The King of the South has certainly been in the spotlight this month, heating up the streets with new joints and applying his attention to movie appearances. Most recently we witnessed the Grand Hustle representative dive in a new direction with Project Steps, taking his day one fans back to the flow from the hood.

It seems this was just a taste of what is to come, as Tip plans to get the Trap Back Jumpin’ with a new album, currently labelled Traps Open. We know the southern lyricist is one to switch up project titles nearer to their release date, so we await further details in the time ahead.

For now, we anticipate a quality and rich production with this upcoming LP; a follow up to Paperwork: The Motion Picture; part of a trilogy. Previously titled: ‘The Return’ it is clear why T.I. had a change of heart, reflected through his honest explanation:

“The next one is going to be unapologetic gangsta. It’s trap music and it’s called traps open.” –T.I.

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After much anticipation for the releases of both Logic‘s debut album “Under Pressure” & T.I‘s “Paperwork” album, the first-week sales are here. Coming in at #2, the self-proclaimed King of the South has taken that spot, pushing nearly 80,000 copies since its debut last Tuesday (Slipknot’s new album took the #1 spot.)

Logic’s critically acclaimed debut album “Under Pressure” sold about 73,000 units, taking that #4 slot as he surpassed first-week projections. It’s definitely an impressive start for the Def Jam rapper. Which album do you prefer out of the two? Let us know your thoughts on a comment below.

The post The Numbers Are In! First-Week Sales For Logic’s “Under Pressure” & T.I’s “Paperwork” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

It’s a good thing that “King” is the first track off of T.I.‘s latest studio album Paperwork, because if it came any later the claim would be harder to warrant . Kings have more than a few gems and usually choose to stand alone. Neither of which are true are of T.I. on this one.

With the exception of “King” every song on the 15-track compilation has a feature. In some cases, the featured artist takes the focus off of T.I. Either by having a stronger verse, spitting bars that are not up to par, or distorting the track’s mood.

In the title track “Paperwork” Pharrell does the latter. His animated voice seems out of place when coupled with Tip’s anecdotes of loss. Ultimately making hard to decipher what kind of song it really is.

Boosie Badazz is guilty of the second one on “Jet Fuel.” Although his verse is not bad, Badazz’s choice of words and bar structure is not something one would not expect on a T.I. track.

Nipsey Hussle on “About The Issue” featuring is a great example of a better verse. Even though T.I.’s verses tied together lyrically Hussle simply had a more vigorous delivery. Therefore making him the memorable one.

Luckily for T.I. the vocally assisted tracks are just as if not more memorable. “Private Show” featuring Chris Brown, “Stay” featuring Victoria Monet, and “Let Your Heart Go” featuring The-Dream are guaranteed repeats. The R&B touch they provide allow T.I. to expose his emotions and vulnerabilities in an enticing way.

This is especially true of “Let Your Heart Go,”  with it’s heavenly piano chords and The-Dream’s reflective chorus. He sings “We said we’d never be just a memory yeah, and even though it breaks my soul still I’d never let your heart go,” as T.I. puts his feelings of grieve and regret into well-crafted bars filled with nostalgia.

This heart-felt track is preceded by “Light Em Up” (R.I.P Doe B) featuring Pharrell and WhatTheDuck where T.I. talks about  losing fellow Hustle Gang member Doe B. At the beginning of the track T.I. exclaims “you was ‘posed to make it.” He then then goes on to comment on today’s culture, Doe B’s character and his come up. All of this is placed over a trumpet heavy instrumental that has subtle yet meaningful clock chimes.

Tracks like “Stay” and “Private Show” tackle a lighter but equally important topic to Tip–his lady. With the help of Breezy on “Private Show” T.I. spits about the pleasures of a relationship whereas “Stay” focuses on the frustrations that can exist in one.

Paperwork‘s remaining tracks include the singles “No Mediocre,”  “About The Money,” “New National Anthem” as well as “G Shit,” “At Your Own Risk,” and “Oh Yeah.” “G Shit” features Young Jeezy and WhatTheDuck, Usher lends his vocals to “At Your Own Risk,” and Pharrell is on “Oh Yeah.”

Ultimately the album is just like paperwork. Enclosed in Paperwork,  are the things T.I. had to confront both good and bad, along with the happy feeling one gets when the last page is completed.

The post Album Review: T.I.-Paperwork appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.

T.I and Pharell Williams link up to create a soulful track entitled “Paperwork.” The two talents collaborated in the past but they never sounded like this. The track is perfectly produced, it slowly builds around a strong narrative and Pharell’s crooned vocals on top of a smooth beat reminiscent of the 70s. T.I’s first album in two years, Paperwork: The Motion Picture, is set to release October 21rst.

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T.I. has given us plenty of tracks from his forthcoming Paperwork album, but it looks like we’ll be hearing a lot more come October 21. Featuring a hefty 18 songs in total, Paperwork includes appearances by Chris Brown, Jeezy, Lil Boosie, Rick Ross, Pharrell and more. Take a look at the full list below, as well as the deluxe edition artwork.

1. King
2. G’ Shit (Feat. Jeezy & WatchTheDuck)
3. About the Money (Feat. Young Thug)
4. New National Anthem (Feat. Skylar Grey)
5. Oh Yeah (Feat. Pharrell)
6. Private Show (Feat. Chris Brown)
7. No Mediocre (Feat. Iggy Azalea)
8. Jet Fuel (Feat. Boosie Badazz)
9. Paperwork (Feat. Pharrell)
10. Stay (Feat. Victoria Monet)
11. About My Issue (Feat. Victoria Monet & Nipsey Hussle)
12. At Ya’ Own Risk (Feat. Usher)
13. On Doe, On Phil (Feat. Trae Tha Truth)
14. Light Em Up (RIP Doe B) (Feat. Pharrell & WatchTheDuck)
15. Let Your Heart Go (Break My Soul) (Feat. The-Dream)
16. Sugar Cane
17. I Don’t Know
18. You Can Tell How I Walk (Feat. Rick Ross)

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T.I. and Iggy Azalea jet off to Brazil in the video for their latest collaboration on “No Mediocre.” T.I. just released the song on Monday and the Grand Hustle general is moving full steam ahead with the visuals to gear up for the release of his album Paperwork in September. Tip hangs out in beautiful Brazil while being surrounded by super bad woman everywhere he goes. Iggy struts her stuff and oozes sex appeal, dressed in colorful ensembles throughout the scenic Director X video. Check it out below.

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T.I. continues to drop new music left and right and this time he teams up with the first lady of Grand Hustle, Iggy Azalea. Tip raps about the type of woman he likes and lets it be known he does’t want “No Mediocre” over the tropical DJ Mustard-produced track. Iggy represents for the ladies on the cut with her braggadocios flow: But I don’ t think none of these bitches fucking with me/Want a billboard bitch stop running in place/Heels on me saying gimme 6 inches of space/Courtside while designer frames cover my face/Now everybody in the game wanna get em a taste.”

T.I. and Iggy were recently in Brazil where they shot the video for this soon to be club anthem. The track will be featured on T.I.’s upcoming album Paperwork which is due out later this year. Take a listen to the track below.

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