T.I. 'Trouble Man' Listening Party Recap

Photo by: Stan Perry

We just got back from Public Chicago Hotel where T.I. was hosting an exclusive, private event for Chicago VIPs and tastemakers. After talking about what to expect from his upcoming album, Trouble Man, he went ahead and previewed some of the songs for the audience for the first time.

T.I. played us a versaitile selection of six songs, which is actually a small percentage of the 86 he says he has to choose from. Yup, you read that correctly.

First, we got to hear "Trouble Man (Pt. 1)" and "Trouble Man (Pt. 2)". Part 2 features Chi-Town's own R. Kelly belting a memorable chorus and T.I. following with some heavy, personal lyrics. I can't wait for this one the most. I'm also on the lookout for the potential club hit with Lil Wayne titled "Ball", which boasts the hottest production of the previewed tracks. And then there is a crossover collab with Pink that he closed the session with named "Guns 'N Roses". Tip prefaced this potential mainstream hit by saying, "for anyone who doesn't like rap music, this may be the one song you can best identify with." After hearing Pink's strong, sentimental vocals and another lyrical verse from T.I., I'd say that's a pretty accurate description. Longtime T.I. fans, don't fret. Tip also previewed a couple joints that fit right in with his Trap Muzik days, backed by some great production and T.I.'s signature slick flow.

It's a safe bet that these big-name collabs make the album also because of T.I.'s high energy intros and the excitement that he couldn't contain when vibing to the new tunes. The whole room felt that energy. One more bet I'd feel safe about: Trouble Man making a big impact on hip hop in the near future.