Just when you thought he was finished, rapper Clifford "T.I." Harris makes his way back into the charts with his sixth studio album, "Paper Trail." The album features a slew of hits and awesome production. Although the new album may be a success for T.I., the rapper also has had his share of hardship in the past year.
Last October, right before he was scheduled to perform at the BET Hip-Hop Awards, he was arrested and charged with two felonies for his illegal possession of firearms. He then lived under house arrest for a year and performed 1,000 hours of community service. During this time, he began to write lyrics down for the album, "Paper Trail," a procedure that he claims to have not performed since the production of his first album.
Despite the criticism that he wrote the lyrics, "Paper Trail" displays T.I.'s true lyricism at his best. It starts off with a strong intro called "56 Bars," in which T.I. seems to make an almost theatrical comeback to the world of hip-hop. Another standout track on the album is called "I'm Illy."
T.I. hooks listeners to this song by starting off with an intense, yet unique delivery and having incredible beats produced by Chuck Diesel to back him up.
Of course, the album contains T.I.'s hits like the hip, soulful "Whatever You Like" or the street banger, "What's Up, What's Happening." One of the more personal hits on the album is "No Matter What," in which T.I. expresses his feelings about the things that he's been going through in the past year. T.I. does a great job going deep into his personal side on this song, a side that other rappers are afraid to show. The song's "never give up" message makes it an effective song for people facing hardship in their lives as well.
Another major aspect of this album is its collaborations. T.I. has had many successes collaborating in the past and things are no different on this album. Of course, he has the major hit "Live Your Life" featuring pop star Rihanna, which is a unique, life-celebratory anthem.
He also has "On Top Of the World," which features T.I.'s rival-turned ally Ludacris. The song has another catchy hook and proves that Ludacris and T.I. are creative geniuses in their own right. Another great collaboration is the club-banger "Swing Ya Rag," featuring Swizz Beats. This song is another classic T.I. with a combination of energy, creativity and style.
On "My Life, Your Entertainment," T.I. once again explains the price of his fame with the help of R&B star, Usher. However, one of the standout collaborations of the album is the popular hit, "Swagga Like Us," a song which features hip-hop heavyweights, Kanye West, Jay-Z and Lil Wayne.
The combination of the most popular styles in hip-hop makes this song nothing short of a five-star record.
"Paper Trail" is a great album, mainly because T.I. takes his lyrics and flow to another level and takes the chance to be personal with his fans. It seems that his lyricism improves with time. He's not afraid to change his style, and change is something that helps rejuvenate careers.
If he keeps going at this rate, T.I. will be around for a long time. Pay close attention, hip-hop fans, we may have another legend soon.
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