Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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20 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The King's Back... Very Solid Album, April 14, 2006
T.I. should have no problem selling this excellent southern rap affair. The production is at its best here with dramatic synthesizers and bass heavy drum programming. From the first listen you can tell the album is a product of the south with it slinky sounding synths and use of soulful, samples.
T.I.'s machismo is unaffected after four albums (with three being widespread hits). If nothing else, he has gotten cockier and tougher, as most MCs do as their careers progress. The formula hasn't changed, which may one day be a curse to T.I. rather than a blessing. But for this album, T.I. "comfort zone" seems to be the fan's "comfort zone" as well, hence the massive number 1 debut for King.
You can't help but to feel that T.I. is too overhyped, despite his quality as an MC. However, hits including "King Back", "What You Know"(the star track of the entire album), "I'm Talkin' To You", "Live In The Sky" (excellent vocal performance by Jamie Foxx), and "Get It" among others prove his kingship. That isn't to say there aren't MCs just as good if not better (Young Jeezy album was great, for example), but T.I. is representing the southern rap game very well.
With excellent production, great songs, and a hot MC, KING is clearly a fine rap album. T.I. fans shouldn't be disappointed. 4 stars.
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8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
T.I. Has Yet to Disappoint , May 22, 2006
"King" is T.I.'s (real name Clifford Harris) fourth album. His 1st album, I'm Serious, was released in 2001. This album included his 1st hit "Dope Boyz". Another song that got T.I. even more recognition was "Never Scared" by Bonecrusher, which also featured Killer Mike. Two years later, he released his sophomore album "Trap Muzik". This remains one of my favorite rap albums. T.I. officially blew up with his hits "24's" and "Rubberband Man". After this release, T.I. got into some legal troubles, and had to be locked up for awhile. Then he came out and dropped "Urban Legend", which featured the hits "U Don't Know Me" and "Bring Em Out". He also starred in the new movie called ATL, with Big Boi (who is one-half of the duo Outkast). Now, T.I. is back with "King". I personally think this album is better than Urban Legend, but Trap Muzik and I'm Serious are still T.I.'s best albums. However, King is still a great album. The production is on-point, as is T.I.'s flow and lyrics. This album is also selling well, as it appeared at number one on the Billboard 200 chart after selling over 520,000 copies it's first week.
The album starts off with the Just Blaze produced "King Back", which is a very good album opener. He runs you threw his whole discography and spits about how he's back. The next track, "Front Back", features UGK, and has a sample of their track "Front Back & Side to Side". "What You Know" is a track I'm sure everyone has heard by now. I love his laid back delivery and the beat is great. (This is also the main song on ATL). "I'm Talkin to You" is another Just Blaze produced track, where T.I. is apparently dissing someone unknown, as he talks about the people he's cool with to let them know he's not talking about them. I love this track for T.I.'s aggressiveness and his ability to switch up his flow in the song. Just Blaze's production is great as well. "Live in the Sky" is another one of those introspective type tracks. I think T.I. does a really good job on these types of cuts ("I Still Luv You", anyone?). He talks about tragedy and how he hopes all his fallen friends live in the sky. Jamie Foxx gives a nice hook (I never really jumped on Jamie's bandwagon though). I think this song is going to be his third single for the album. "Ride Wit Me" has a nice beat by Keith Mack. This is one of those chilled out, catchy bump-in-your-ride type tracks. "Top Back" is a banger produced by Mannie Fresh. I don't really like Mannie that much but I love this track. I love the intro to it and the chorus. If nothing on the album has grabbed your attention so far, then this song should do it. "I'm Straight" with B.G. and Young Jeezy is another good cut. It's about how if they lost their fame and fortune they'd still be alright on the streets because they've been there before. B.G. and T.I. drop good verses, and I don't really like Jeezy that much but his verse is listenable. "The Undertaker" is another posse cut with Young Buck and Young Dro. All three come correct and the chorus is catchy. "Goodlife" is a surprising mellow collaboration with Pharrell and Common. "Hello" is another laid-back track to the ladies. "Bankhead" is a really good way to end the album. I love the chorus and the guestspots by Young Dro and T.I.'s posse PSC (Pimp Squad Clique).
The album isn't without fault, however. "Why You Wanna" is the first track that really made me wanna hit the skip button. It's not really that the song is bad, but this type of song just doesn't appeal to me. It is the second single though. "Get It" follows it and this track isn't much better. "You Know Who" has an annoying chorus and it's pretty much skip material for me. "I Told You So" is alright and it tells the truth; that most people doubted the south and now they're on top, but I find myself skipping this track as well. There's only one actual skit on the album, even though there's about 3 more that appear through the album. "The Breakup" is actually a hilarious skit with Mike Epps, and his skit later in the album is funny also. Pimp C drops by to explain what T.I. means when he claims that he is "the king of the south". Pimp says that Tip only means that he's doing king s*it and taking care of his own so that makes him a king, not that he's better than all other southern rappers (because hey, we all know T.I. is a good rapper but he's not better than Scarface). The fact that T.I. has came from nothing to something over the years, and proof is his popularity, (how he went from barely selling units to being a platinum artist) does make him a king. So I can't really argue with his claim.
T.I. has shown with his 4th album that he's here to stay. Out of eighteen tracks, only about four are mediocre, which means that no track is really bad, but some just aren't as good as others. Still, that's fourteen tracks worth listening to. That's an amazing statistic, due to the fact that most mainstream artists have one catchy single, and when their album drops all of the other cuts are terrible. This isn't the case here. What makes me love this album even more is that it's so much better than all of these other southern albums dropped by the likes of The Ying Yang Twins and Dem Franchize Boyz and the extremely annoying and terrible group that like to call themselves "D4L". (Sidenote: Laffy Taffy makes me wanna puke). So I'd pick up this album if you want something different from all of those groups. T.I. has stayed consistent with his work and it doesn't look like he's going to fade any time soon.
Another sidenote: Why is this limited edition CD priced over 20 dollars? I bought the limited edition for $11.99 at my FYE....
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15 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Get The Throne Ready!, April 12, 2006
T.I. is the perfect example of how to turn nothing into something. Five years ago, T.I. was struggling for anybody to even listen to his album. Now, he commands the attention of all rap fans and critics alike. He's certainly matured a lot in that time, and it shows in his music and his demeanor whenever you see him doing interviews or posing for photos. He's even gone the extra mile by starring in the major motion picture "ATL." With the added exposure of the movie, now is definitely the best time to take advantage and release his latest album KING.
He starts off the album with "King Back," an arrogant statement considering he many rappers that have paved the way for him to even be rapping. The difference with T.I. is that he actually is convincing in his proclamations. He brings U.G.K. on board for another Dirty South anthem titled "Front Back." The lead off single "What You Know" is strong in its delivery as well as its infectious beat. "Talkin' To You" is harder and edgier than most of the album, while "Live In The Sky" featuring Jamie Foxx is a contender to be the next radio cut. "Ride Wit Me" is one of those tracks meant for you to play in your rides on full blast on your way to the club.
He makes a couple missteps with the Crystal Waters sample on "Why You Wanna" and the extremely obnoxious and hyper "Get It." No worries though since he gets back on track with "Top Back" and the posse cut "I'm Straight" with B.G. and Young Jeezy. "Stand Up Guy" is an average track to me, but I can see some people liking "Undertaker" with Young Jeezy and Young Dro for its darker mood like a lot of Southern classics from the past. The energizing "You Know Who" as well as the melodious "Goodlife" with Pharrell and Common set this album apart from a lot of other projects. The album closes with "Hello" featuring Governor, "Told You So," and "Bankhead" featuring his partners P$C. T.I. has really outdone himself with KING, and all the folks who haven't gotten on board simply need to get this album to be convinced that he is making moves to be on that coveted hip-hop throne.
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