"They've been waitin' on this since what you know" - T.I.
One of the 1st things bein' said from T.I. on the openin' of the CD, maybe he was hinting that the last two albums definately could've been better. So after droppin' two not-so-cool CDs, and the off-the-mic problems can the "King Of the South" finally show his haters up? I'll be breakin' this down accordin' to the personality
Well, the disk starts off not that impressive with 56 bars, the beat really sounds identical to one of Ice Cube's beats on "Raw Footage." Anyway, he breaks into "I'm Illy" where he really steps his bars up, and reminds people why he dropped the career of Lil' Flip so easily. There are a few songs where it's strictly remindin' you of the swagger and style in his tracks. None more obvious than "Swagger Like Us," a track he had help with from Kayne, Jay-Z, and Lil' Wayne. Mr. Swagger himself, Jay-Z ran away with the track by makin' it look to easy for 'em. Weezy n KanYeezy's verses weren't to inspiring, but T.I. did smash his verse without a doubt. There are some dull moments with songs like "Let My Beat Pound," a real weak attempt to give you somethin' to ride to. But he did make a nice lil' club song with Swizz Beats called "Swing Ya Rags." It ain't the best, but I do like it, lol.
Of course there has to be some aggression on this CD right? Of course, other than the two tracks where he's basically jumpin' on Shawty-Lo's head on "What Up," and "No Matter What," there's a different kind of aggression in other songs. For example in the song "Ready For Whatever" where he tells a story about his youth, and basically explains to you that he really never had a choice to do what he did. Also, at the end of the song, he explains why he went out and bought the army.
But other than that song, there is more growth to this CD. One big song would be "My Life Your Entertainment." With alittle help from Usher, he kinda takes shots at bloggers who criticized him recently this past year, and towards the end of the song he reminds haters and wanna-bes you probably couldn't handle his life anyway. Not being to cocky, he takes a minute to reflect on positive points in his past, and tells his listeners to keep a positive head on their shoulders, on the track "Life Is Like a SlideShow" John Legend came through with a beautiful hook on this song as well. These two along with a few others, (all assisted by some R&B star, even one with Ludacris) reflect on life in some certain way or another.
And of course, with past albums and a few kids as evidence, a T.I. album just wouldn't be one if he left the ladies alone. So he does spend a few tracks talkin' to the ladies, most notably the single "Whatever You Like." But my personal favorite from 'em for this type of song would be "Porn Star".
Other than the few lil' songs that throw the pace of this CD off track, the ugly ass cover, and all the help he got from the R&B stars, you can't help but to give T.I. props for this CD. Not only for just having a CD full of good songs, but you have to respect the growth of him as an artist on this album. Lots of rappers need to take note from this album, and jot down that "its ok for a rapper to show growth!" So I personally thank TI for this CD. And on that note, I'd like to introduce you guys, the new ratin' system.
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