Disco de T.I.: “Paper Trail [Circuit City Exclusive]”

Rakim, Gang Starr, KRS-One and Nas were the soundtrack to the formative years of my life and I got so sick of the garbage in contemporary rap that I totally abandoned the format, renouncing urban radio altogether and blocking BET, MTV and VH-1 from my cable box. It was too hard to tell when one Lil' Wayne song ended and the next T-Pain song began.

Over the weekend while riding in a friend's car, I heard what I thought was a new Rihanna song, "Live my Life". The "guest rapper" (Yes, I knew it was T.I.) dropped this gem, "...the spirit of a hustler and the swagger of a college kid." I thought to myself, "Hey, I could get with lyrics like that."

When I got home I looked it up on Rhapsody and found the album "Paper Trail". Whoa! I am off the bench, put me in the game coach! This album is fantastic. The production values are outstanding, surpassing any album in any genre that I've heard in years and the lyrics and themes for a fist full of tracks are top notch as well. "56 Bars", "Whatever you Like", "No Matter What", "Swagga Like Us", "Slide Show" and "Dead and Gone" are all true bangers that will stand up to the best.

In short, this album turned this hip-hop agnostic into a true believer.

Long before T.I. became a household name, he dubbed himself the "King of the South". It was evidence of his extraordinary ambition. His albums too show the same ambition. They typically run the gamut of hip-hop, with radio friendly songs, introspective songs, club tracks, street anthems and occasionally thought provoking concepts.

Unfortunately, up to now the music has not lived up to his ambition levels. Don't get me wrong Urban Legend & King (even T.I. vs T.I.P.) were great albums musically but you knew that T.I. was aiming even higher. He wanted his albums to be at the same level as 2pac, Eminem, B.I.G. at their respective primes.

He came close with King but I think he might have done it this one. If this was 1999 I wouldn't bet against this album going diamond. But thanks to the internet double platinum will be a stretch.

Comparisons to the greats are relevant because like them, T.I. has some monster hits on this album, "whatever You Like" and "Live Your Life" are already #1 hits. "No Matter What" was an undeniable street anthem and "What up, What's happenin'" has the streets & the mixtape circuit buzzing. And the great thing is that there is more hits to come.

This is not to say that the album is perfect (despite the 5 star rating) but neither were the greats. But like the Carter III, this album is one you'll remember when 10 yrs from now you think of the year 2008.

The key to the success of the album is T.I.'s hunger which is at pre-Urban Legend levels. But at the same time he maintains the swagger that he's become famous for. This is most evident on the monster track "Swagger Like Us" where T.I. flexes his swag and mic skills at the same time.

He balances the fun tracks like the Swizz beats party starter "Swing Ya Rag" well with the more serious stuff like "You Ain't missing Nothing". The production is alot more consistent than his prior efforts making the album quite cohesive despite the varying subject matters.

He cleverly uses his guest features to make the tracks even bigger. Case in point is "Live Your Life" which suits Rihanna to a tee, same Justin Timberlake & John Legend on "Dead & Gone" and "Slide Show" respectively.

All that makes this his biggest and most well contructed album. And while there is room for improvement (see "Every Chance I Get"), in the whole it is excellent entertainment.

I will say right now that I am NOT a hip-hop or rap fan. Or at least, I wasn't until I picked up this CD, no lie there. It started with not being able to get "Whatever you like" out of my head, which lead to sampling bits and pieces of upcoming tracks like "Dead and Gone," and "Live your Life," both of which I thought were amazing. I decided that I should get the album from the one song and two snippets I heard.

It was well worth it. In fact, for 10 bucks I thought I should have paid more. There are definitely some weaker titles but a lot of stand out ones as well. I'm not huge on collabs, but I feel that the partnerships/ collaborations T.I. made in this album really did what they were supposed to- expose listeners to different sides of T.I. and range, and accentuate the respective performances. In songs like "Live your Life," "My life your entertainment," and "Slide Show," the collaborations are with some interesting artists not really predictable to former T.I. listeners. The styles mix together incredibly, and accentuate the style of both performers/ several performers (Swagga like Us)

My favorite thing about this CD is the passion T.I. brings to the table in songs like "Dead and Gone" and "Ready For Whatever," (my favorite song on the CD). He actually raps about stuff, imagine that. In "Ready for Whatever" he elaborates on his jail sentence and his motivations behind his actions in a compelling depiction of his state of mind. The songs all encompass his state of mind at different times in his life, some dealing with the death of his friend, some dealing with his jail sentence, some dealing with the pressure he faces from his peers.

Trust me, not many of the tracks on this CD are REALLY about impressing girls with cash, riding in nice cars, and showing off jewelry like some older T.I. songs.

It's unfortunate that he went through what he went through legally, but I believe it has made him a stronger artist with experience and personal strife underneath his belt.

An extremely personal album, completely worth BUYING (not downloading).

I was a bit skeptical about getting this album because let's be honest, T.I. Vs T.I.P was a suspect album to say the least. T.I. soullessly mumbling through a whole album(which is what he did on that album) is something I just dont dig. But this album is a lot better than I expected it to be. I'm Illy, 56 Bars showcase T.I. lyrically skills which bring you back to the Trap Musik/Urban Legend days. Whatever You Like is a catchy single even though it's kind of corny, I'll admit I like it. My Life, Your Entertainment with Usher is T.I. explaining evertyhing he goes through as a superstar. Live Your Life(feat Rihanna) and No Matter What show a more positive side to T.I. which was a rarity on most his albums. Im glad he buried the hatchet with Ludacris(which was a confusing beef to say the least) because On Top Of The World feat Ludacris and B.O.B. is not bad. Like most of his albums there are a few songs that stop this one from reaching classic status. Swing Ya Rag feat Swizz Beatz is a weak club banger. Every Chance I Get is pretty generic. Porn Star is a terrible song for the ladies and any of you females out there that like this song you need to stay the hell away from me. I would hate to have to tie you to a chair and force you to watch Batman and Robin till you writhe in pain but I can and I will! Last but not least, Swagger Like Us(feat Lil Wayne, Kanye West and Jay-z) is complete and utter garbage. Everybody's rhymes were wack, the beat is corny and the sample of M.I.A's Paper Planes is laughable. Dont let the radio beat that song into your subconscious, it stinks! Bottom Line: Paper Trail is T.I.'s best album since Urban Legend. The production(for the most part) was good, T.I.'s rhymes are sharp as before(prior to T.I. Vs T.I.P.) and the guest appearances(except for the bad songs mentioned) fared well on this album too. Strongly recommended.

Standouts: MY LIFE YOUR ENTERTAINMENT, I'M ILLY, DEAD AND GONE, 56 BARS, LIVE YOUR LIFE, ON TOP OF THE WORLD and NO MATTER WHAT.

Listen Paper Trail takes what Tha Carter III did with its album and made it 10x better. Not only is it a fun album, but it is lyrically out of here, its production is great. The guests besides Wayne do great. This is a class album. Not a classic, it has to survive the test of time. But for now, it is the best album of the year. It is not hype. My first and only 10/10 since The Cool. I love this album, and if you love music you should too...