what you know about the T.I. - KING POLL

I was doing leg exercises at the gym when this song came on my IPod cellphone and I was tryin to pump my feet at the same tempo as his but ran out of gas. good motivational music!

feel like T.I. just missed out on the GOAT conversation barely? kinda seems like it

if he'd followed up King with something essentially rather than T.I. vs TIP he'd have had a strong trilogy but he's treaded water too long since. his new one at times seems like trap-by-numbers.

xp Prison time right as he entered his commercial prime, then brief return, then another jail sentence. He was never the same after that.

See I really liked T.I. vs T.I.P. actually. Paper Trail was where I started to lose interest, because writing his lyrics down seemed to sap his swag(ga) and it struck me as a similar album to Urban Legend, being a messy mix of crossover stuff & street bangers, but worse.

he's had some dope guest verses since but yeah no real expectations for any full-length projects these days

I love Urban Legend. I actually became with Paper Trails cos I wasn't really as into the 'souf' then and I liked it as a purely pop rap album but after hearing his harder stuff it was harder to return to. there is some really solid shit on it though, it's just the "Whatever You Likes" and "Live Your Lifes" are too plentiful (though oddly I like the latter even if it's a bit corny).

"Swagga," "What Up" and "No Matter What" are the three songs I mess with on that album

I prefer the production on King and Trap Muzik (at times I think he veers to closely to bounce rather than his ATL-lane) but he's pretty on point as an MC. not as lyrically tight as on the prior album but he still spits.

the thing I hate about him now is that while simplicity worked in his favor in the older days, he had a lot of focus. even though his word play was often monosyllabic, he painted vivid pictures of street life, and in the Trap Muzik days especially, really nailed the cognitive dissonance of being a pusher. even by King when he'd abandoned that lane, his braggadocio came off self-assured and effortless.

I finally listened to Trouble Man the other day and while it wasn't a terrible listen, his persona has gone so one-dimensional that he might as well be any generic street rapper at this point. His references to trap life are as stock as can be right now, just rote one-dimensional exercises. None of the focus or precision he used to have. The environments he portrayed used to be very human and lived in, but every player in his songs is a cipher now, including him. Some rappers retain their ability to write compelling street rap even after both feet have firmly left that life, but Clifford's not one of 'em. His voice still sounds cool and all but his energy just comes across as calculated now.

I prefer the production on King and Trap Muzik (at times I think he veers to closely to bounce rather than his ATL-lane) but he's pretty on point as an MC. not as lyrically tight as on the prior album but he still spits.

referring to Urban Legend here obv

i only ever really listen to trap muzik now, sometimes urban legend

even at the time about half of king seemed ill-advised

there are maybe only two songs I don't f with on King

Come and kick it with a stand up guyyyyy

YOU KNOW WHAT IT IS YOUKNOWWHATITIS the UNDERTAKER

those two right

man i'm always so disillusioned but also impressed at the digging when i look up the samples for my favorite beats:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AUp9Mt_pWQI

"Stand Up Guy" is a jam imo