Paper Trail

T.I. | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 30, 2008)
• Original Release Date: 2008
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Grand Hustle/Atlantic
• ASIN: B001B56KVG
• Also Available in: Hardcover  |  Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (140 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,235 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #5 in Music > Rap & Hip-Hop > Southern Rap
  • #32 in Music > Rap & Hip-Hop > Gangsta & Hardcore
  • #37 in Music > Rock > Rap Rock

Track Listings

1. 56 Bars (Intro)

2. I'm Illy

3. Ready For Whatever

4. On Top Of The World(feat. Ludacris and B.o.B.)

5. Live Your Life (feat. Rihanna)

6. Whatever You Like

7. No Matter What

8. My Life Your Entertainment (feat. Usher)

9. Porn Star

10. Swing Ya Rag (feat. Swizz Beatz)

11. What Up, What's Haapnin'

12. Every Chance I Get

13. Swagga Like Us T.I. and Jay-Z (feat. Kanye West and Lil' Wayne)

Editorial Reviews

T.I. has grown to truly be one of his generation's most captivating speakers. Whether he's conversing frankly with a room full of youth about the positive side of staying in school and following their dreams, or moving tens of thousands at one of his concerts, the audiences are immediately engrossed by the King of the South's words. T.I., here delivers his most potent and important LP to date; 'Paper Trail.' The title is a direct reference to T.I.'s return to literally writing down his lyrics- a practice he hasnt engaged in since his debut. By going back to the basics T.I. has evolved into a better MC. The album features guest appearances and production by Lil Wayne. Rihanna, Usher, The Dream, Fall Out Boy, Kanye West, B.O.B, John Legend, DJ Toomp, Swizz Beatz, Drumma Boy, & Danja. This is the explicit version.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

72 of 77 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Hova may have anointed Wayne, but T.I. just staged a coup September 30, 2008

By Akash VINE™ VOICE

Format:Audio CD

Ostensibly, "Paper Trail" is a reference to T.I. taking the time to put his thoughts on paper rather than relying on spontaneity and his mental notebook for his lyrics. Having listened to the album closely I'd like to draw two additional meanings from the title, each alluding to our old friends T.I. and T.I.P. First, there is a set of songs on this album that read unmistakably like pages from a diary, songs that are deeply personal and insightful. The second "Paper Trail" is simply money, and it inspires a set of songs about the fun and the swagger that comes with fortune. On "Paper Trail," T.I. expertly walks the line between relevance and entertainment, and delivers a magnum opus.

Four tracks best illustrate the lyrical diary I gleaned from this album. Lead single "No Matter What" is a window into T.I.'s time under house arrest and is astounding in its sincerity and lyrical complexity, he raps "Even though it's heavy, the load I'll still carry it/ Grin and still bear it, win and still share it/ Apologies to the fans, I hope you can understand it/ Life can change directions, even when you ain't plan it." "Ready for Whatever" is a stunningly honest explanation of his weapons charges, "Yes officially I broke the law, but not maliciously/...Either die or go to jail, that's a heck of a decision/ But I'm wrong and I know it, my excuse is unimportant." "Slide Show" blessed by John Legend is likely the most inspirational rap track of the year, on which T.I. advises his fans, "Don't forget that impossible is nothing, your environment is irrelevant/ Just don't let your emotions, overpower your intelligence/ Refuse to give up, Your mistakes don't define you/ They don't dictate where you're headed, they remind you...." "Dead and Gone" with Justin Timberlake calls on listeners to let cooler heads prevail in tense situations, "No more stress, now I'm straight/ Now I get it, now I take/ Time to think before I make mistakes, just for my family's sake." These four tracks, and additionally "Live Your Life" and "You Ain't Missing Nothin", represent T.I.'s nuanced understanding of not only rap and music, but of life itself.

T.I.P. and the financially-focused half of the album come into sharp relief on more carefree tracks including hit single "Whatever You Like." "Swing Ya Rag," which will have even the most jaded gangster on the dance floor also falls into this category as does "Every Chance I Get." One would be remiss to not mention goliath record "Swagger Like Us" featuring Kanye West, Jay-Z and Lil Wayne (obligatory verse ranking: Tip, Hov', Weezy, `ye).

In sum, this album manages to cater to both listeners that are looking for a message and those looking for an escape. It is not without its problems (how "Porn Star" made the album over the leaked "Like I Do," I'll never know) but a T.I. album with a blemish outshines 99% of records today. Personally, it is my album of the year. Read more ›

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Kudos from a lapsed Hip-Hop fan.... October 6, 2008

By hoos30

Format:Audio CD

Rakim, Gang Starr, KRS-One and Nas were the soundtrack to the formative years of my life and I got so sick of the garbage in contemporary rap that I totally abandoned the format, renouncing urban radio altogether and blocking BET, MTV and VH-1 from my cable box. It was too hard to tell when one Lil' Wayne song ended and the next T-Pain song began.

Over the weekend while riding in a friend's car, I heard what I thought was a new Rihanna song, "Live my Life". The "guest rapper" (Yes, I knew it was T.I.) dropped this gem, "...the spirit of a hustler and the swagger of a college kid." I thought to myself, "Hey, I could get with lyrics like that."

When I got home I looked it up on Rhapsody and found the album "Paper Trail". Whoa! I am off the bench, put me in the game coach! This album is fantastic. The production values are outstanding, surpassing any album in any genre that I've heard in years and the lyrics and themes for a fist full of tracks are top notch as well. "56 Bars", "Whatever you Like", "No Matter What", "Swagga Like Us", "Slide Show" and "Dead and Gone" are all true bangers that will stand up to the best.

In short, this album turned this hip-hop agnostic into a true believer.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars album of the year November 20, 2009

By Alexander M. Simon

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This is the best CD of the last two years and I am not even a huge hip-hop fan.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Old T.I. is Dead & Gone October 17, 2008

By LT Twalo

Format:Audio CD

Long before T.I. became a household name, he dubbed himself the "King of the South". It was evidence of his extraordinary ambition. His albums too show the same ambition. They typically run the gamut of hip-hop, with radio friendly songs, introspective songs, club tracks, street anthems and occasionally thought provoking concepts.

Unfortunately, up to now the music has not lived up to his ambition levels. Don't get me wrong Urban Legend & King (even T.I. vs T.I.P.) were great albums musically but you knew that T.I. was aiming even higher. He wanted his albums to be at the same level as 2pac, Eminem, B.I.G. at their respective primes.

He came close with King but I think he might have done it this one. If this was 1999 I wouldn't bet against this album going diamond. But thanks to the internet double platinum will be a stretch.

Comparisons to the greats are relevant because like them, T.I. has some monster hits on this album, "whatever You Like" and "Live Your Life" are already #1 hits. "No Matter What" was an undeniable street anthem and "What up, What's happenin'" has the streets & the mixtape circuit buzzing. And the great thing is that there is more hits to come.

This is not to say that the album is perfect (despite the 5 star rating) but neither were the greats. But like the Carter III, this album is one you'll remember when 10 yrs from now you think of the year 2008.

The key to the success of the album is T.I.'s hunger which is at pre-Urban Legend levels. But at the same time he maintains the swagger that he's become famous for. This is most evident on the monster track "Swagger Like Us" where T.I. flexes his swag and mic skills at the same time....

He balances the fun tracks like the Swizz beats party starter "Swing Ya Rag" well with the more serious stuff like "You Ain't missing Nothing". The production is alot more consistent than his prior efforts making the album quite cohesive despite the varying subject matters.

He cleverly uses his guest features to make the tracks even bigger. Case in point is "Live Your Life" which suits Rihanna to a tee, same Justin Timberlake & John Legend on "Dead & Gone" and "Slide Show" respectively.

All that makes this his biggest and most well contructed album. And while there is room for improvement (see "Every Chance I Get"), in the whole it is excellent entertainment. Read more ›

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars No Matter What, This Album Is Great October 2, 2008

By Josephll

Format:Audio CD

Without a doubt, one of the best Southern Rappers that went from "Urban Legand" to "King" to appearing on songs by Justin Timberlake, R. Kelly and Dj Khaled and combining street smart attitude with commercial appeal. His last album "T.I VS T.I.P" from last year went even further with a concept between the split personality T.I and T.I.P but while it had some of the best productions of last year (especially from Danja) the concept was old news and it didn't work out that well either since the diffrence between the two was ice thin and T.I didn't stick to the concept on all songs either. Just one year after he's dropping a new album called "Paper Trail". It may look strange that it's successor is dropping so fast but alot of things happened in T.I life during the last year. He was arrested for weapon possesion and will eventually be serving 1 year in jail. In the meantime he's been in house arrest writing down his lyrics (the first time since his debut) and partly writing songs about his reflections about his life and his crime, which is rare for T.I. But as usual, the album offers much more, we got the club songs, the radio hits, the #1 single "Whatever You Like" and some battle songs aswell. The production is good as always and feature guys like Danja, Dj Toomp, Jim Jonsin, Drumma Boy and Swizz Beatz to mention a few. What is there to expect from "Paper Trail"? is it as good as it sounds on the same level as "King"? Let's read on to find out.

The album opens up with a freestyle intro called "56 Barz" which is mostly braggadoccio with a repetitive DJ Toomp beat. "I'm Illy" is simular in conent to the intro, but the beat is a little better. For instance, He's saying that he's the best rapper since Tupac.... New star producer Drumma Boy is next out with a very nice cut called "Ready For Whatever" that is a mix between computer beats and guitar riffs and stand out as alot of his productions, keep his name on your mind. The lyrics are also very personal since they reflect the weapon charges aswell as the man behind it and the reasons why it happened and his anxiety to go to jail. A definite standout. "On Top Of The World" a modern Hip Hop song with heavy bass and electro beats feature Ludacris and B.o.B on the hook. Both of the rappers deal with fame and success. Good song aswell, especially the verse by Luda. "Live Your Life" with Rihanna on the hook and a production or theft by Just Blaze who borrows the entire song from Moldavian pop group O'Zone's "Dragostea Din Tei". Just Blaze use to be bad when he borrowed every good 70's Soul song but this is the most unoriginal yet. The lyrics on the other hand are good aswell as Rihanna's hook. "Whatever You Like" is currently topping the Billboard chart making it T.I's biggest hit to date. It's a commercial cut with alot of swagger for the ladies, with Jim Jonsin as the producer. Recently he also produced Lil Wayne's "Lollipop". No one can deny this is another winner.

When You thought things couldn't get better comes the best song, the Danja produced "No Matter What" is unusual for him but is driven by an emotional bluesy guitar riff and computer beats. T.I reply to doubters of his credability and tells us his story of who he is and where he came from. One of his alltime best aswell as one of his deepest. Drumma Boy is back with a R&B influented song with omnipotent Usher Raymond on the hook. This songs deals with the down and lows of being a celebrity. Another potential single. The Lil' C produced "Pornstar", is creative in production and not as naughty as the title would refer to, just another song for the ladies. Infact it's quite enjoyable, especially the hook from Ricco Barrino (Yeah he's Fantasia's brother). "Swing Ya Rag" is a standard Swizzy production (him also chanting the hook), with brassy horns and marching beats. It's a deja vu but way better then the average Swizzy song lately. It's purpose? Get up and dance. More from Drumma Boy on "What's Up, What's Happening" a diss on Shawty Lo which is quite good aswell. Dj Toomp is back on "Every Chance I Get" that shows T.I's rougher sides, some people are gonna like this for sure I found it rather annoying. "Swagga Like Us" produced by Kanye West samples a part from M.I.A and also shows that West is trading Soul for Pop. It also feauture Jay-Z and Lil Wayne and a West using the Audio Tune. They declare they got swagga and that's why they stick around why others dissapear. Although it looks good on paper, the hook here is almost unbearable. "Slide Show" a duet with John Legend is a very personal song once again and T.I talks about chosing the rigtht path in life. While Legend is a good vocalist, It could've been more of a hit with someone with a more pop-oriented voice. Even more from Drumma Boy on "You Ain't Missin Nothin" A reflective song for the people locked up or formerly locked up. This one is slow and a little jazzy and sound nothing like Drumma Boy, let alone Hip Hop. The closer "Dead Gone" was produced and feature Justin Timberlake. It's a somber mid tempo with a fast rapping T.I saying that he's rougher sides are gone and that he's a new man. Good way to end the album.

Overall, Perhaps this is the best T.I album to date. It's both commercial and reflective with a good mix between modern futuristic productions and some more unusual suprises. It's the the most personal T.I album to date and after listening to his last album it would almost look impossing to archive. I'm surprised and overwhelmed and enjoying most of the songs of this album. Although I hardly give commercial Hip Hop albums high votes I'm willing to make and exception here because of the factors involved and the incredible progress that T.I made from his last album. For the first time in a while there is a rapper combining commercial appeal with personal integrity. This album is gonna entertain all kinds of people and it's easy to get into aswell. 4'5, a must check out. Read more ›