T.I. - King Review
Posted by Mitch Michaels on 04.18.2006
Is the King back?
My Story
So, most of the stuff I've heard from T.I. has been news, not music, like his jail time, his feuds with other MCs like Lil' Flip, and his recent acting debut in the movie ATL. He has had a few enjoyable radio hits, like "Bring Em Out", while other songs like "Rubber Band Man" (annoying!) and "24's" I didn't find all that special. There has been a lot of hype surrounding King, but there was a lot of hype surrounding a lot of recently released rap and R&B albums that failed to live up. Will T.I. be the exception?
His Story
Georgia-born Clifford "Tip" Harris, aka T.I., got his start in 2001 with "I'm Serious", a modest hit single from his Arista debut of the same name. Well, modest is a funny word to use when describing T.I., the self-proclaimed king of southern rappers. In truth, Serious was a decent debut that benefited greatly from its stellar production, done partly by funk extraordinaires The Neptunes. T.I.'s potential as an MC was definitely there, but you had to look for it, and with the thick layer of bullshit and bluster that was paved over the entire album, sometimes you REALLY had to look.
Trap Muzik, T.I.'s 2003 sophomore effort and his first for his own Grand Hustle Entertainment label, was a much more focused project. Sure, the posturing was still in full effect, and the CD once again benefited from an all-star cast of producers like Kanye West and David Banner, but the two years between the release of Serious and Muzik saw T.I.'s skills as a lyricist grow leaps and bounds. Gone were the pale imitations of peers like Juvenile, replaced by some truly great moments of hip-hop wordplay. The charts proved T.I.'s growing ability, as Trap Muzik produced no less than 4 singles to reach the Top 15 on Billboard's Rap charts ("24's", "T.I. vs. T.I.P.", "Let's Get Away", "Rubber Band Man"). T.I. may not have reached the apex of "King of the South" yet, but he was definitely on his way to becoming a kick-ass duke.
Unfortunately, following the release, T.I. soon hit some hard times, not commercially, but personally. Following a probation violation stemming from his former life as a drug dealer, T.I. found himself jailed on a three year sentence. The rapper's lawyers managed to negotiate T.I. entrance into a work release program, which allowed the MC to work on Urban Legend, his third album. The disc turned out to be a decent follow-up to Trap Muzik, as it reached #7 on the Billboard 200 (Muzik cracked the Top 5 at #4), and spawned hits like the awesome "Bring Em Out". Critics weren't as impressed with the album, as it, at times, felt like a retread of T.I.'s earlier success, but fans loved it just the same.
2006 saw T.I. tackle another media, as he starred in the movie ATL, the story of 4 teens coming up, rapping and skating in T.I.'s hometown of Atlanta, GA. The movie was released simultaneously with T.I.'s fourth studio album.
The Album
On March 28, 2006, Grand Hustle and Atlantic Records released King, the 4th studio album from T.I. and the follow-up to 2004's Urband Legend. The album is available as both an enhanced CD and in a CD/DVD package. The enhanced CD contains live performances of "Bezzle", "Rubber Band Man", "Do Ya Thing", "U Don't Know Me" and "I'm A King", a music video for "Front Back", a remix of "Drive Slow" and a photo slide show. King debuted at #1 on the Billboard 200 Album chart for the week of April 15, 2006.
The Band: 7.5
T.I.: vocals
People looking for a deviation from T.I.'s standard formula won't find it on King. Lucky for Tip, though, it doesn't seem that a lot of people are looking for a change at all. T.I. sounds just as cocky and flows just as well on this album as he has on his last two discs. His gift for writing catchy hooks and interesting lyrics is once again in full effect.
And once again, the production on this CD is more than sound. With such collaborators as The Neptunes, Toomp, Swizz Beatz, Nick Fury, Kanye and Mannie Fresh, you'd be crazy NOT to expect King to have some great moments. And it most definitely delivers. Look no further than the first track, the boisterous "King Back" with its regal horn work, or the album's first single, "What You Know", featuring some nice slow-tempo synthesizer work.
The guest stars are out in full force, too, as King features pop-ins by UGK, Jamie Foxx, Common, Pharrell, as well as every "Young" MC outside of, well, Young MC. Much of the Grand Hustle crew drops by for a cameo, too, as the album includes contributions from P$C, Governor and Young Dro. The great selection of likeminded guest stars, as well as the awesome production, add a lot of muscle to an already strong artist.
The Songs: 8.0
1. King Back
2. Front Back (feat. UGK)
3. What You Know
4. I'm Talkin' To You
5. Live In The Sky (feat. Jamie Foxx)
6. Ride Wit Me
7. The Breakup
8. Why You Wanna
9. Get It
10. Top Back
11. I'm Straight (feat. BG & Young Jeezy)
12. The Undertaker (feat. Young Buck & Young Dro)
13. Stand Up Guy
14. You Know Who
15. Goodlife (feat. Pharrell & Common)
16. Hello (feat. Governor)
17. Told You So
18. Bankhead (feat. P$C & Young Dro)
King starts off with a bang, with the cocky and tough "King Back", featuring all of Tip's normal posturing and a tough beat. The horns on the track are a good preview of what to come, too, as this album is filled with them, all put to good use.
The funky "Front Back" is another fun track, a little slowed down, but it does a good job in keeping the album flowing. "What You Know" is a great single and is the one time on the album that you feel T.I. is actually trying something new.
There are some other great tracks on the CD, too, like the menacing "Undertaker", the introspective "Goodlife" and the tough "Talkin' To You". "You Know Who" is also a particularly well-produced track that may wind up being a surprise favorite.
King finds T.I. covering familiar territory lyrically, as each song deals with his signature posturing, ghetto life stories or his surprising reflective songwriting nature. After 4 albums, some songs are beginning to sound like retreads (a couple of these tracks could easily be referred to as "Bring Em Out, Part 2"), but as long as people are buying these discs in droves (and they are, King posted first week sales of over 500,000), then T.I. probably isn't going to be inclined to change his formula.
The album isn't perfect, though, and each track is not a home run. The "slow" songs sound out of place ("What You Know", "Live In The Sky"), and the skits on this album are beyond stupid (a personal pet peeve), although they're thankfully kept to a minimum. Flaws aside, there are enough good tracks on this record to guarantee it will take up a lengthy residency in your CD player.
The 411: If you liked Urban Legend, then there’s no doubt you’ll enjoy T.I.’s King. The album finds Tip in his regular top form, rapping like he’s the King of the South with an eye on the rest of the US. There are some great, tough, catchy tracks (“King Back”, “I’m Talkin’ To You”, “What You Know”, “I’m Straight”) that you’ll surely wanna hear over and over, even if the album doesn’t do much in advancing T.I. as an artist. But hell, the guy had a movie to make and promote, so the fact that we didn’t get a lame “soundtrack” is impressive. In the end, King is a worthy successor to T.I.’s recent successes, though the sound isn’t as refreshing as it was 3 years ago.
