Ann 2
Alain
JennYT.I - Paper Trail Album Review
October 16th 2008 22:09
Length: 73:15
Label: Grand Hustle, Atlantic
Whether you agree or not, T.I still thinks of himself as the king of the South. With many great albums under his belt already, he comes back with Paper Trail, one of the most anticipated albums of the year.
The album starts with an intro called 56 Bars. T.I.'s voice sounds a little different on this one, but it still sounded like any other Southern rap song; nothing new really.
I'm Illy is another southern song except this one has a choir on the beat, and often switches flows; nothing new again.
The third track, Ready For Whatever is less of a banger than the previous two songs. You can say it's a more gangster/serious type. No Matter What is another serious song in which he speaks of how he came up, and how he'll stay on top no matter what happens.
On Top Of The World features Ludacris and B.O.B – that's surprising considering the old beef between T.I. And Luda. This one really has a good feel to it, as if you're really on top of the world. Ludacris has a better flow than T.I. on this track, he was going harder at it.
The sixth single, Live Your Life, features Rihanna on the chorus, seemingly using the auto-tune effect. I like the way they mixed the opening of the song with O-Zone's “Dragostea Din Tei.” Although the beat is good, I have to say that Just Blaze didn't put his best effort on it, not even close to his usual work.
Whatever You Like (the second single) is a slow song for the ladies to dream to. In it, T.I. says that he can buy anything for his girlfriend because of his status. This song will stay in your head even if you don't like it thanks to an effective hook.
Whatever You Like Music Video
My Life Your Entertainment features R&B superstar Usher. Most of the snare on this album sounds the same, so the rhythm becomes quite repetitive and annoying as you listen to the song. So, yeah... this is another ordinary track.
The ninth track, Porn star, wasn't really amazing. It was another ladies' song and sounded like an R&B track.
The third single, Swing Ya Rag, is a pure banger produced by Swizz Beatz. The trouble with this song is that it sounds like the rest of the album, like I already heard it before. It doesn't sound fresh and new.
Making Of Swing Ya Rag Video
The fourth single, What's Up, What's happinin', follows Swing Ya Rag. This one sounds a bit like an anthem which is good, but T.I.'s voice sounds tired. There's no emotion in it, it's as if he's rapping only because he's getting paid for it, not for the love of the music.
The beat on Every Chance I Get sounded more dope, but the lyrics turned it into another average, unoriginal song. The beat is crazy, but T.I.'s voice stays flat, he has to switch his flow up.
The fifth single, Swagga Like Us, features Kanye West, Jay-Z, and Lil' Wayne. There's a sample of M.I.A's “Paper Planes” on this track, and Kanye uses the auto-tune which really messes it up. Weezy also uses the auto-tune. Although this song has some great names as featured guests, none of them live up to their name. This song is also on Jay-Z's “The Blueprint 3.”
Slide Show starts with a slow piano, then a synth kicks in. T.I. uses his serious voice on this one. You Ain't Missin' Nothin' has the same instruments as Slide Show along with a Mexican guitar. Both tracks sound alike.
Last but not least, Dead And Gone features Justin Timberlake on the chorus. I guess this is how Justin pays T.I. for featuring on “Futuresex/Lovesounds.”
In the end, all I got to say is this is one of T.I.'s worst albums and it has the worst single T.I. ever made. I'm sorry, but it's true. Let's make a comparison. Rubberband Man = great song, Bring 'Em Out = crazy great song, What You Know = crazy great song, You Know What It Is = nice sweet song, and now we go downhill with No Matter What, and Whatever You Like – R&B songs for the girls. It's weird because T.I. was recently in jail, the experience is supposed to make you harder, not softer. I don't know how it happened but T.I. is getting softer and softer with every album he drops. I give it a 7/10 because it's T.I., and I know what he's capable, but truthfully, this album is a 6/10 for me at best. Sorry.Kind of disappointing
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Comment by Anonymous
Comment by Alain
Movie Addiction
Art Of Sampling
just saying compared to his other albums this is disappointing.
Comment by true
King of the South?I dont see the south in the songs anymore.