Paper Trail Review
2008Album
T.I. writes his lyrics down again and makes the biggest album of his career: huge singles, and a few too many tracks.
| Category | Critic | Users |
|---|---|---|
| Production | Great | |
| Lyrics | Good | |
| Vibe | Good | |
| Overall | Good |
Paper Trail is the album T.I. wrote on paper, the first time since his debut that he put his lyrics on the page instead of carrying them in his head, and he made it while awaiting trial on federal weapons charges. The pressure shows in the best of it. It debuted at number one with 568,000 copies in its first week and produced eight singles, four of them top five hits and two, Whatever You Like and Live Your Life, number ones.
The production is a roll call of 2008: Toomp, Just Blaze, Danja, Swizz Beatz, Timbaland and Kanye West, whose Swagga Like Us sets Jay-Z, T.I., Kanye and Lil Wayne on M.I.A.'s Paper Planes. Live Your Life, built on O-Zone's Dragostea Din Tei with Rihanna on the hook, is its commercial peak.
The cost is length. At seventy three minutes it holds more than it needs, and the reflective songs about his case sit awkwardly beside the victory laps. A strong B.
Paper Trail at a glance
- Artist
- T.I.
- Released
- 2008
- Label
- Grand Hustle / Atlantic
- Runtime
- 73 min
- Release date
- 2008-09-30
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