T.I.

Urban Legend

T.I not the "King", but pretty close to claiming the throne

Review Score:

(8/10)
T.I has had a fast-paced year. After his last album 'Trap Muzik' broke out in the commercial scene he scored three major hits ("24's", "Rubberband Man", "Let's Get Away") and went platinum in the process. Shortly after that he was arrested for possession of an illegal substance & was facing up to three years in prison. Luckily, he got out in a few months. During his time in prison another southern rapper, Lil' Flip, started talking some very unneccessary smack about T.I while he was behind bars. When it came time for Atlanta's Birthday Bash 9 T.I was let out to perform on stage. He let out some comments about all the crap Flip had been spreading around & challenged Flip onstage for a one-on-one to see who was the better rapper. Flip, instead of coming onstage, ran back to his bus & got the hell out of Atlanta, taking a flight back to Texas. A week or so later Flip made some comments to the news about T.I saying "he was mad cuz i wouldn't let him on the 'Game Over' remix". Flip also dissed T.I several more times. After this T.I created his mixtape 'Down With Tha King' and literally destroyed Flip's reputation in hip-hop. He bashed Flip severely with his remake of Jay-Z's "99 Problems" by adding a subtitle "99 Problems (Lil Flip Ain't One)" and bashing him furiously throughout the song. He even got southern rap icon Scarface on the phone (who Flip had previously said he was down with) to confirm that Flip was a liar. Also on this mixtape were samples of an upcoming album.

During all this madness T.I managed to pull together enough tracks for his third studio set 'Urban Legend'. Upon first listening to UL you would get the feeling that he is pretty confident in being the 'King of the South'. The disc opens with "Tha King", a track in which he tries to prove his claims to the throne. The song samples a Run DMC line famous from "King Of Rock" and makes several references to Run-DMC classics.

The next few tracks go in somewhat of an order. "Motivation" has a great beat over which T.I raps about how all the hate is only fuel to his genius. Following this up is "U Don't Know Me", a track previously heard on the DWTK mixtape (as mentioned above). Next is "ASAP", another furious track towards haters with an unforgettable hook ("I'll blow you off the map A-S-A-P").

The discs first real stretch from hearing T.I as nothing more than an angry rapper is on "Praying For Help", a track in which he justifies his anger and lets the fans know he's just praying for help through his music. Next up is "Why U Mad At Me?", which is pretty self-explanatory in its content.

A slur of party-aimed tracks come up in the next few minutes of the disc. The high-charged "Get Loose" (featuring Nelly), the Mannie Fresh-produced & guest starring "Greatest" & the club banger "Get Yo **** Together" (featuring Lil' Kim) are broken in-between only by the grimy "What They Do" (feat. B.G). The listener probably now gets the impression the rest of the disc will be upbeat, they're probably right.

Track 11, the Neptunes'-produced "Freak Though" (featuring Pharrell) is a slick, laid-back tune. More of these come up soon like "Limelight", the most layed-back pimp anthem of its kind that features T.I's labelmates. Another slick, pimp-flavored joint is "Chillin' With My *****" (featuring Jazze Pha).

In-between all these pimp anthems is "Bring 'em Out", which is possibly the best club banger on the disc. It's produced by Swizz Beatz & samples Jay-Z's voice in the hook. It's also the first single from Urban Legend.

The last couple tracks, the Lil' Jon-produced "Stand Up" (featuring Trick Daddy & Lil' Wayne) & the closer "My Life" (featuring Daz Dillinger) are both great tracks that give the album a high finish.

I think overall T.I has raised the bar on his albums. This one surpasses Trap Muzik majorly and showcases why he's a good runner for the King of the South title. The holder of the throne, the one-and-only Scarface, will eventually step down & when he does Tip will no doubt be standing to claim the position.

Rating - 4.5 Stars

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