T.I.
Paper Trails

Campus Correspondent Review By Trevor Starnes
Samford University

Clifford Harris Jr., T.I.P., King of the South, T.I. (or whatever you want to call him) is back again, full of swagger, charisma and enough crunk/crack music to outfit an Atlanta Club for a night. Even after being locked  in a state prison for a year for weapons charges, T.I. has not been hindered by this setback and while still at home on house arrest the rapper recorded and released Paper Trails, his 6th album in as many years.

Hands down, this project is filled with some of the best musical collaborations of the past year: Justin Timberlake, Usher, Ludacris, A-list producer Swizz Beatz and John Legend (just to name a few). The track with by far the best combination of artists is “Swagga Like Us,” a monstrous club hit that will surely get the party off right, featuring prominent hip-hop artists Jay-Z, Kanye West, Weezy and M.I.A. Right now the #1 most downloaded track in America is “Live Your Life,” featuring  multi-platinum recording artist Rihanna. The tune is an up-tempo pop joint sampled off the Maldovian techno song Dragostea Din Tei, first made famous by O-Zone.

Before “Live Your Life” was topping the charts in October, T.I. had already been on top of the charts in August with his first single off the record, “Whatever You Like,” a hard-hitting club hit. For “No Matter What” and “Ready for Whatever,” T.I. changes gears and goes back to his hood roots in order to produce these two street anthems. Lyrically T.I. outlines his pain and struggles while in solitary confinement to an explanation of his weapons charges and also includes an apology to the fans for his miss-steps in the past. T.I.’s diversity is shown through an ability to integrate club hits, party anthems and honest street style together on one seamless record.