T.I. Album: “Urban Legend [Japan]”

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 has had a fast-paced year. After his last album 'Trap Muzik' broke out in the commercial scene he scored three major hits ("24's", "Rubberband Man", "Let's Get Away") and went platinum in the process. Shortly after that he was arrested for possession of an illegal substance & was facing up to three years in prison. Luckily, he got out in a few months. During his time in prison another southern rapper, Lil' Flip, started talking some very unneccessary smack about T.I while he was behind bars. When it came time for Atlanta's Birthday Bash 9 T.I was let out to perform on stage. He let out some comments about all the crap Flip had been spreading around & challenged Flip onstage for a one-on-one to see who was the better rapper. Flip, instead of coming onstage, ran back to his bus & got the hell out of Atlanta, taking a flight back to Texas. A week or so later Flip made some comments to the news about T.I saying "he was mad cuz i wouldn't let him on the 'Game Over' remix". Flip also dissed T.I several more times. After this T.I created his mixtape 'Down With Tha King' and literally destroyed Flip's reputation in hip-hop. He bashed Flip severely with his remake of Jay-Z's "99 Problems" by adding a subtitle "99 Problems (Lil Flip Ain't One)" and bashing him furiously throughout the song. He even got southern rap icon Scarface on the phone (who Flip had previously said he was down with) to confirm that Flip was a liar. Also on this mixtape were samples of an upcoming album.

During all this madness T.I managed to pull together enough tracks for his third studio set 'Urban Legend'. Upon first listening to UL you would get the feeling that he is pretty confident in being the 'King of the South'. The disc opens with "Tha King", a track in which he tries to prove his claims to the throne. The song samples a Run DMC line famous from "King Of Rock" and makes several references to Run-DMC classics.

The next few tracks go in somewhat of an order. "Motivation" has a great beat over which T.I raps about how all the hate is only fuel to his genius. Following this up is "U Don't Know Me", a track previously heard on the DWTK mixtape (as mentioned above). Next is "ASAP", another furious track towards haters with an unforgettable hook ("I'll blow you off the map A-S-A-P").

The discs first real stretch from hearing T.I as nothing more than an angry rapper is on "Praying For Help", a track in which he justifies his anger and lets the fans know he's just praying for help through his music. Next up is "Why U Mad At Me?", which is pretty self-explanatory in its content.

A slur of party-aimed tracks come up in the next few minutes of the disc. The high-charged "Get Loose" (featuring Nelly), the Mannie Fresh-produced & guest starring "Greatest" & the club banger "Get Yo **** Together" (featuring Lil' Kim) are broken in-between only by the grimy "What They Do" (feat. B.G). The listener probably now gets the impression the rest of the disc will be upbeat, they're probably right.

Track 11, the Neptunes'-produced "Freak Though" (featuring Pharrell) is a slick, laid-back tune. More of these come up soon like "Limelight", the most layed-back pimp anthem of its kind that features T.I's labelmates. Another slick, pimp-flavored joint is "Chillin' With My *****" (featuring Jazze Pha).

In-between all these pimp anthems is "Bring 'em Out", which is possibly the best club banger on the disc. It's produced by Swizz Beatz & samples Jay-Z's voice in the hook. It's also the first single from Urban Legend.

The last couple tracks, the Lil' Jon-produced "Stand Up" (featuring Trick Daddy & Lil' Wayne) & the closer "My Life" (featuring Daz Dillinger) are both great tracks that give the album a high finish.

I think overall T.I has raised the bar on his albums. This one surpasses Trap Muzik majorly and showcases why he's a good runner for the King of the South title. The holder of the throne, the one-and-only Scarface, will eventually step down & when he does Tip will no doubt be standing to claim the position.

Rating - 4.5 Stars

Good album. Not better than Trap Muzik. But almost just as powerfull. T.I. is no doubt one of the greatest rappers of our time. He doesn't poison is music and his fans by cursing unecessarily and talkin about things he knows nothin about just for some street fame. He's real and real gutter. He speaks the truth and has fun, and is what you call a grown man. Very mature album. Pick it up if you like real rap. If you're all about booty shakin and ice and gettin crunk...leave this album alone and go wack off to some lil jon and do the laffy taffy or somethin. cause this may be a little too real for you.

This album is unbelievable it is so far the best album T.I. has dropped in his career.Go out and buy this album everyone.

Let me start by saying that T.I is a breathe of fresh air compared to other southern rappers. He has excellent wordplay and you dont get tired of his style easily like other rappers(think Prick Ross and Doodoocris). Standout tracks: COUNTDOWN, BRING EM OUT, THA KING, MOTIVATION, ASAP, YOU DONT KNOW ME, MY LIFE, WHAT IT DO, WHY YOU MAD AT ME, PRAYING FOR HELP etc. Filler: Get your s--t together, Limelight,

Chillin with my b---h. Stand up couldve easily been a classic if it wasnt for Trick Daddy's lukewarm verse. The greatest is good but it suffers from lame hooks disease and get loose would be better without Nelly. Despite these flaws Urban Legend stands out as one of T. I's best albums.