Defsounds

They often say the greatest test of manhood is one's reaction to controversy. It is a man's ability to constantly rise to the occasion and when it seems like there is no chance at winning, he is able to stand firm and take whatever flack, punishment, or consequences that he may face.

In the midst of this definition they also often say that a real man never goes against his word, and always stays true to who he is. The last three years have been what many can call a test of manhood for rapper T.I. He lost one of his closest friends in 2006, struggled with making the transition from trapper to business man, and then finally went through a run in with the law that almost and may still possibly put an abrupt end to his musical career. But through it all, on September 30th 2008, we will be introduced into the next stage of T.I's musical career. This T.I. is far different from any other that we have known, but the transformation is evident if you are attentive enough to follow the paper trail in front of you.

Production 8 -

There is not much to say about about T.I's production, its just down right fun, fast paced, and upbeat. T.I. keeps the formula that he used for most of his previos albums and just runs rampant with bangers. The Just Blaze produced "Live Your Life", takes a quick dip into the abnormal with a sample from "Dragostea Din Tei" and it works to make what is possibly one of the best singles of the year. The Kanye West produced "Swagga Like Us" offers a repetitive but addictive hook, that will do nothing but assault any sound system and become a mainstay in clubs all over the world. The majority of the album is heavily influenced by guitar riffs, and multi-drum patterns so if you're looking for a slow introspective beat to roll a blunt to, this album is nothing that you will want to listen to. The production is up to par but does suffer from being a little too repetitive. Every single beat on the album is uptempo, which can put a damper on some fans who are easily bored by one style of production. But overall the production still remains one of the strongest parts of the album.

Lyrics 8-

This is usually one of the hardest parts of an album to judge. The reason being is how do you judge an artist by his lyrics when what he/she says may be taken differently depending on the listener. With saying that, the best way to do so is to first state what T.I. is not. We know that he is not one that will overwhelm with wordplay, he is not heavy on the punchlines, and he has never been one to have multi-structured lines. But for everything that he can't do well, he makes up for by excelling in other aspects. T.I. has mastered the art of riding the beat and everytime you think he's at his best, he finds a way to slightly tweak his delivery to make it sound just a little bit smoother. On this album, more than any other album, he uses his southern accent to help outline the uniqueness of his flow. While some rappers are hurt from their accent because of its ability to cause listeners to misinterpret what the artist is saying, T.I.'s accent makes him stand out by adding a style to his already unique flow. He also does a good job of staying on topic and wasting little time with the unnecessary on almost everything that he says in a song having a point or purpose.

Songs 8 -

Before we begin the praise, lets be totally honest. Many fans of T.I. will listen to this album and be very disappointed. Not because the album is bad, but because of a lot of the subject matter that may be missing from Paper Trail. This album seems to shy away from the trapping, killing and the praise of the drug game. Those were never the only things that Tip spoke about, but on most of his albums you were sure to hear a song or two in which he was bragadocious about this lifestyle or was even flat out stating that it was still his lifestyle. Many fans will take this as a smack in the face feeling that he is either getting soft, losing touch with his roots, selling out, or just afraid to touch those topics because of his gun charges. Whether these reasons are true or not, to totally abandon T.I's music because of his change in subject matter would just be silly. Paper Trail has more of a pop feel to it, and it will definitely appeal to the mainstream casual listeners of hip hop, but like all of his other albums, Paper Trail offers the God's honest truth about who this man is and where he is in life at the moment. This album, more than anything out at the moment, is inspirational. A lot of the songs might as well be motivational speeches for listeners who are going through hard times in life. He gives listeners everything that is in him and when he can't give any more, he digs deeper and discusses things that he honestly didn't have to. "Ready For Whatever" is his declaration and acknowledgment of his actions which lead to the gun charges. He holds no punches and tells his side of the story trying to make listeners understand why he did what he did. Then in the very next song, he teams up with former rival Ludacris to talk about how great life is, while also telling his fans to be happy with their lives as well. This Paper Trail accumulates into a T.I. who seems very eager to enter the next phase of his life.

Conclusion 8 -

With the gun charges behind him, and what seems like a bright future ahead of him, T.I. has brought to us an album that borders on autobiographical and motivational. It is very easy to see where his mind was when he put this album together, and by listening to the music I just dont see any possible way that anyone could want to write this man off or abandon him as a fan. Many albums have been called classics, and this one won't be any different. There will be fans that will overreact and call this a classic, and then there will be others who say that this album isnt worth the material it was made on. With opinions varying, this is without a doubt a very solid musical offering. In an industry that usually gives you a vauge depiction of music, with 3 good songs and 11-15 fillers this album reinforces the artistic motivation behind the music that is hip hop, any listeners hungry for good music with a point and message will be happy with what Paper Trail has to offer.