Paper Trail

The return to the beginnings

The musician T.I. (real name Clifford Josef Harris Jr.) started his career in 2001. Although hit first album I'm Serious did not gain much attention, the performer’s sophomore attempt Trap Muzik was certified platinum in spite of the fact, that he was jailed for the violation of his probation’s terms. During all his career, T.I. had problems with the law due to different reasons and regularly became the tabloid sensation for his part in different argues and fights, which did not prevent the public from loving him. It is no wonder, as the artist proved to be not only a talented rapper, but also a good actor. Moreover, he takes part in different charity programs, including help to the victims of the Katrina hurricane and support for the children from single-parent families. Whatever you think of him, T.I. is a complicated person, which adds him charm in the eyes of his fans. This year, the musician was taken over the home arrest, which made him come to an original decision. Working over the solo album, he wrote down the verses on the paper, but beginning from the second disc, he followed the tradition of other MCs - simply remembered the lyrics. However, this time T.I. came back to his earlier practice and began writing down on the paper his lines again and later put them to music. It helped him to concentrate on the texts of his songs and influenced not only the material of the new disc, but also its title - Paper Trail.

The immensely tuneful and thoughtful disc Paper Trail

Rapper T.I. was called Jay-Z of the South not in vain - his rhythms are the same infectious, while his texts are filled with the descriptions of the gangsta-life along with philosophic speculations. However, the artist has changed greatly since 2001, and got interested in different, more global topics than the street fights, and it had an impact on the new album. The album opens with the track I'm Illy, featuring the laconic synths in the arrangement. It is followed by the tune Ready For Whatever, decorated with the guitar riffs. The composition On Top Of The World (Feat. Ludacris And B.O.B.) became the introspective narration by T.I. about his artistic and life road - the metamorphosis of a ghetto drug dealer into a famous singer and actor. Someone can think that such change is a miracle, but in the song T.I. raps about hard labor and strive he needed to accomplish all, he admits the things he did in the past, while he is assisted in this gripping story by the other famous rapper - Ludacris. The tune Live Your Life (Feat. Rihanna) is very fresh and catchy, while Rihanna’s vocals greatly contributed to the atmosphere of the track. The composition with the memorable beat My Life Your Entertainment (Feat. Usher) is also noticeable for the guest appearance. The song itself goes about the negative side of being a public person and celebrity. The melody Swagga Like Us (Feat. Kanye West Jay-Z Lil Wayne) is fulfilled in the retro style of 80s, with the slant to the winding electro-funk. The closing track of the disc Dead And Gone is prominent with the vocals of pop-star Justin Timberlake.

T.I. stays on the height

When a musician reaches the heights that T.I. reached, the main object is the need to stay on the conquered territory. For sure, it is a more difficult feat than climbing the musical industry Olympus. Nevertheless, T.I. manages not to disappoint the listeners, but to amuse them, repeatedly with each release. In 2006, the artist recorded the immensely strong disc King. In 2007, he already presented the public with the conceptual album T.I. Vs T.I.P. This time, the MC wrote about fifty songs for the new disc and cherry-picked only sixteen of them after all. The stimuli for such productive activity by T.I. were the recent events in his life, which are unfortunately not the pleasant ones. The threat of getting into jail is only one of these troubles. No doubt, under the burden of these events the performer became more thoughtful. However, after the disc Paper Trail everyone is sure to believe that T.I. is able to survive all the troubles, count all his losses and continue to fight for his throne of the Rap King with the new vigor. In spite of the last accidents in the musician’s life, the disc Paper Trail is no ways negative - it can be described by the word ponderous. During the creation of the work, T.I. was assisted by the old and credited command of producers and MCs - Kanye West, Just Blaze, D.J. Toomp, Swizz Beats and others. As before, on Paper Trail no one could black out the artist in the terns of lyrics, while hits like the single No Matter What prove that T.I. is going to stay on the top for a long time.