At one point in time, Clifford “T.I.” Harris was thought to be the heir-apparent to the vacant throne left by Jay-Z. His albums Trap Muzik, Urban Legend, and King were instrumental in placing his name on the ballot alongside Lil Wayne, and many more hopefuls vying for the title of top dog in a dog-eat-dog business. But with the release of T.I. vs T.I.P. last year, the Grand Hustle CEO took a step back, as the project was met with lukewarm reviews, even though it nearly went gold in its first week.

Add in his troubles with the law; living out his Rambo ambitions by purchasing machine guns with silencers, and it looked like his voters would leave the polls with their candidate’s future uncertain. But the world loves a comeback, and underdogs to cheer for, so T.I. finds himself at a crossroads with Paper Trail, his sixth studio album in almost ten years.
 
T.I.’s longtime collaborator DJ Toomp was visibly absent on T.I. vs T.I.P., but he makes five contributions on Paper Trail starting with ‘56 Barz.’ Under the guidance of the producer that constructed ‘You Can’t Tell Me Nothing’ for Kanye West, T.I. takes it back to the olden days when hooks didn’t matter and rhymes for over t hree minutes straight, with his rambunctious metaphors not too far behind, “Without the braids, I’m the closest thing to O-Dog/minus the testimony, say it ain’t so homie/I can show my dough, the other guy just talk/where I live, just as big as your projects dawg/say goodbye to the fame and fortune, “say lá vé”/what the game need with you n*gga, they got me.”

The tandem follow that up with another “no-hooker” in ‘I’m Illy’ where T.I. proves that Southern MC’s have the ability to get lyrical when needed, “Rebel for the hell of it/hella rich/never have to sell a brick again/must I tell a b*tch again/the bullsh*t I’m addressin’/check I’m on some next level sh*t/never been f*cked in the game, I’m celibate.”
 
After brandishing his UFC fighting skills on Ludacris’ manager Chaka Zulu, T.I. apologized soon after, and a partnership was inevitable—it comes in the form of ‘On Top Of The World’ featuring Ludacris. The song is a product of T.I. being the bigger man and admitting his faults. On it, both Atlanta natives trade lines about their riches, but in an encouraging way. Instead of shoving their wealth in people’s faces during one of the worst economical periods in America, they opt to talk about how they’ve paid college tuitions for friends and family, along with other positives works that will probably go unnoticed in the media.

Just Blaze grabs his glow sticks, a couple Extacy pills, hits up a rave, and changes O-Zone’s catchy dance tune ‘Dragostea din tei’ into ‘Live Your Life’ featuring Rihanna. The young songstress does a solid job at recreating the harmony format originally used by inventive Europeans, as T.I. talks about how people should be thankful for what they have, rather than focusing on what they don’t have. On ‘My Life, Your Entertainment’ (featuring Usher), T.I. weighs the fortune and fame against having his privacy while the ab-muscled crooner backs him up as only he can.
 
T.I. keeps the MC guest appearances down to a minimum on Paper Trail, but he goes all out on ‘Swagga Like Us’ featuring Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, and Kanye West (who also produced the song). Mr. West uses a vocal sample from London-born singer M.I.A. from her song ‘Paper Planes,’ which got resurrected through the stoner movie Pineapple Express. All MC’s give examples of how no one’s swagger compares to theirs. The song will also appear on Jay-Z’s The Blueprint 3 album, but T.I. has first dibs, and he takes full advantage of it.

For the most part, the album stays relatively fast-paced with songs like ‘What’s Haapanin’ and ‘Every Chance I Get’ slowing things down and sounding out of place. Other contributions like the Ron Jeremy-influenced ‘Porn Star,’ ‘You Ain’t Missin Nothing,’ and his explanation-filled ‘Ready For Whatever’ make up for the limited mishaps on the project.
 
The South has been in the driver’s seat for some time now, and the bulk of that comes from the fact that they know how to make people dance as opposed to just nodding their heads. Only a handful of artists that call the South home can honestly be credited for legitimately having the gift of gab, and T.I. can put his name in that book without prejudice. During his time away from the studio, he may have substituted it with court date appearances and community service duties, but on Paper Trail, it’s obvious that the father of five has his priorities back in order as he continues on the road to redemption.