16 Comments Thursday, May 31st, 2007
“Change My Name A Thousand Times & Still A G, Believe That…”
TSS Crew’s Gotty™ explains why T.I. Vs. T.I.P. will be the biggest album of the summer for the South, hip-hop as a whole…and, oh yeah, T.I. too.
Words By Gotty™
I remember working part-time @ Champ’s a few years ago. My white boy Glenn was the manager, hooking me up with the cool little side hustle that basically involved more standing around bullshitting about sports, clothes, partying & music than anything else. Like every store, Champ’s had those corporate videotapes that played constantly all day, blaring thru the store’s TVs for a month or two, until corporate would send out another.
One video that was a part of one month’s collection was T.I.’s “I’m Serious” with a hyperactive Cliff Harris jumpin around in a “Gucci AF1s” (I made a killin selling those out the back, another reason for working @ Champ’s) & attacking the camera’s lense with an energy like no other. This was around the height of the Air Force one craze that had taken over the retail and hip-hop worlds, so Glen used to ask “who is this lil motherfucker, man?” and laugh. I remember constantly trying to tell him that the frail, 135 pounds when water wet MC was gonna be the next dude to blow out of the South. “Trust me, man, lil dude got ‘it.’ His ‘Forces’ song is killin Nelly’s and he got a dumb street following.”
After years of grindin, T.I.’s ascension to the top has finally come.
And this album will be the reckoning to whether he can remain the unofficial King of the South, thus the most important of his career.
1. People are growing somewhat weary of the South…
Snap and the dances it spawned are perhaps dead (finally) in the current wave of hip-hop. Wayne won’t succeed unless he sobers up & quits allowing everything he says in the studio while inebriated to be recorded and leaked to the public as songs. Houston’s quick fifteen minutes of fame has seemingly come and gone (but we’ll wait on UGK’s new joint to create a buzz again). Outkast is still on hiatus and even though Goodie Mob is supposedly releasing another album, the attention isn’t there. Killer Mike may never get a full-fledged official album out…so the stalwart Dungeon Family collective of years ago isn’t here in capacity to fully rep the South & Atlanta. That said, the weight of the South as continued leader of the hip-hop pack falls deftly on the shoulders of T.I.’s small frame.
2. He can’t retire yet…
..Musically, that is.
Financially? Sure, as he’s got plenty of legitimate endeavors including a construction company, a club, the prerequisite clothing line, etc. With ATL under his belt and the upcoming American Gangsters, everybody knows movie money is shittin on music money so his burgeoning acting career is a sure cash cow.
But, musically, his “Memphis Bleek” - Young Dro - isn’t ready to take over & lead the Grand Hustle team to the top. As the obvious heir to that throne, Dro still needs grooming and the helping hand of TIP, in the form of appearances on verses and hooks. Plus, if you listen to tracks like street gritty of “Trap Or Kill Yaself”, and “Tell’em What They Want To Hear” for the ladies, there’s a certain chemistry present that still warrants alot more music to be made.
3. Someone likable has to represent hip-hop…
50 could come out & sell however many mil he will sell. Unfortunately, he’s alienated far too many who make up hip-hop’s core, whether it be fair or not, to the point where if he sells no one will care…and if he flops, some might actually rejoice. The only other artist capable of selling big numbers this summer AND create a good album is Kanye, but there’s not enough struggle & rough edges about him to rep hip-hop to the fullest in his chase focus on being the Black Fonz in terms of cool, dress & arrogance.
That leaves T.I. - the last big seller, the last percieved underdog still hangin on to that moniker & wearing it like a badge of honor, the last one with hungry spit - slated to release an album. Hip-hop loves to root for their favorites to make it to the top, showing a cocksure swagger but still humble enough to know that “I could be back in the same bricks with you next week if this shit fails.” Let us not forget, he was in jail when his first big splash onto the scene came with Trap Muzik. After five albums each with greater success, can he keep the balance of being aggressively marketed, ever present and still maintain that same hood love? If I were to bet, I’d say “yes” without a doubt.
4. Creatively, hip-hop still needs those @ the forefront to push the envelope…
Nas has continued to do it with a mixture of successes and fumbles along the way. Jay has tried, but honestly, Kingdom Come recieved a lukewarm reception as he tried to show his growth. As aforementioned, Kanye will undoubtedly do it with his production. There’s always hope in the form of Lupe, The Roots, Saigon, etc etc. But the top shottas are the ones everyone is watching, taking cues from and T.I. is one of those individuals.
Lyrically, his voice and content have always been what made T.I. Even with a ample bank account, he still has ample material to continue to reveal that side of himself that’s growing into a man in front of his audience’s eyes. The death of his partner Phil, the loss of a child, his rocky but still ongoing relationship with his child’s mother…there’s plenty there. As stated, the closest comparison is Jay, who tried to make the jump & show that he could still face struggles as a multi-millionaire. The difference is Cliff has always charismatically and comfortably managed to wear struggles on his sleeve, exposed for all to see and actually embrace, with tracks like “Still Ain’t Forgave Myself,” “Live In The Sky” and “I Still Luv U.” It’ll take one or two more of those tracks on this album to keep boys in the trap, pockets steadily rising with cash but still experiencing the same pitfalls, relating and in tune with him.
Conceptually, TI is the one who needs to take that leap of faith and he’s done it by cultivating this T.I. Vs. T.I.P, dual personality to frame this album, having done it successfully with one song by the same name on Trap Muzik. While it’s nothing new - Cassidy, RZA and others have done it while Kool Keith has made a career of it - artists of that upper echelon status haven’t. In music as an art, reinventing yourself is key to maintaining attention & it’s a worthy and needed risk to take if you want to leave your mark.
The final question will be, if the album doesn’t do as well as expected, sales and/or critical, who will be to blame?
T.I. or T.I.P?
I doubt we’ll have to worry about that though…
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T.I. VS T.I.P. is in stores July 3rd.
Official Site - www.trapmuzik.com
“Big Things Poppin’ (Do It)” (Video)
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Over @ The Smoking Section we’re reminscing over Big L’s born day, developing hip-hop’s Chuck Norris with Hell Rell Facts, giving respect to Tank and giving you summer fashion tips. Stop through & smoke one with us.
This entry was posted on Thursday, May 31st, 2007 at 12:30 pm and is filed under Columnists, Stray Shots. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
16 Responses to ““Change My Name A Thousand Times & Still A G, Believe That…””
05.31.07 at 12:51 pm
The Smoking Section » Big L, Rest In Peace © DJ Premier… says:
[…] Read & find out why… […]
05.31.07 at 2:23 pm
Cajun Peach says:
man, you’ve just echoed my thoughts. i’m from atlanta and i remember the first time i saw the ‘i’m serious’ vid and also instantly new that he was hoodstar (and beyond) status. i have been a huge fan ever since but i honestly must say i wasn’t too impressed with ‘big sh8t poppin’ but i guess it’s hard to follow-up from his last lead single, ‘what you know’ i’m just trying to hold off on passing final judgment until the album drops…BTW i love how you and your crew always show the south love!
05.31.07 at 2:46 pm
M.Z. says:
Big shit popping really has me wary of this album. I hope for his sake and my listening pleasure that it’s on the level of Trap Muzik. Don’t think it will be, but as long as it’s better than King I can live with that.
05.31.07 at 3:01 pm
eskay says:
Good post Gotty… But I don’t know that T.I. vs. T.I.P. is really pushing the envelope far enough to make this project a success. I’m hoping this album is at least as good as King was, but my hopes aren’t too high based on what I’ve heard of it so far.
05.31.07 at 4:44 pm
Young Rich says:
i’ve always dug TI since his first album as well. i mean any negro that makes “pussy pumper #1″ is okay in my book…for life. however, that 1st single is decent at best. and i don’t care who else he gets on the remix…it’s not doing much for me. i have faith that homie will lace with some gems on the new album as well as some exclusive “new” songs on various mixtapes…but i’m rooting that this album won’t be a let down. i mean it coulda been worse. he coulda released it as a double album (it’s not right?)…and we all know that double albums tend to be certifiably underachievers.
05.31.07 at 5:48 pm
T.I. Vs. T.I.P. will be the biggest album of the summer « FreshToDeath says:
[…] via: king-mag […]
05.31.07 at 8:12 pm
Gotty™ says:
Eskay - The first single was like a layup. Don’t let’em fool you b/c you know everybody @ Atlantic knows this is their best shot so they’ll put a huge campaign up behind him.
06.1.07 at 2:32 pm
Stephen says:
The final question will be, if the album doesn’t do as well as expected, sales and/or critical, who will be to blame? T.I. or T.I.P? **** Great closing. Couple of points about Jay: His failure to reveal his feelings has long been one of his shortfalls. While Biggie and Nas at least gave us the perception that we had full-length views into their struggles, Jay only gives glimpses, “Regrets”, “You Must Love Me”… which is ironic, since those are some of his best songs. And no way in hell should he have attempted to steal Wayne’s flow for Kingdom Come. Probably the worst follow-up this side of the Mavs 2006-07 playoff run.
06.1.07 at 4:05 pm
Aziz says:
Good post. I’m a huge TIP fan so I hope he doesn’t disappoint with this next album. I doubt I’ll get another Trap Muzik or I’m Serious from him and I respect his growth as an artist and person but he needs to come better than King this time around.
06.1.07 at 9:56 pm
Li says:
I think this has to be the best article written about TIP that I have read in awhile. You have recapped on his past and on his future. Alot of people who write these articles don’t know anything about the artist, and with your mention of songs like Still Aint Forgave Myself (I’m Serious), I Still Luv U (Trap Muzik) and even TRAP OR KILL YOURSELF (FT DRO, TI, PHARREAL), it is evident that you know what you are talking about or atleast you know what you are making an opinion about. I agree with the Wayne thing, I feel like so many of those random songs, and remixes he puts out sound so sloppy. They have potential to be monsterous, but they sound sloppy. So I feel like Wayne is the King of Mixtapes but I’m hoping that TI can pull it in from the SOUTH. One thing I have to say is no one asked the music mainstream world to be interested in Snap Music. That was a cultural thing for us in the south. The Crunk thing been around since the late 90’s and all of a sudden it went mainstream. Now we are getting backlash for having our own style, but in my eyes who asked for eastcoast, westcoast, and midwest to even like it? I mean it got popular now people trying to hate, and its like what do ya’ll think we are going to just stop liking what we like cause ya’ll think its lame. If its lame don’t listen to it, but I grew up on Crunk music, and Snap is cool to me because that is where I am from and what I am around, so I’m always going to represent. As it being mainstream, yeah I guess it can get played out but thats all we know. Just like a West Indian loving Reggae and Soca, or Calypso, THATS THERE SHIT, THATS WHAT THEY KNOW, THATS WHAT THEY PRODUCE. So I just had to get that off my chest ….. wow. Back to TIP. I really hope his album does good just for his own sake, but as a TIP fan I do miss that raw flow and material he had on Trap Muzik and Urban Legend. And I’m Serious was my album, so I just hope TIP doesn’t let fame and fortune go to his head and then he can’t relate to his main listeners anymore. Because now he has alot of female fan base because he is attractive, and yes having female fans makes money, but you can’t forget the people who was supporting you when you didn’t have any money and you was rocking the glasses in the I’m Serious video acting a fool dancing….remember who seen that and was like that #(@!@ is a fool, but I’m feeling what he is saying, and especially the Dope Boyz video come on…..
06.1.07 at 10:07 pm
Li says:
And I agree, King was a mainstream album, it had a few good songs on it, but it wasn’t a listen from start to finish album. I was in the car with my best friend (female) and her ex boyfriend and we listened to Trap Muzik. She didn’t know any of the songs outside of Be Easy, Rubberband Man, Let’s Get Away, and 24’s, being a true TIP fan (despite I’m a female) I knew almost every word to every song on Trap Muzik, so did her boyfriend. When we put in KING, slowly and gradually our (me and the ex ) attention span was gone because after awhile listening to KING you get bored. It just shows how much of an impact Trap Muzik had versus KING, and its sad because TIP still has the lyrical capability to be outrageous, but I think his arrogance is starting to take over. He could have the Kanye thing going for him in a minute if his friends don’t bring him back down to earth to realize the way he raps about money and cars and being fly is so different than how he rapped about trying to get money and etc in the past. Basically on Trap Muzik “Doin My Job” was a masterpiece in my eyes vs “I’m Straight” on King. I want another raw song like “King of the South” or “TI vs TIP” on the upcoming, I mean if you are going to name your album based on a song you did on TRAP MUZIK I think the album should be a pyschological (sp check?) tear down of yourself. I just dont want to hear an album full of talking about how fly he is, how other rappers or other dudes aint, and what cars he drive, and how he’ll blast someone fashionably….I miss that old flow and the thing is REAL TIP fans notice it…..
06.2.07 at 12:35 pm
Gotty™ says:
REAL TIP fans notice it…..
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Word. Yeah, we’ve always shown an unabashed love for dude on the site b/c he happens to be mine and my main partner’s favorite artist. And I’ve had a seat on the bandwagon for a while now. He’s growing and changin. I respect that. I still expect to have a good balance there b/w signs of growth that spring from the orig roots. Trap Muzik…nothing will top that from him, just like Nas couldn’t really eclipse Illmatic in the eyes of his diehards. I am not a Weezy fan so I’ll leave that alone lol.
06.4.07 at 2:49 am
Guaranteed Fresh « Shouldn’t you be working? says:
[…] TSS crew’s Gotty™ thinks that Clifford is going to have a great summer [King] […]
06.20.07 at 7:48 pm
The Smoking Section » You Need To Know… says:
[…] I’m banking on this album (been predicting rather) being a shining star for the summer along with Finding Forever & Graduation. But I really don’t know if I’m feeling appearances with Wyclef and Em…but no Dro features. […]
06.25.07 at 4:00 pm
The Smoking Section » “Since You Became A Paid Cat TI You Been So Laidback…” says:
[…] As stated, we’ve followed his career before TSS was even a thought. And while we’ve been here, we’ve documented our thoughts regarding his various works, most recently the “Change My Name…” piece for KING from a few days ago. […]
08.11.07 at 2:18 pm
Cyndi says:
I love the two white shirts Ti wore in the Big Poppin Video. He always has great style (along with a great rap game). Who makes the two shirts (what’s the label and where can I get both)