T.I. Paper Trail Review

The long awaited 5th studio album from King of the South Clifford "T.I." Harris is set to drop September 30th and I was able to get an advance copy to review. Last year T.I. was in a load of trouble as he was caught with possession of weapons after a BET awards show and was sentenced to house arrest, followed by community service and will be serving 1 year of prison time sometime in the next year. Now with the bad comes the good. T.I. used this as an opportunity to record an album while in house arrest and the message on this album is all about following a better path, being a family man, and learning from your mistakes.

The album kicks off with "56 barz" which is a 56 bar freestyle that T.I. absolutely kills on and reclaims his top position in the rap game. He name checks a lot of other artists and everyone in hip hop seems to be on pretty good terms with T.I. This album is FULL of cameo's from anybody who's anybody in the rap game. T.I. reteams with Justin Timberlake for "Dead and Gone" a ballad with a powerful hook, Ludacris lays down some sick verses for "On Top Of The World", Rihanna appears on "Live Your Life" which looks to dominate Top 40 radio, Swizz Beats are on "Swing Your Rag" a club anthem that would pump up any party, and Usher makes an appearance as well. The biggest cameo's are on the song "Swagga Like Us" which features the four biggest names in rap (Lil Wayne, Kanye West, Jay Z, T.I.) coming together over a sample of MIA's "Paper Planes" for what will be a memorable song for any mainstream rap fan.

There is absolutely no filler on this album and T.I. comes back strong at his critics from his luke warm last album "T.I. vs TIP" which was seen as a let down after 2006's smash hit "King." He gets very deep on songs like "No Matter What" which discusses the negative things that have happened over the past few years (his arrest and loss of his newborn daughter) as well as his portrayal by the media. "What Up, What's Happening" is a catchy little song with a few good verses and "Whatever You Like" has become a radio hit with one of the best beats on the album. Any T.I. fan or hip hop enthusiast will be very pleased with this album and it will certainly make for multiple listens. The rap game has fallen off lately with more artists going towards a more pop sound to their music or releasing albums that are glorified street tapes. "Paper Trail" is able to bring together a perfect mix of gritty urban subject matter with a big budget production feel to produce the best rap album of 2008 so far.

10/10