Review: T.I. -- Paper Trail

T.I.
PAPER TRAIL
2008, Grand Hustle


A downright interesting album. In fact, I'd call Paper Trail one of the most genuinely interesting albums of the year right now.

Ah, the artistic merits of one of the Dirty South's most loved and hated on may not be to your liking, but dear friend you are not catching the whole story. T.I. has never been a personal favorite of mine, either; he came with it a few times, but generally fell into the trap of just not being all that compelling to listen to.

Facing a year in jail, Paper Trail tells the story of a young man that seems to realize that he's screwed up, and that he genuinely wishes he hadn't. It's also a young man prepared to face the realities of his own mistake. At times, that is what the album is. At other times, it's a slash-and-burn effort to get the album done and released so that his career affairs are in order before he starts his sentence.

Still, though, the crossover pop appeal of "Whatever You Like" is pretty strong, and the dreaded Usher appearance on "My Life, Your Entertainment" actually turns out quite well. And it's bound to be dissed by the majority of serious listeners, surely, but I can't help but find myself getting into the "go get 'em!" vibe of "Live Your Life," with a hook from Rihanna.

I guess "soft" beats are the greatest bane of all hip-hop these days, but "No Matter What" steals the show with its repentant beat and story-of-me lyrical tale, featuring some great lines, such as, "Whether I still live in the hood or just visit / Whatever you can do in the hood, I done did it." T.I. sounds like a man with real vision and perspective on the track, and that's often missing in any album, regardless of genre.

Most disappointing is the supremely lazy "Swagga Like Us," with a bored to tears sampling of M.I.A.'s popular "Paper Planes." To sample something so obvious is almost bad enough, but then Kanye does nothing with the track, and guests with the autotune, alongside Lil Wayne and Jay-Z, who sounds more like a grizzled veteran than ever, and doesn't even seem like he's playing the same game as the other three. His brags are weak, because we've heard them for so long. Kanye is almost funny in his indifference to adding much, and Wayne doesn't do anything special, either. T.I. steals the track, but it's sort of like being the best team in the NFC North.

Elsewhere, there's positive crap like "Porn Star," which is almost saved by a sneaky good beat but is pretty much exactly what you'd expect given the title. "Swing Ya Rag" is another failure.

The framework for a really notable album was here, but it's understandably a bit rushed-feeling, and overall that makes it inconsistent and scattered. T.I. leaves the market for a bit having contributed something of worth, even if it's not the gem he might have aspired to put on the shelves.

"No Matter What"