Words by Jesse H.

An essential sign of whether or not an upcoming MC is worthy, is the quality and frequency of their guest appearances leading up to the release of their album. Snoop got busy all over The Chronic before his debut album solidified him as the smoothest rapper in the world, Biggie lit up Craig Mack’s “Flavor In Ya Ear” remix to get a buzz started for Ready to Die, and a pre-Illmatic Nas blew onto the scene with his gritty appearance on Main Source’s “Live at the Barbeque.”

One of the most enjoyable parts of following T.I.’s rise to the top these past few years has been hearing his flashy guest appearances on pretty much any CD that came out. When listening to his guest verses both old and recent, it’s clear that when the man is on a track with others, he makes the effort so that it’s his verse that the listener will remember most. So in honor of our T.I. vs. T.I.P. vs. TSS week, I am proud to present T.I.’s Top Ten Guest Appearances (listed in descending order):

10. Destiny’s Child ft./ T.I.- “Soldier” – With boasts that sound like they’re coming straight out of a Mrs. Butterworth bottle, Tip helps bring some much-needed Southern flavor to a track that otherwise feels like a more-than-forced reunion between Beyonce, Kelly and “the other one.”

Best Part: “a reformed D-Boy used to runnin the trap/ still a soldier go to war if you’re running your trap.”

9. Slim Thug ft./ T.I., Bun B- “3 Kings”- T.I. sounding as confident as ever, joins two of his Southern brethren in this downright nasty Southern stomp.

Best Part: the beat pausing so Tip can smoothly let everyone know what you need to have to be part of the royal court, “22′s on a brand new coupe with no roof/ 150 dolla tennis shoes, no suits…”

8. DJ Drama ft./ Young Jeezy, Willie the Kid, Jim Jones, Rick Ross, T.I. – “Feds Takin Pictures”- His highness shows up to help an old friend out and with only half a minute left on the track, crafts up a flow that bounces and meshes flawlessly with the hectic beat.

Best Part: “young rich and famous with a pistol, you can call me Chi Ali/ but I’m the greatest in Atlanta they be callin me Ali.“

7. Cee-Lo Green ft./ T.I.- “The One”- Back in the days when he was known only for “Rubber Band Man” T.I. still had the swagger of a seasoned vet. His confidence in full effect, he helps out the Soul Machine of the South with one of his smoothest verses of his pre-King career.

Best Part: “Include shoes? 10,000 dolla outfit bitch.”

6. Young Buck ft./ T.I., Young Jeezy, Pimp C- “4 Kings”- Apparently, since one of the Underground Kings wasn’t recognized on the Slim Thug track, Buck found it necessary to make another Southern banger with the exact same concept. If there was any fear of redundancy however, the real king of the South squashes it with a varied, faster and brand new flow.

Best Part: “Went from standing on the block with rock/ to standing on the top”

5. DJ Khaled ft./ Akon, T.I., Rick Ross, Fat Joe, Baby, Lil Wayne- “We Takin Over”- Over electrified, stormy synths, a spooky choir, and a howling Akon, T.I. plays cartographer, shouting out all the geographic locations he took over, starting with the A-Town.

Best Part: “from down in Miami where it warm in the winter/ all up to Minnesota where it storm in the winter” (I’m a little biased being that I’m originally from Minnesota, but come on, how many times do rappers give us Minnesotans a shout out?)

4. Justin Timberlake ft./ T.I.- “My Love”- Timberlands backwards strings and beatboxed percussion + JT’s ridiculous over-the-top crooning + a mellowed out T.I. playing the smooth-as-velour playa character better than anyone else could= classic.

Best Part: “You ain’t really wanna let the chance go by/ cuz you ain’t been seen with a man so fly” as the beat recedes and then rushes back in.

3. Fat Joe ft./ R. Kelley, Lil Wayne, Baby, T.I., Rick Ross- “Make It Rain (Remix)”- Over perhaps the beat of the year, T.I. perfects a jaw-dropping double time flow.

Best Part: Hearing T.I. go double time on a commercial track.

2. R. Kelley ft./ T.I., T-Pain- “I’m a Flirt”- Bouncy pianos and two spirited collaborators form the perfect backdrop for the king to advise all the listeners against bringing their wives/fiancées/girlfriends to the club.

Best Part: T.I. saying all too convincingly, “cuz you leave your wife, and I see your wife/ lets be for real, how long you thinkin’ she fiend to be your wife?”

1. Lil Kim ft./ T.I., Sha-Dash- “Get Yours”- This is what a guest verse is supposed to sound like. T.I. brings his best braggadocio and without a doubt steals the show with a fantastic flow, distinctive drawl and memorable boasts. This is what makes him the king of the South.

Best Part: From where T.I. starts talking to where T.I. stops talking. Classic Guest spot.

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Previous T.I. Vs T.I.P. Vs TSS Articles

The Prequel – “Since You Became A Paid Cat T.I. You Been So Laidback…”

Act I – The Boy Who Would Be King…

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The Singles – Part I

112_Ft_T.I.-Its_Going_Down_2nite_Remix-(CDS)-2004

2Pac_Feat_Ashanti_And_T.I.-Pacs_Life-(Promo_CDS)-2006

Alfamega_Ft_T.I._Lil_Flip_Trina-Southen_Boyz-(CDS)-2005

Amerie_Feat._T.I-Touch-2005

Amerie_Feat_TI-Touch-(Promo_CDS)-2005

Big_Kuntry-Yeah_(Remix)_(Feat._T.I._and_Yung_Joc)-Promo_CDS-2007

Boyz_N_Da_Hood_ft._T.I._And_Game_-_Dem_Boyz_(Remix)-Promo_VLS-2005

Ciara_Ft_T.I._Petey_Pablo-Goodies-Remix-2004

Destinys_Child_Feat_TI_And_Lil_Wayne-Soldier-(US_CDM)-2005

Diddy-Last_Night_(Rmx)_ft_Keyshia_Cole_Pharrell_T.I.-PROMO

DJ_Drama_Ft_Busta_Rhymes_and_TI-Cannon-Promo_CDS-2006

DJ_Drama_Ft_Willie_The_Kid_Jim_Jones_Rick_Ross_Young_Buck_T.I.-Taking_Pictures-Promo_CDS-2007

DJ_Khaled_Feat_TI_Rick_Ross_Fat_Joe_Birdman_And_Lil_Wayne-We_Takin_Over-CDS-2007

Fat_Joe_Ft_R_Kelly_Lil_Wayne_Baby_TI_Rick_Ross-Make_It_Rain_(Rmx)-(CDS)-2007

Jae_Millz_Ft._Camron_T.I.-No_No_No_(Remix)-(Vinyl)-2004

Juelz_Santana_Ft._TI-Buck_Nigga-Promo_CDS-2003

Justin_Timberlake_Ft_TI-My_Love-Promo-2006

Lil_Kim_ft_T.I.-The_Jumpoff_(Remix)

Memphis_Bleek_Ft_T.I._B.G._and_Bun_B-Round_Here_(Remix)-2004

PSC_and_Juvenile-Im_A_King_BW_Booty_Language-2005

PSC_Feat_TI_And_Lil_Scrappy-Im_A_King-CDS-2005

PSC_Ft._T.I._And_Lil_Scrappy_(Produced_By_Lil_Jon)–I’m_A_King-FULL-2005

T.I._Feat_Timbuktu_and_Chords-Why_You_Wanna-Promo_CDS-2006

T.I._Ft._Mack_10_Twista_and_Trick_Daddy-Rubber_Band_Man-(Remix)-2004

T.I._Ft_BG_and_Young_Jeezy-Im_Straight-(Promo_CDS)-2006

T.I._Ft_Young_Jeezy_Young_Dro_Big_Kuntry_BG-Top_Back_(Official_Rmx)-CDS-2006

T.I._Presents_PSC-Do_Ya_Thing-(Promo_CDS)-2005

T.I._Presents_The_Psc-Do_Ya_Thang_Bw_Set_It_Out-(Promo)-2005

T.I.-24′S (Remix) Featuring The Game-2003

Singles – Part I