Top 3 Songs From Each T.I. Album
Not only is T.I. one of the better lyricists from the South, he has straight up claimed the throne of the South.
It’s actually surprising we haven’t gotten to his discography before today. It’s time to see exactly why T.I. is the King with the best every one of his albums has to offer!
Album:
I’m Serious (2001)/AKA The 8th Best T.I. Album
Top 3 Songs:
1) “I’m Serious” (ft. Beenie Man)
2) “What’s Yo Name” (ft. Pharrell Williams)
3) “Hotel” (ft. Too $hort)
I never think of T.I. as a Neptunes artist but here we are with “I’m Serious” & “What’s Yo Name” being produced by the Virginians! And they show up throughout Clifford’s discography. I’m not the biggest Too $hort fan but “Hotel” has the right vibe and also has T.I. sounding closer to the refined and focused T.I. and less the raw talent he displays throughout this album.
Album:
Trap Muzik (2003)/AKA The 4th Best T.I. Album
Top 3 Songs:
1) “Rubberband Man”
2) “24s”
3) “Be Easy”
”Rubberband Man” features a classic T.I. hook on it. That’s one thing I truly appreciate about T.I. is that he doesn’t just have great verses. Dude can sell a hook! I remembering thinking I was so cool when I could recite the hook exactly like T.I. Also remember Puff just randomly showing up in a fur? “24s” was in a racing video game I had. I want to say Midnight Club. And so I associate it with all things fun, but again, the hook is great! The piano on “Be Easy” is everything!
Album:
Urban Legend (2004)/AKA The 2nd Best T.I. Album
Top 3 Songs:
1) “ASAP”
2) “U Don’t Know Me”
3) “What They Do” (ft. B.G.)
I don’t even know why I initially got this album. I just remember knowing I NEEDED to have it and I was not disappointed at all. I don’t think I skip any song on this album. It’s filled with great hooks, DJ Toomp beats and T.I. doing what I think works best for him. “ASAP” has a great urgency to it with triumphant horns. “U Don’t Know Me” has one of my favouirte T.I. hooks and a great video. Turns out I love a great B.G. feature because he really does bring the great “What They Do” together just like he brought “U Can’t Resist” together on Missy’s album!
Album:
King (2005)/AKA THE BEST T.I. ALBUM
Top 3 Songs:
1) “I’m Talkin’ To You”
2) “Ride Wit Me”
3) “What You Know”
I argued with everyone that this album was better than Urban Legend when it first came out and 13 years I’m still having trouble picking just 3 songs I think are best. While I have the same problem with Urban Legend, I still feel like the highs are higher on this album and I do appreciate the more polished feel. Obviously “I’m Talkin’ To You” is number one. Not only does it feature a top notch Just Blaze beat, and a great hook, it’s got T.I. RAPPING and beefing all at once. Love the instrumentation and hook for “Ride Wit Me” It’s a rare case of a laid back T.I. song working for me. “What You Know” has a similar appeal.
Album:
T.I. vs. T.I.P. (2007)/AKA The 5th Best T.I. Album
Top 3 Songs:
1) “Hurt” (ft. Alfamega & Busta Rhymes)
2) “Big Shit Poppin”
3) “Da Dopeman”
I really appreciate the approach to this album. It’s a true battle between the commerical T.I. and TRAP T.I.P. with a throughline of people calling during “interludes” that are rapped by T.I. in character. The album sometimes buckles under the pressure of all that ambition, but you have to give it up to T.I. for trying something new. To me T.I.P wins the battle even though I never really refer to Mr. Smith as that. “Big Shit Poppin” has got some great piano elements with, yeah you guessed it, a great hook. “Hurt” has the amazing T.I. flow and Bus-a-Bus doing what he does best; killing a guest verse! “Da Dopeman” has a great beat and a cool progression throughout the song about a drug dealer.
Album:
Paper Trail (2008)/AKA The 7th Best T.I. Album
Top 3 Songs:
1) “Swagga Like Us” (ft. Kanye West/JAY-Z/Lil Wayne)
2) “Swang Ya Rag” (ft. Swizz Beatz)
3) “Whatever You Like”
”Swagga Like Us” doesn’t have the best beat but it’s got Kanye West producing and spitting, JAY-Z doing his thing, Lil Wayne putting in a memorable verse, and still has time for T.I. to kill it on the last verse! “Swang Ya Rag” has a great beat and Swizz Beatz on the hook. You can hate all you want, but “Whatever You Like” is a BOP! It’s not the same kind of aggressive T.I. hook, but it works and shows he can switch it up.
Album:
No Mercy (2010)/AKA The 10th Best T.I. Album
Top 3 Songs:
1) “Welcome to the World” (ft. Kanye West & KiD CuDi)
2) “How Life Changed” (ft. Scarface & Mitchelle’l)
3) “Castle Walls” (ft. Christina Aguilera)
Not only do I appreciate the addition of KiD CuDi on this song, but I think T.I. does some interesting stuff with his flow on “Welcome to the World” I will say it’s a misleading introduction to this album though. I remember waiting for this album to come in the mail and being thoroughly disappointed with how disjointed it felt. Scarface on “How Life Changes was great, and I didn’t hate “Castle Walls” but the album still feels like a misstep.
Album:
Trouble Man: Heavy is the Head (2012)/AKA The 9th Best T.I. Album
Top 3 Songs:
1) “Sorry” (ft. André 3000)
2) “Wildside” (ft. A$AP RockY)
3) “The Introduction”
This album starts off strong and then kinda loses steam in the middle so you have to take the wins where you can. Obviously having an André 3000 verse is a big win for “Sorry” because it gets into some BTS Outkast insight. I dig the beat of “wildside” and “Introduction” has some dope T.I. rapping. I think where this album goes wrong is a lack of faith in T.I. to deliver a great hook on his own. The hook duties are outsourced with less than stellar results.
Album:
Paperwork (2014)/AKA The 11th Best T.I. Album
Top 3 Songs:
1) “King”
2) “The New National Anthem” (ft. Skylar Grey)
3) “G’ Shit” (ft. Jeezy & Watch the Duck)
There is a lack of cohesion on this album, and again, a lack of T.I. hooks on this album. I’m not a fan. “King” tricking you into thinking that the album will be dope. “The New National Anthem” has an interesting beat but falls apart once we get to the Skylar Grey hook and same can be said for “G’ Shit” only this time it’s Watch the Duck. I guess I’m alone in not feeling any of Watch the Duck’s hooks.
Album:
Us or Else: Letter to the System (2016)/AKA The 3rd Best T.I. Album
Top 3 Songs:
1) “40 Acres” (ft. B. Rossi & Killer Mike)
2) “Black Man” (ft. Quavo & Meek Mill)
3) “Warzone”
Much like T.I. vs. T.I.P., my enjoyment for this album comes from the concept. In 2016 there did to seem to be an influx in black people speaking up and I appreciated that T.I. was one of those voices. This EP expanded into an album was one of my favourites of 2016. It was great hearing an artist like T.I. rap about some of the feelings I had. “40 Acres” has a great T.I. verse but it’s all about Killer Mike’s verse. SO POTENT. “Black Man” has a great soulful vibe even with Quavo on the hook and getting a verse, “Warzone” has more subject matter that really spoke to me at the time.
Album:
Dime Trap (2018)/AKA The 6th Best T.I. Album
Top 3 Songs:
1) “Jefe” (ft. Meek Mill & Dave Chapelle)
2) “More & More” (ft. Jeezy)
3) “Laugh At Em”
This album feels like a return to form for T.I. while not having a concious vibe like the Us or Else album, it’s back to some great beats, cohesion, and even some T.I. hooks. “Jefe” has an invigorated Meek Mill with T.I. capping things off to make sure you remember whose song it really is all over some great Mariachi like horns. “More & More” has some DJ Toomp vibes and T.I. & Jeezy showing off their great rapport. “Laugh At Em” Brings back “I’m Talkin’ To You” vibes by pairing Just Blaze and T.I. back together.
-YG