T.I.

Trap Muzik

'Trap Muzik' is a Grand Hustle!!!!!!!!!!

Review Score:

(10/10)
So far, 2003 is shaping up to be the year of the southern invasion in hip-hop. Atlanta crime-rhyme spitter T.I. is the latest in a seres of regional stars to explode onto the national scene with anthems that get crowds crunk from NY to LA and everywhere in between. To that end, T.I.'s lead single, "24's" is 4 minutes of pure dirty south adrenaline. Fans fiendin' for more of the crunk will certainly find their fix with Trap Muzik, but the strives for much more than just tearin' the club up. The Trap referred to in the title is the drug game, of which T.I. rhymes on "I Can't Quit", "I this far from a star/and just this close to quittin'". Throughout the album, he goes beyond standard crime rhymes and offers contemplative meditations on the game he is about to leave. "T.I. vs. T.I.P." is T.I.'s dialog with himself. A part of him is still drawn to his former lifestyle, but ultimately he rationalizes why his life has to change. "Be Better Than Me" urges kids in similar circumstances to avoid the temptations the seduced T.I. himself into the Trap. And "I Still Love You" is both an offering of forgiveness (to his absent father) and a pledge to do better (to his own children). But the albums highlights come back to back on "No More Talk" and the Kanye West produced, "Doin' My Job". On the former, T.I. deftly places the nihilistic life of inner city "trappin'" in the larger context of a world where "you can die on a plane and they'll say it's a bomb/when they run it into the tour they'll just say it's Sadam". And on the latter, he humanizes the often villified street entrapanuars, explaining that he is simply making a living. While his logic might be flawed, the song offers the most poignant moments on one of the year's better albums.

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