Fighter: T.I.
Trainer (Gym): Jason Geter (Grand Hustle/Atlantic Records)
Cut Men: DJ Toomp, 1500 Or Nothin’, Earl & E, Jazze Pha, Lil C, Mars, Pharrell Williams, Rico Love, Planet VI, T-Minus, Nikhil Seetharam, DJ Montay, Chuck Diesel, Tommy “TBHITS” Brown, Travis Sayles, Sanchez Holmes, Cardiak, Chinky P, Sir Clef, Brian Kidd, The Futuristiks, Po Johns
Weight Class: Rap/Lyrical Heavyweight
Notable Fire: Hello (Feat. Cee Lo Green), Wonderful (Feat. Akon), G Season (Feat. Meek Mill), Sorry (Feat. Andre 3000)
Notable Trash: Ball (Feat. Lil Wayne), Who Want Some, Crusin’
Tale of the Tape: For years now, T.I. has been playing an inexplicable game of Russian Roulette with his crown. But the self-proclaimed “King of the South” always managed to overcome and has maintained his rule with an iron fist.
But something felt different this time out. T.I.’s rap career was in somewhat of a precarious position going into the release of Trouble Man: Heavy Is The Head. He’s been at or near the top of the hip-hop scene for sometime, and his legacy is not in question. But it’s been two years since he dropped No Mercy, to less than favorable reviews (I enjoyed it though) and a year since his mixtape, Fuck Da City Up, hit and failed to really live up to its title. Since his latest release from prison in September of 2011, Tip has also released a novel, continued his budding acting career and has recorded two seasons of his VH-1 reality show.
While his fame and relevance in the culture are firmly intact, many fans were concerned that maybe T.I. was nearing his end as an elite and relevant emcee. The King needed a big effort on his first go-around of this two-part album to silence all of those doubters.
Tip claimed he recorded over 120 songs for this project, of which 16 were used. With that much material to choose from, it’s hard to believe he couldn’t find a better track to be the last single put out prior to the release of the album than “Ball”, featuring Lil Wayne. To date, the song has only peaked at #50 on the Billboard Hot 100 and has barely cracked the top 10 Billboard US Rap Songs list. The production was uptempo, but messy and the song on the whole sounded like a forced club record, possibly demanded by the label. T.I. has claimed this single was put out essentially to draw attention away from the illegal activity he customarily rhymes about, in light of his still pending legal issues. It’s our hope that this lyrical laundering is just a one-time offense.
Fortunately, Trouble Man: Heavy Is The Head still packed enough heat to satisfy fans and critics alike. T.I. is good for at least one outstanding introspective song on each album (usually around track five). In the past, songs like “Live In The Sky”, “Still Ain’t Forgave Myself”, “Doin My Job”, “No Matter What” and “Prayin For Help” have allowed fans to see a deeper side of Clifford Harris Jr., while often stealing the show on the album at the same damn time.
Sidebar: “Prayin For Help” still may be Tip’s best song ever.
This time, it was “Sorry”, featuring Andre 3000 (track six) that saw T.I. spit the hardest, going bar-for-bar with 3 Stacks, on a Jazze Pha beat.
“He show up with a brick of cocaine and baking soda/Just enough for me to blow up/Nigga, hold up/Switch the flow up/Cuz these niggas be snitchin’ so much/I promise all they miss is a badge, coffee & donuts/Go to jail? So what/Never see my integrity parish/That ain’t the Harris’ way/Study my perigee.”
Part of the genius of T.I. is his versatility as an artist. His albums typically provide, in equal parts, music for the streets, the ladies, the club/radio and the soul. Few rappers have ever pulled this off, especially with as much flair, over the course of a12 year career. Trouble Man followed the same formula for success. The streets got what they were looking for with “G Season“, “Track Back Jumpin'” and “Go Get It”, while T.I. definitely has some radio friendly songs like “Guns and Roses” and “Can You Learn”, featuring Pink & R. Kelly respectively, that should be released as singles in the near future.
Tip even snuck in a diss record on this album, with the song “Addresses”. While he has remained silent on who that shot was intended for, the product of Bankhead has claimed that he and the offending rapper have since sat down and squashed the beef— that is, until word got back that he was still bumpin his gums about T.I.
Sidebar: Many have speculated that either Gucci Mane or Alley Boy were the target of Tip’s venom. At least one of them has publicly taken offense to the record, perhaps for the reasons Tip suggested to DJ Drama on Shade 45:
“There shall be a few rappers that feel they will be benefited by accepting that burden and they will step into that line of fire knowing that it is not them but they feel it is better for them to step into that line of fire, be hit and receive the benefits of what comes with being hit by a T.I. bullet.”
Another highlight on this project was the collaboration with fellow Atlanta native Cee Lo Green on the Pharrell Williams produced, “Hello”. Skateboard P’s usage of drums on this track was enough to make your face fall off, thus separating it from most of the other beats on the album. The percussion was reminiscent of Tip’s mixtape track “Stuntin Like A Fool“. “Wonderful” also features sound production, this time by way of Sanchez Holmes, while T.I. takes the time to address his deceased friend and father, after they speak to him in the first two verses.
Fight Night: Winner By Unanimous Decision
Nowadays, perhaps more than ever before, it’s exceedingly difficult to be a rapper that maintains longevity. Possibly the greatest struggle is…you basically run out of stuff to talk about. Or, you find yourself on tip of the double-edged blade of longevity: Fans either want you to transition and speak on the life you’re currently living, or they want you to stay true to the content that made you a star in the first place.
Artistic struggle is something T.I. knows all too well. His personal battle with his public life (T.I.) and his private life (Tip) is something he’s played up since his second album. Then he made a whole album about it. He cites this struggle repeatedly in his music; every time he’s locked up and beats the case, he goes back to this analogy.
These days, given his rap sheet and the glimpse he’s afforded us into his personal life, do listeners really want to hear songs like “Who Want Some”? Sure he’s got the trap back jumpin’ again, but at what point does T.I. become accountable for the direction of hip-hop?
Due to his longstanding success and his grand hustle, T.I. has surpassed the standing of just “a rapper”— he is now a steward of hip-hop. Yet very few emcees, (Nas, Jay-Z and Kanye West come to mind) are actually moving the culture forward, with a combination of power, influence and talent.
T.I. is on this level, however he’s been milking the “T.I. vs. T.I.P.” angle for a decade now. Not to say this angle is short on authenticity or contrition, but you see T.I. going to the well again on this album (using “Who Want Some” as a lead in to “Wonderful” is another example of this). And the fact that part one of this endeavor is entitled Trouble Man: Heavy Is The Head and part two is slated to be called Trouble Man: He Who Wears The Crown, the implication is that this two-part project is nothing more than a new method of delivery for the same message, while practically prepping his fans for his next incarceration.
Tip states on this record that he “kicks trap shit wen he feels like it”. That much can be sure. Jay redundantly dips back into his dope dealing past, yet still manages to push forward. This should be the new standard for the man who has long been considered by many to be “the Jay-Z of the south”.
Nevertheless, Trouble Man is a polished piece that illustrates all of Tip’s strengths. It was the equivalent of a dominant 118-110 performance. But if he truly is “The King”, the hip-hop community must hold an artist of such quality to a higher standard.
Heavy is the head, indeed.