T.I. - Paperwork - Printable Version +- Music Discussion (https://www.music-discussion.com) +-- Forum: Music Discussion (https://www.music-discussion.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=4) +--- Forum: Soul/R&B/Hip Hop/Rap (https://www.music-discussion.com/forumdisplay.php?fid=15) +--- Thread: T.I. - Paperwork (/showthread.php?tid=11845)

T.I. - Paperwork - Music Head - 31-10-2014 enters the Billboard chart this week at #2 Spotify online listen 4.0 of 5.0 from allmusic 9th studio album had to spin the clean version so I can only imagine thinking T.I. would have wanted me to hear the dirty version but at least I didn't come away offended 14 of the 15 tracks have a featured artist Usher, Pharrel, Iggy, Chris Brown among others guess he couldn't do it by himself Pharrell Williams producing this some r&b feel on a few tracks but this is a rap album artist website - http://www.tipaperwork.com/ Bio - from allmusic Once dubbed "the Jay-Z of the South" by Pharrell Williams, T.I. gradually came into his own and established himself as one of rap's most successful MCs during the early 2000s. Like Jay-Z, T.I. -- born Clifford Harris in Atlanta, Georgia -- carried a balance of smoothness and toughness, and although 2001's I'm Serious didn't shoot him out of the gate à la Reasonable Doubt, he consistently grew and launched a string of major hits with 2003's "24's." Throughout the six following years, T.I. maintained a consistent presence on urban radio stations in America: 2003's Trap Muzik, 2004's Urban Legend, 2006's King (released in tandem with T.I.'s debut screen appearance in ATL), 2007's T.I. vs T.I.P., and 2008's Paper Trail -- all released through the MC's deal with Atlantic -- were Top Ten albums, with the latter three even spending time at the very top of the chart. For better or for worse, T.I. also courted a good deal of controversy during his rise to superstar status. Far more ink was spent on his legal issues and conflicts with other rappers, including fellow Southerner Lil' Flip, than his Katrina relief efforts and other humanitarian involvements. One notable event occurred on May 3, 2006, when T.I.'s crew was caught up in a shooting after a show in Cincinnati. The crossfire left three people injured, while longtime friend and personal assistant Philant Johnson was fatally wounded. Despite such incidents, T.I. continued to flourish as the decade drew to a close, releasing three chart-topping rap singles and four Top Five pop hits between 2008 and 2009. His career took a breather in 2009, however, when the rapper entered an Arkansas prison to serve a year-long sentence related to federal gun charges. He was released from prison at the end of 2009, serving the rest of his sentence at a halfway house in Atlanta. Just prior to the December 2010 release of his seventh album, No Mercy, he returned to prison, sentenced to 11 months for violating his probation. The album went gold, and the rapper was nominated for two Grammy awards. After his release, he continued recording and co-starred in the VH1 series T.I. and Tiny: The Family Hustle. He issued Trouble Man: Heavy Is the Head, in December 2012. Influenced by Pharrell, the rapper moved to the Columbia family of labels in 2013. Pharrell also executive produced his 2014 effort Paperwork, an album introduced by the single "About the Money" featuring guest artist Young Thug. Album Review - from allmusic There are moments on Paperwork where rapper T.I. sounds as vital, bright, infectious, and tuneful as Nas in his prime, but don't get it twisted, as this vibrant effort is often so pop that it is more like an Illmatic aimed at taking on the chart dominance of Iggy Azalea and not the gang violence in Queensbridge. Fair enough, and a target well within T.I.'s means, plus the fire in rapper's belly is stoked by executive producer Pharrell Williams here, the man who persuaded the rapper to move his Grand Hustle empire to the Columbia family of labels and live in the big and bold world of the Neptunes and their ilk. The results are gospel-seized numbers like "Oh Yeah," where a choir underlines T.I.'s urgent stories of bad luck and surviving in the hustle, or "New National Anthem" with Skylar Grey, a number as brave as its title, where mothers lose their children to the perils of the modern world and Trayvon is killed holding nothing but a pack of Skittles. "About the Money" returns this mid 1930s mobster back to his early, scrappy days with a bragging track modeled after the twitchy sound of Danny Brown, then "No Mediocre" proves T.I. can flourish on the modern, ultra-slick strip club number -- and with snarky Barbie Iggy Azalea right by his side. Toward the end there's the sincere "Light 'Em Up (RIP Doe B)," where Grand Hustle's fallen soldier is eulogized with soul and spiritual hope, plus the great "Let Your Heart Go (Break My Soul)" is an open-hearted, lush, and fitting climax for an album so varied yet whole. Bright, big, and Pharrellian, Paperwork still finds T.I. at the center of its well-funded variety show, allowing him to bounce back to his streety Trouble Man persona after schooling all the Iggy's and Macklemore's in such vital uptown slick. the single so much better when I didn't watch it: [video=youtube;etfIdtm-OC8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etfIdtm-OC8[/video] Track Listing 1. King 2. G' Shit 3. About the Money 4. New National Anthem 5. Oh Yeah 6. Private Show 7. No Mediocre 8. Jet Fuel 9. Paperwork 10. Stay 11. About My Issue 12. At Ya' Own Risk 13. On Doe, On Phil 14. Light Em Up (RIP Doe B) 15. Let Your Heart Go (Break My Soul)