Urban Legend [Chopped & Screwed] [PA]

Performer: T.I.
Artist: Pharrell Williams; Jazze Pha; Lil Wayne; Mannie Fresh; Lil' Kim; Trick Daddy; Lil Jon; Daz Dillinger; Nelly; B.G.; P$C; Big Kuntry
Engineer: Chris Carmouche; Mike Caren; Sanchez "RockHead" Holmes; Cameron Huff; Nico Solis; Cyrus Samir; Andrew Coleman; Leslie Brathwaite; Corey Williams; Zack Odom
Producer: Lil Jon; Shorty B; The Neptunes; Jazze Pha; Kevin "Khao" Cates; Lavell Crump; DJ Toomp; Sanchez "RockHead" Holmes; KLC; Paul Wall; Scott Storch; Swizz Beatz; Daz Dillinger; Shorty B; The Neptunes
Distributor: WEA (Distributor)

Notes: Personnel: T.I. (rap vocals); Daz Dillinger, Jazze Pha, Lil Jon, Lil Wayne, Lil' Kim, Mannie Fresh, Nelly, P$C, Pharrell Williams, B.G., Trick Daddy, Big Kuntry (rap vocals); Tony Love (guitar). Audio Mixers: Chris Theis; John Frye; Supa Engineer "Dura"; Kori Anders; Josh Butler; Kevin Crouse; Phil Tan; Ray Seay; Leslie Brathwaite. Recording information: P.S. West Studios, Atlanta, GA; Patchwerk Studios, Atlanta, GA; Silent Sounds Studios, Atlanta, GA; Stankonia Studios, Atlanta, GA; The Orange Grove, Los Angeles, CA; Tree Sound Studios, Norcross, GA. Photographer: Jonathan Mannion. With TRAP MUZIK, Georgia rapper T.I. boldly established himself as a young rapper to watch and a sought-after guest artist. As if to cement his stardom, T.I. opens his third record, URBAN LEGEND, with one of the most famous declarations in the history of hip-hop, Run-DMC's "I'm the kiiiing," building the assured track ("Tha King") around a sleek "Hit It Run" sample. On that song, T.I. wanders around the rap iconography of the South, asserting himself the new leader and claiming that his ascendance came without the aid of major guest appearances on his previous album. With URBAN LEGEND, however, the cast list is practically overwhelming (Trick Daddy, Lil' Kim, Lil Jon, Lil Wayne), but smartly, T.I. lets his own lyrical light shine until the seventh track, when Nelly comes in for the slick, Jazze Pha-produced "Get Loose." Throughout the album, T.I. unleashes his brash swagger, and his delivery brims with an earnest confidence. URBAN LEGEND reveals a rapper comfortable in his game, both riding solo and bouncing his rhymes off of others. T.I. sought out Paul Wall to give Urban Legend the chopped and screwed treatment. Since the 2000 death of chopped and screwed pioneer DJ Screw -- who died in 2000 due to a lethal intake of codeine -- Wall has been one of the more visible producers to keep the form alive. Each track from the original album is significantly slowed down, dragged down to a woozy lurch, with bleary stutters only adding to the bizarrely psychedelic experience. Unless you're under the influence of the cough syrup 'n' carbonated beverage 'n' codeine concoction that inspired this style of remixing, the 80 minutes can be a tough slog. Otherwise, the disc is easier to digest in smaller doses. Whether or not you're on anything, the effect can be pretty mind-altering. "Bring Em Out" is the greatest example, where the original's victorious blurts of marching band horns are turned into something you'd be more likely to hear in a New Orleans jazz funeral. As fascinating as these remixes can be, you might wonder if the faulty tape deck in your first hooptie did the honors with an equal degree of success. Chopped and screwed fanatics will eat this up; T.I. fans should stick to downloading only the remixes of the singles. ~ Andy Kellman

Entertainment Weekly (p.84) - "Backed by synths for a sound he regards as counter-crunk, he lays out his defense in lyrical volleys..." - Grade: B+

Although T.I. was a player on the Atlanta rap scene as early as early as 2001, a less-than-stellar debut and a brief prison stint delayed his rise to fame until 2004 and the release of URBAN LEGEND. Featuring a host of top-shelf producers and guest MCs, the album was a hit, but was immediately eclipsed by its successor, 2006's KING, which debuted at number one on the Billboard pop charts. A tenacious performer and entrepreneur, T.I.'s career has been marked by an insatiable hunger for success throughout the entirety of the pop world. His profile was raised that much higher following his starring turn in the 2006 film ATL.

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