Atlantic Records should let T.I. do anything he wants. He saves them a lot of money on promotion. In 2004, T.I. has had beef with Lil Flip, a questionable beef with Ludacris, and he's gone to prison. The execs should thank T.I. for all the free promotion he does for himself. With that out of the way, let me get to T.I.'s third studio (yes this is his third not second studio release) release, Urban Legend. Trap Muzik's hit singles "Rubberband Man" and "Let's Get Away" gave the fans a lot of interest of what this offering would bring. And it does not disappoint. You can never go wrong when you have Swizz Beatz produce your first single, "Bring Em Out," which is tearing up the clubs all over the country at this moment. Long T.I. fans will be glad to see that he has a lot features on this album. Nelly on "Get Loose," B.G. on "What They Do," Mannie Fresh on "The Greatest," Lil Kim on "Get Ya S*** Together," and Pharell on "Freak Though." What's funny, however, as these songs are tracks 7-11 on the album!! Don't worry though even with those special guests, T.I. is able to shine. He has 9 tracks all to his lonesome.
The P.S.C; Lil Wayne, Lil Jon, Trick Daddy, Daz Dillinger, and Jazze Pha also lend a helping hand to the King of the South. T.I. is always on the gangster tip such in songs like "U Don't Know Me," which separates him for Ludacris in that area. Ludacris is always on that "friendly stuff" as I would say. Funny that Urban Legend was released a week before the Red Light District hit the shelves.
Album Overview:
1. Tha King - Bold and cocky song by T.I. "Sucka MCs outta call me sire," is what T.I.P. proclaims throughout the song. Very good listen
2. Motivation - "Tha King" was fast paced and "Motivation" slows down the flow of the album a bit. You can definitely tell that this was one of the songs he wrote in prison.
3. U Don't Know Me - That's that gangsta stuff I've been talking about. You'll recognize this song as the b-side of the "Bring Em Out" video. Don't mess with him is the message of this track.
4. ASAP - This song gets heavy rotation in my car. The beat is very impressive and the lyrics are top notch. Part two of "Tha King" in my opinion.
5. Prayin For Help - A personal ballad that is a nice change of pace from the direction the album was going in. It is exactly what you think it is.
6. Why You Mad At Me - Do not know about this one. It's a good listen, but I usually skip this one. It seems very contradicting of the "U Don't Know Me" track earlier on the album.
7. Get Loose - Don't be surprised to hear this as a single off the album. Nelly makes a nice cameo and complements the rhythm and beat.
8. What They Do - B.Gizzle is back again with a cameo. I thought this song would be garbage, but T.I. does a great job here.
9. The Greatest - Definitely not one of the greatest tracks on the album. Mannie Fresh does the hook on this one.
10. Get Ya S*** Together - I hope this makes it out as a single. My 2nd favorite song on the album behind "Limelight." Lil Kim does the hook and that is about it. The beat is very good.
11. Freak Though - Definitely the Neptunes plateau. Pharell sings the chorus. I am not a big fan of this song, but I can tolerate it more that "The Greatest."
12. Countdown - The beat is very strong and the hook is very catchy and will get stuck in your head when you listen to it a lot. As a matter of fact I can't get it out of my head at this moment.
13. Bring Em Out - Perfect 1st single. You can never go wrong with a Jay-Z ad-lib sampling off "What More Can I Say" (acapella version) and Swizz Beatz doing the production. The beat catches your attention immediately when you hear it.
14. Limelight - Gangsta lovin' I would say. My favorite track on the album. T.I. allows the P.S.C. to shine on most of the song, but he does have a verse at the end.
15. Chillin With My B**** - Not a very compelling song. Jazze Pha does the chorus here. Probably the only skippable track on this album.
16. Stand Up - Lil Wayne gets a verse, Trick Daddy gets a verse, and T.I. gets a verse. Lil Jon does the hook. I really like this one.
17. My Life - It would only be right for T.I. have a song called "My Life." It seems like everyone and their momma has to have a track with that name. "My Life" is one of the most overused titles since "F*** The World."
Going to prison will always give you a good street reputation, but it is a bad for a long music career. As long as T.I. can stay out of trouble, he will be the King of the South soon or a later. Ludacris definitely has some competition of who runs the ATL. Urban Legend may not fare well in sells like the Red Light District, but in my opinion, Urban Legend by T.I. is better than the Red Light District. Don't worry though T.I. If Atlantic Records doesn't give you the money you deserve, there are plenty of other labels that would capitalize on your free publicity.
T.I.'s Urban Legend is quite possibly the best album released this year. T.I., the Atlanta rapper, AKA King Of The South as he proclaims, shows quite a bit of skill on the album. People keeping up with Hip Hop music have undoubtedly heard about the beef between T.I. and Flip and on this album, as well as others such as Crunk Juice & Thug Matrimony, T.I. lyrically destroys Flip. T.I. created quite a lot of buzz for this album on the mixtape tip when he released his highly successful 'Down With The King' mixtape with DJ Drama; and on that mixtape Flip's career was officially finished. Back to T.I., the self proclaimed King Of The South showed why he's so dearly loved in the south. His lyrics are a notch below being one of the greatest ever (no bs!). The way he puts his words together is always tight. He never drops a wack verse. he can get in depth about life and tell stories with morals but never sounds corny or forced.
When I first heard the album, I questioned his beat selection...NO...this is the best produced album he's put out easily. Every song has it's own vibe as none of them soundalike. The beats are more chilled out this time as he has nothing as aggressive as say Rubberband Man or Look What I Got, but you can still bounce to these beats. The production is handled by Jazze Pha, Lil Jon, David Banner, The Neptunes, DJ Toomp, Mannie Fresh and others. Quite a lineup don't you think?1?! His flow is definitely on point as he rips every beat effortlessly. The choruses are definitely catchy but not corny...they're almost an extension of his verses and one song flows seamlessly into the next. Every guest is outshined by T.I. with the exception of Pharell's crooning on Freak Though (possibly the best song on the album); Lil Kim, Nelly, Pimp Squad Click, Jazze Pha, Daz Dillinger ( yes THAT Daz ), Lil Wayne, Trick Daddy, BG.
It's hard to pick favorite songs fromsuch a great release but if I'd have to pick they would be My Life, Stand Up, Praying For Help, U Don't Know Me, Freak Though, the ultra pimp Limelight, and The Greatest. T.I. has released a great album that has somehow surpassed the greatness of his other albums. All his albums are equally tight but I believe this one edges out the other two. And like Outkast records your favorite one could change on any given day. He's that consistent. He has proof to claim he's the King Of The South (currently) and nobody has released anything to knock his claim. Only thing left to say is Crown the King! 10 Stars...best album released this year!
This album is hot.....and I mean hot. His first two albums were great, and this is also great if not better. This is the kind of album u listen to where u dont skip any tracks. All of the songs r great and u can listen to the whole album.
Best songs on the album r "You Dont Know Me" and "Countdown"!!!!
5.5 STARS
Peace
Hearing this album, it's easy to see why Pharrell Williams has dubbed T.I. "the Jay-Z of the South." Once again, T.I. delivers an album full of his incredible lyricism and thought provoking rhymes. He doesn't resort to the "what's hot right now?" attitude that a lot of rappers do nowadays (like Lil Flip, Master P, others). He just does what he does. And that's a good thing. The tracks "Prayin for Help" and "Countdown" (with tight production by David Banner) are reason enough to get the album. As he said on his first album, "I'm in it for the longevity." With albums like this one, T.I. should be around for years to come.
Urban Legend is definetly T.I. s best album. The songs are straight fire. Every song on here is good and his lyrics are really good. I can garuntee you'll like this album. Also, that fag below me who keeps insulting rap only listened to the mainstream stuff, I'd like to see what would happen to him if he insulted some one like rakim.
