

Despite selling drugs to survive as a teen in a rough quarter of Atlanta, Georgia, TI is determined his children will have a vastly different upbringing.

He explains, "I stole because I couldn't afford to get it. But they can."

The Rubber Band Man singer insists he is a normal dad who goes "to parent-teacher conferences and stuff."

He adds, "You'll catch me in the grocery store, pumping my own gas, driving myself around."

"I'm a real person. Stars are in the sky; people walk in the streets."