“Since You Became A Paid Cat T.I. You Been So Laidback…”
ARTIST WEEKS By Gotty™ on June 25, 2007 at 12:59 pm
“I Wonder Where Lil Bad Ass T.I.P. From Back In The Day At…”
If you know us, you know how we do.
We did it with Dwayne Carter. We did it with Nasir. We did it with Bushwick, The Honorable Willie Dee & Brad aka The Geto Boys.
This week, we felt it was time for another one. Specifically, one for an artist we’ve followed closely since our inception.
Clifford Joseph Harris, Jr.
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.
And there’s numerous reasons why we’ve followed him.
No, he’s not the most lyrically adept man on the mic. Arguably, many of those we call “great” weren’t either.
“Well what does he have?”
He’s got a.) a unique tone to his voice b.) a cup thatrunneth over, full of arrogance c.) a humble and honest demeanor which he sometimes brings to the wax and d.) all in all, an streetwise truthfulness & insight that unparalled by many right now. He’s charismatic, energetic…”heart of a lion and the nuts of an elephant”…”the spirit of a god, heart of a dope dealer”…and oh yeah, he can rap his narrow ass off.
However you want to try to beautify it with words, he’s got “it.”
So this week, with the subsequent retail release of his fifth solo album, T.I. Vs. T.I.P., on the horizon, we decided to give the man his just due. Said propers will come in the form of written pieces, videos, singles, mixtapes, B-sides & features…you know, the works…TSS-style.
Not just yet though; it’ll all begin later.
We wanted to give you a little advance notice, yunno, some time to get yourself ready…along with some hard drive space too.
Tell a friend to tell a friend that we’re back @ it.
And for the record, personally, I won’t be reviewing the new album even though it’s out.
Too quickly, critics and fans rush to judgement without giving shit a chance to settle into our minds. Personally, I have to hear an album – in the car, on my headphones & @ the cpu – and hear it @ least five to ten times, front to back, before I can weigh in on it. Too easily, cats throw around “wack” and “classic” without an album even being out for a few weeks. I’m not a professional critic by any means & I’m obviously biased here, so listen and judge for yourself.
That said…Listen. Let it marinate. Then listen again.
Overall, be entertained.
That’s one of the major tenants of art…and music is indeed an art form.
I will admit that the one of the earlier songs I hated most – “You Know What It Is” – actually sounded better in the context of the album. But that damn ‘Clef…I guess I still hold bitterness for him fuckin up L.Boogie.
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31 Comments
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-and then-
WTH Gotty, is that all you can dig up on this dope man??
… Well, the album to me is money, i listened to it straight, backwards, and on random this shit is hot.
The Wyclef track isnt that bad, but honestly I feel the same as you, Gotty, hopefully this solo Lauren will be much better than that other crap.
The “it” that you speak of is called confidence, much alike Em huh?
^ dig up? Not sure what you mean. but we’ve got enough mat’l to murk most of your hard drives if you try to keep up lol.
“It”…can’t ever be definied. It’s that same level of performance where when you see Lebron, Kobe or MJ ballin…you just know they’re on some other shit. Each one does it differently, but it’s still “it” and they’ve got it.
TI ain’t gonna compare w/the wordplay of say a Canibus. But he’s got the following and fans for a reason. We’ll get into some of those reasons as the week goes by.
The album is a 5/10 to me. But I will anticipate the coming coverage.
yo, i haven’t listened to it yet. is the m4a version bad quality or somethin? that’s the on i DLed, and i dont even want to burn it if it’s bad quality. lemmie know what’s good yall. i don’t got time to read through the 120 views on the leak thread. lol
I had thought you was gonna get into his history, his reasons for rapping, or his awesome energy at shows how about that GOTTY?
Could you do me that favor and post some of his live shows??
Or let me know where i could find it, cause when i saw him in PHILLY a couple years ago his control over the crowd was amazing.
I mean ima PHILLY nigga, and I caught on to almost every word.
whats the appeal of this dude?
what’s the link
blazed- calm down. it’s clifford WEEK. we just getting started.
Looking forward to the up and coming posts…. I’m a huge T.I. fan… from my first few listens to the new LP, I’m loving the lyrics, and the swagger as usual, but did some of the production not clear for this album?
I’m not blaming Tip Harris,…. but somebody screwed him over this time. Damn record execs!
I knew I should have went into the music biz… teaching was just the more “secure” career path.
The appeal is he really did it.the people want an artist they can stand behind who represents or represented certain ethic’s about thier art. So whether it is selling drugs or working in the community you have to really have done it to have longevity. Whether jay-z or common, snoop or dead prez you have to be the real. Artist have to reflect something geniune about thier experiance. Too many mainsteam rappers and underground rappers be fake.yeah i said it, alot of so called concious heads dont do nothin for the community, dont dig in the crates for records or love hip hop music. too easy to target “gangsta” rap when the real fake people be right in the cypha with no tru understanding of hip hop culture or the people who cultivated it.
“Raw” gets put on repeat.
P.S. – My man Hov ripped it on “Watch What You Say To Me.”
I never understood this rationale for having to listen to an album 3-4-5-6 times before having an opinion.
I didnt have to sit through Leonard part 6 four times to know whether it was garbage or not.
^LMFAO @ the “Leonard Part 6″ shhh…!
I know I’m getting old if I remember that movie.
“Whach out for the meat son!”
blazed- calm down. it’s clifford WEEK. we just getting started.
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LOL…same thing I was thinking.
I never understood this rationale for having to listen to an album 3-4-5-6 times before having an opinion.
I didnt have to sit through Leonard part 6 four times to know whether it was garbage or not.
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:|
That was comment from the deep end of the spectrum that really nullified itself as soon as I read it.
If you’re listening to an album once and then rushing to the internet or the barbershop to hype it up or downplay…well, unfortunately, we’re not the same as we take diff approaches to how we listen.
I agree with Gotty, I have to listen to album severel times, (in different situations, places,) etc before giving honest opinion that shit is classic or totally whack. Ok, when I heard shit once I can tell you it’s any good or rather not, but after giving it chance once again I can really “feel” the album and tell you what I think about it.
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I do like this battle between TIP and TI, that’s a good album and I think it’s gonna be on top (billboard #1).
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Any leftovers from the album leaked yet ;) ??
Gotty got a point.
Like on some realness, I hate the type of cats who claim an album is a classic when shit has only been released for one or two months. You gotta let it live through years to see if the longevity and replay value has lived throughout.
If an album is truly a great piece of work… you can listen to it once and fall in love with it.
(I know because it has happened to me often in my life – not so much anymore though)
Granted, there are some songs (and LP’s) that take multiple (MULTIPLE!) listens before one day, out of the blue, you begin to really see and hear the greatness of the work.
I have listened to the album many, many times… and overall… it is simply just “OK” to me.
But this may be one of those albums that grows on me on 2, 3, 4 months – then again I just may not ever grow to like it that much. College Dropout was one of the last where I completely bugged out during the first listen – not too many since then (that I can recall, but it’s hot out today so… charge it to the sun).
*I actually think “Tell Em I Said That” is one of the strongest songs on the album, lyrically and production-wise*
my type
big tune
Ok… I’m @ school, and class is starting in like 3 mins. so I gotta make this quick.
I listened to the album again while sitting in traffic tonite, and yes, its starting to grow on me. The songs that I straight “didn’t like” I still don’t
BUT…
The ones that I just thought were ok, I really, really like now.
I still say, KING > T.I. Vs. T.I.P., but its getting better with age.
…. and it ain’t even out yet!
Peace.
^ those albums are rare & most times personal. Alot of the albums & artists you see me spouting off about here are personal favs that jumpout @ me real quick (Webbie, Plies, Killer Mike, Vakill, Tom Gist)…
For others, you know they’re quality, but they require some listening. KING & Urban Legend were like that for me as I think this will be.
Time will tell. I still haven’t made it thru one complete listen yet.
So I’ve listened to the album all day… its definitely above average of bias alone LOL.
Gotty – Just kopped a 320GB external. You cant fill that!!!
Tell Em I Said That its on of the top 10 cuts of the here. Danja incredible!
T.I. vs. T.I.P makes King sound so much better. You are right about needing several listens to make an objective opinion, I listen to it a new album for a week straight to make my decision. But it’s never too far off from my initial stance.
I dont have to listen more than a few spins to weigh in and 1 to 5,,,its like a 2.5 and thats being generous.. production, hooks, and lyrics were all lacking. TI has it in him to produce alot more. I think he has alot on his plate nowadays and his music is sufferin..
Trap Muzik > I’m Serious > King > Urban Legend… still holding out on listening to TI vs TIP.
i’ve loved TIP from day one, “I’m Serious.” i haven’t listened yet but as Gotty suggests, i will take my sweet azz time with it…when’s the interview coming TSS????
I dont know why but after a second listen, im still so-so about this album. I was really hoping he’d come harder, no holmes, on this album. I wanted that angry ti.
whats good with that common album?
Been a fan since the Jay/Jesus line on the first album. To me the album lacks direction and the features are lackluster. I would say about 6.5-7/10 on the first listen. He needs to let Toomp do most of the production on his next album.
The link dosen’t work for me. Can someone post it?
It’s a 3, even on cruise control T.I. can’t go below that. At least he gave us a nice verse from Jay and Busta.