T.I. - Paper Trail

T.I. - Paper Trail
WV Score: 8.6/10

Sometimes rappers want to be serious. Sometimes they want to just have fun. T.I. wants to do both.

One year ago, he was caught trying to buy guns from federal agents. He was subsequently sentenced to community service and house arrest. This is what he worked on while "confined". Friends visited him to work on the album, and what we get is a combination of his sober realization that he (and we) should appreciate the life he has, such as on My Life where Rihanna does what she does best: sound like a singing human robot. Just Blaze samples the song made famous a few years ago where the guy dances on video in front of the computer, which is catchy yet questionable. Summary of the song: Have fun yet and be gracious for what you have.

These seem to be common themes throughout the whole CD.

Of course this wouldn't be a T.I. album without organs and deep synths. That is what he does best. Just think back to What You Know. This is best exemplified on No Matter What, which has a basic drum beat and church organs throughout. The song sounds like a farewell song, but he sings "still I stand," showing a paradox, like many of the albums themes.

He has an A-list of guest stars from Ludacris (which guest on the worst song of the album) to John Legend to Jay-Z, Kanye West, and Lil Wayne all on one song. The song with those three is Swagger Like Us, which gets most of the press these days. Unfortunately I cannot listen to the song for very long because it samples MIA's Paper Planes and it gets kind of repetitive. I like it as a song, I just get tired of hearing part of a song that is currently overplayed as it is. Oh, and T.I. actually has the best verse in the song.

He wants to show you a good time. This is evident in the lyrics and the beats. This is most evident on Whatever You Like where he tells the girls "you can have whatever you like" and that he has "stacks on deck," which apparently means you have so much money that your don't have to worry about anything.

After meandering through party songs, trap songs, and appreciate-your-life songs, it ends on a high note. Dead and Gone with Justin Timberlake sounds like a JT songs made for T.I. and it is the perfect collaboration. It sounds like a Timbaland song, but it was actually produced solely by Justin Timberlake.

T.I. has drawn together an album that is my favorite rap album since the last Kanye album (sorry Weezy). I believe we have much bigger thing to see and hear from the King. He raps on No Matter What: "Never have you seen in your lifetime, a more divine southern rapper with a swagger like mine." Thank pretty much sums it up.