Messiah Harris, also known as professional artist Buddy Red, looked outside of his father, T.I., for musical inspiration.

The 25-year-old, who T.I. shares with his former girlfriend, Lashon Dixon, was a guest on the Monday, February 24 episode of Atlanta talk show “Portia,” where she spoke to host Portia Bruner about his journey into rock and blues.

After detailing that he wanted to step out of his father’s shadow while being on the former VH1 reality show “T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle,” Red shared that he was first a beatmaker, but it was playing the guitar that encouraged him to think “bigger.” Red picked up the instrument at 18 after seeing the 2018 Freddie Mercury biopic “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

“Down in the dumps, I went to the movies one day, and I saw this movie called ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’—the movie about Queen and Freddie Mercury. When I saw that movie, I didn’t even know what it was about, but once the music began and I discovered for myself classic rock and roll, I forgot all about producing for the most part, and I said, I want to be on the stage, and I want to do that.”

Red recalled getting a strong reaction from his father about the decision, and has even gotten recognition from new fans as more than ‘T.I.’s son.’ “I like to think that I represent a version of my pops that didn't have to do the things that he had to do growing up," Red said about T.I.

“While he was rapping, originally, he was making beats and stuff, too. He wasn't doing it seriously but he had the ear to hurry up and get something done instead of paying for a producer–that hustler mentality.”

T.I. commended his oldest son in an interview with “GAFollowers” last month, ranking Buddy Red as a “10” in originality. “Buddy Red, I’mma give him a 10 ‘cause it ain’t nothin’ else like him out there,” he said around the 27-minute mark of the video below. “Ain’t no comparatives. I have no comps.”