T.I. - Paper Trail Review

Posted by Patrick Robinson on 09.30.2008

Paper Trail is the result of house arrest stemming from his arrest last year. Has he let the frustration of forced confinement bring down the quality of his music, or has it given him focus to create one of the best albums of 2008?

Back in 2003, it was hard to escape “24s” as it was being played not only on radio and TV, but also in Need For Speed: Underground. To me, this song brought T.I. to people’s attention on a worldwide scale. It wasn’t until 2004 though that this position was truly cemented as Urban Legend gave us “Bring ‘Em Out”. Complete with Jay-Z sample, the song was ridiculously catchy and instantly became a Top 10 hit.

Fast-forward four more years, and T.I. has since given us another two albums. King in 2006 which spawned the highest charting single of his career (“Why You Wanna”) and T.I. Vs. T.I.P., a solid, if a little unfocused concept album pitting his alter egos against one another.

Come October 2007 and T.I. was on top of the world. He had the Number 1 album in the country and was set to perform at the BET Awards. What started the night of October 13 as a simple ‘transaction’ in a parking lot turned out to be the worst possible thing to happen to him. T.I. was arrested for purchasing three machine guns and two silencers as well as being charged with possession of firearms by a convicted felon. He was subsequently placed under house arrest after posting $3 million in bail. He is set to complete a year in jail after 1000 hours of community service.

In the meantime though, he’s taken the time to create Paper Trail. Has the frustration of house arrest affect the quality of his music?



Tracks

1. 56 Bars
2. I’m Illy
3. Ready For Whatever
4. On Top Of The World Ft. Ludacris & B.O.B.
5. Live Your Life Ft. Rihanna
6. Whatever You Like
7. No Matter What
8. My Life Your Entertainment Ft. Usher
9. Porn Star
10. Swing Ya Rag Ft. Swizz Beatz
11. What Up, What’s Haapnin
12. Every Chance I Get
13. Swagga Like Us Ft. Kanye West, Jay-Z & Lil Wayne
14. Slide Show Ft. John Legend
15. You Ain’t Missin’ Nothin’
16. Dead And Gone Ft. Justin Timberlake

To get the bad out of the way first, “Porn Star” isn’t that good and could have been left off the album altogether. While T.I.’s charisma carries the song, it’s brought down by the beat (produced by Lil C) that’s an awful mess of synthesizers and Fruity-Loops quality samples.

That’s it though.

Even songs that you might not think would work, such as “Swing Ya Rag”, a track about your typical club scene and swinging your Louis Vuitton and Gucci rags around, still work due to T.I.’s charisma which is borderline ridiculous. Speaking of charisma, it practically leaks everywhere on “Swagga Like Us”. The production (Kanye West) is extremely catchy, featuring a sample from M.I.A.’s, “Paper Planes” and even though Kanye and Lil Wayne use the auto-tune, the track is bolstered by Jay-Z and of course, T.I. himself.

The production on Paper Trail is probably the best I’ve heard all year on any album, which surprised me given that the majority of the production came from Drumma Boy, who you may remember as having produced the bulk of Rocko’s album, Self-Made.

“On Top Of The World” has a triumphant feel to match the content, whereas the aforementioned “Swing Ya Rag” has a high-energy Swizz Beatz beat. There’s also frequent use of piano/keyboard in the album, mainly on the reflective or softer tracks such as “Slide Show” and “Dead And Gone” which really bring the mood out of the track. Just Blaze takes credit for best production on the album with “Live Your Life” which utilizes a sample from Moldavian pop group, O-Zone.

But the album isn’t just carried by T.I.’s swagger, there’s actual lyrical content present, which I think separates him from rappers such as Juelz Santana who rely too much on their own charisma. “Ready For Whatever” finds T.I. reflecting on what’s been happening in his life. He takes time to address the firearm charges, as well as commenting on the death of his close friend, Philant Johnson. He stresses that even though he’ll be gone for a while though, he’ll still be here after his jail sentence.

“My Life Your Entertainment” is bolstered by Usher’s hook work while T.I. comments on how fame has placed his life squarely in front of the cameras. He also laments how difficult it is (was) to spend time with his children out in public without paparazzi following him around. “What Up, What’s Haapnin” is a diss track towards Shawty Lo, and while I question the decision to place it on an official studio album (I doubt the casual fan knows about their beef), you can’t deny that the menacing beat (Drumma Boy) and the aggressive delivery make it a compelling listen.

T.I. hasn’t used many guest appearances on the album either; mainly for hook work, but these guests do enhance the song they’re on. Rihanna has a somewhat robotic sounding delivery on “Life Your Life” which provides a nice contrast to the production work. Likewise, John Legend and Justin Timberlake are also utilized in fitting fashion. John Legend has a wonderful voice, and Timberlake’s vocals are drawn out and echoed on “Dead And Gone”, giving them an eerie feel, almost like calling from the grave. It was also nice to see Ludacris and T.I. together on a track again.

In another testament to T.I.’s song-crafting abilities, the majority of these songs clock in at close to, or over five minutes in length, but never once do you find yourself wishing the song had ended two minutes ago. Coming in at more than 70 minutes though, a couple of songs could have been cut, just to trim it down a little, but apart from “Porn Star” it would have been difficult to pick another track.

The 411: It’s going to be tough to pick the best album of 2008, but I’d be surprised if this album didn’t make the shortlist on most lists out there. The house arrest hasn’t brought down T.I.’s spirits, in fact he’s quite energetic and outgoing on many of the tracks which, backed by top quality production has made this my personal choice for Album Of The Year thus far. Highly recommended and you’d be crazy not to give this a go, I’m hard pressed not to give this a 10.

Final Score:  9.5   [  Amazing ]