BUY: T.I. - Paper Trail (Deluxe Version - iTunes)

T.I.’s 6th studio album, Paper Trail, will undoubtedly be his most popular release, already going gold after his first week. It will also go down as his best, most complete album, period. T.I.’s biggest strengths has always been his undeniable swag, the ability to go from break-neck to slow-paced flow effectively, clearly, and at the right opportunity, and his ability to create a Dirty South banger that people north of the ATL could also bump. The one flaw that I felt held him a tier below the rest of today’s top MCs: consistent lyrical depth. Paper Trail is the scary combination of T.I.’s one flaw developing into as big of a strength as the others. And the reason why his lyrics became such a strength is another scary combination - T.I. going back to writing his lyrics on paper as he did at the beginning stages of his career (hence the title, Paper Trail) and the furious passion that burns inside the man himself after the fallout of his much publicized federal weapons charges and conviction. The latter could be no more evident than in the two verses and extended outro of “Ready For Whatever”.

“In order to understand my train of thoughts
You’ll have to put yourself in my position
You can’t expect me to think like you cuz my life ain’t like yours, you know what I’m sayin?
You don’t understand that, you don’t understand anythin’ homeboy, I’m done talkin’!”

- T.I. “Ready For Whatever”

“Ready For Whatever” helps convey an often forgotten, yet simple idea that can be applied to many real-life situations: there’s two sides to every story. T.I. illustrates his perspective throughout “Ready For Whatever” and during stretches across the whole album through real, intelligent lyrics and delivers it with the emotional passion that even stirs an emotional reaction in the listener. For any musical artist to achieve that is something special and T.I. reaches that level on Paper Trail because he makes otherwise irrelevant issues to the common listener appealing. Beyond his conviction, T.I. also portrays the pressures and unfair treatment of a celebrity from the media and evokes the empathy from listeners with this specific lyric below:

[Usher]
“…Well shorty ’til you walk a mile in my shoes
And understand this is who I am..”
[T.I.]
“Usher I completely concur
Life can be such a blur, obviously we prefer
Our privacy but instead we endure
Yessurr, don’t expect nothin’ less of me
‘Cause this goin’ probably be this way until the death of me
But for the hustle and the lady on my arm now
Plus all my kids and my mom’s I’m a calm down
And yo, we doin’ just fine, and the time’s just flyin’
Live one headline at a time…”

- T.I. “My Life Your Entertainment” f/ Usher

In addition to making otherwise unappealing issues appealing to the common listener, T.I. also makes a hip hop album that is appealing to fans of every sub-genre of hip hop. On first look at the tracklist, Paper Trail boasts a list with guest stars like Rihanna, Usher, & Justin Timberlake that suggests an approach to the line of a dumbed down hip hop album that appeals to pop music fans. However, on closer inspection of the album’s 16 tracks, only 2 of them are truly hip hop/pop songs, and even then, the messages are not totally dumbed down for the radio. Consequently, these two records, “Whatever You Like” & “Live Your Life” f/ Rihanna have already hit #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 because it combines the necessary elements of a hit record with going beyond those common traits to convey a message that people can relate to. “Whatever You Like” clearly shows a man’s devotion to pleasing his woman and “Live Your Life” addresses the haters and examines what is wrong with the greed and morals that come with riches. The other collaborations with pop stars Usher and Justin Timberlake are actually not pop tracks; they are meaningful hip hop tracks that depict a meaningful message. “Dead And Gone” featuring Justin Timberlake acts as a perfect closer for Paper Trail as the mellow, percussion-laced beat provides the backdrop for T.I. & JT to spill their heart over the battles of losing a close friend to the heavenly gates above. So while Paper Trail certainly appeals to the mainstream hip hop fan, it also appeals to T.I.’s core fan base who appreciate his pump up jams and hard bangers. T.I. remains true to himself and cranks out more Dirty South classics featuring his long-time producer DJ Toomp and up and coming Dirty South producer, Drumma Boy (the increasing drum noise is already overused, first seen in Young Jeezy’s “Put On” and now incorporated on all 3 of Drumma Boy’s productions on Paper Trail, but I digress..). Tracks like “What Up, What’s Haapnin’”, “Swing Ya Rag” f/ Swizz Beatz, and the collaboration with former ATL foe, Ludacris on “On Top Of The World” are all strong examples of the Dirty South roots that will forever define T.I. and please his long-time followers. His swag and delivery brings the tracks “What Up, What’s Haapnin’” and “Swagga Like Us” to another level as he outshines the three other biggest superstars in the rap game on the latter with an undeniably powerful ending to his verse seen below, emphasized by a brilliant enhancement in the production by Kanye West.

“You kick it like me, no exaggeration necessary
Livin’ revolutionary, nothin’ less than legendary
Gangsta shit hereditary, got it from my dad
Flow colder than February with extraordinary swag”

- T.I. “Swagga Like Us” f/ Kanye West, Jay-Z, & Lil’ Wayne

Finally, Paper Trail not only appeals to the fans of the various genres of hip hop, but most importantly to every fan of any type of music who can appreciate meaningful, positive, intelligent, and thought-provoking lyrics. From the cleverly dirty “Porn Star” to my leading candidate for the track of the YEAR, “Slide Show” f/ John Legend, T.I. achieves with Paper Trail what none of his previous 5 albums fully achieved - the consistent lyrical depth to keep his music relevant for years and generations to come. And without a doubt, the soulful “Slide Show” cannot illustrate that statement any better. With T.I. ripping flawlessly like a story-telling genius, John Legend adding piano and a lyrically deep, meaningful, and soulful chorus, and an equally soulful beat to compliment both artist’s styles, “Slide Show” is the influencing hip hop track that reminds me why I love hip hop so much and how music can have such a deep impact on my emotions. The clarity of T.I.’s messages on “Slide Show” and throughout Paper Trail evoke any listener’s emotion on first listen, which further makes Paper Trail something special, and without a doubt, the best hip hop album of 2008! Paper Trail successfully bridges the gap between the artist and the listener and there is no doubt that any open-minded listener will find at least a handful of tracks they enjoy, so do not hesitate to buy the album, if you have not already, above! No need to look further for the best verse of the year either:

“When I think about all my time and all my struggle,
Through all my grinding and all my troubles
Man I came up from nothing, all I had was a hustle
With a blindfold trying to find pieces to the puzzle no muzzle
I tell it like it is, that’s that
Right or wrong I’ma call it how I see it, don’t forget
That impossible is nothing your environment’s irrelavant
Just don’t let your emotions overpower your intelligence
Refuse to give up, your mistakes don’t define you
They don’t dictate where your headed, they remind you
The time keep ticking let your mind keep clicking
Never stop thinking be aware of your decisions
And be aware of the collisions and the potholes sitting
On the road that you travel on your life long mission
Just listen every day is like a snapshot take it
If you live you can learn to be great, be patient!”

- T.I. “Slide Show” f/ John Legend

Top 5 *Tibs Favs.™ (in order)

14. Slide Show f/ John Legend

13. Swagga Like Us f/ Kanye West, Jay-Z, & Lil’ Wayne

11. What Up, What’s Haapnin’

08. My Life Your Entertainment f/ Usher

16. Dead And Gone f/ Justin Timberlake

Production: 8.5/10

Lyrics: 9.5/10

OVERALL (not an average): 9.5/10

~ Sgt. Tibs