T.I.

The latest album from the Grammy-winning Atlanta rapper T.I. is split into three "acts" which showcase aspects of his conflicted personality. The first act is a vehicle for T.I.P., the hardened hustler with a short-fuse; the second is all T.I., the smooth business man with a sweet tooth for luxury; the third stages a conflict between the two, culminating on "Respect This Hustle". Thing is, smooth-talk vs. street-talk is a pretty standard-issue conflict for a rapper of his stature, and the setup has the unfortunate effect of wreaking havoc with the sequencing. All of T.I.P.'s ragged boasts and strident horns are frontloaded, while the second half sags under the weight of too much glitz and glamour.

So it's a weak concept—but what about the material? T.I. vs. T.I.P. is a fair enough album with a few standouts, but this is coming from T.I., who's been on a hot streak culminating with last year's King. Both singles here are solid: "Big Shit Poppin' (Do It)" is a bruising, beef-squashing workout, but surprisingly it's the Wyclef-produced "You Know What It Is" that hits home with low-key dancehall bounce.

The rest of the album is seldom terrible but rarely thrilling. Its flow is burdened by duds from both sides of the personality spectrum. The menacing 808 on "Da Dopeman" harkens back to the Eazy-E track it samples, but T.I.P.'s trappin' how-to doesn't add much to the playbook. For his part, T.I. drops the ball on "My Swag," an underwhelming catalogue of boasts set to a lazy beat. A major part of T.I.'s appeal as an MC has been his combination of steely confidence and compelling charm, so here's to hoping he can regain that balance next time around. He'll probably have a shot, as this record seems likely to go gold in its first week alone.

—Toby Warner
07.09.07

T.I. has been playing with the split-personality concept for years, most notably on 2003's "T.I. vs T.I.P.," where the only strict differences were laid out like this: T.I.P.'s women sell weed and have gold teeth, while T.I.'s women have jobs and good credit, and T.I.P. is neither as paid nor as laid-back as T.I. Four years on, after getting real paid (King was the most successful rap album of 2006), the MC constructs an entire album around the penthouse and pavement concept, dividing the program into three acts: T.I.P. (seven tracks), T.I. (seven tracks), and T.I. vs T.I.P. (four tracks). This is also signified in the album's outer sleeve and booklet photos. Roughneck T.I. scowls from a beat-down stoop, gripping a wad of cash; dapper T.I.P. kicks back in a plush den, holding a shot glass. T.I.P. tends to scowl through his rhymes, while you can picture a heavy-lidded T.I. in the vocal booth. Otherwise, the concept is only somewhat perceptible through the sequence of songs, and it's the only way of positioning the album as something beyond just another T.I. release. After the sustained greatness through Trap Muzik, Urban Legend, and King, a fall-off of some degree had to be expected -- especially after reaching the top after a steady climb -- and that's exactly what happens. Though he undeniably remains one of the top MCs, T.I. tends to either reheat familiar material with less fire or tread dangerously close to unrelatable Kingdom Come-like "Look at who's obnoxiously shedding his underdog status!" routines (as on "My Swag"). The productions similarly do not match up to past successes, and even some of obvious choices for singles fall short of past tracks that were never thought to be released as singles. The album is generally enjoyable, and it's doubtful T.I. has to worry about being dethroned within the near future. ~ Andy Kellman, All Music Guide