Urban Legend [Clean] [Edited]

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

Notes: Personnel: T.I. (rap vocals); Pharrell Williams (vocals); Daz Dillinger, Jazze Pha, Lil Jon, Lil Wayne, Lil' Kim, Mannie Fresh, Nelly, P$C, 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. went through big ups and big downs after the release of 2003's Trap Muzik. Right after watching two successive singles -- "24s" and "Rubber Band Man" -- become the most successful hits of his career, he was put behind bars for violating probation that resulted from a 1997 arrest on cocaine distribution and the manufacturing and distribution of a controlled substance. He received a three-year prison sentence, only to be granted a work-release program that allowed him to continue making music (he proceeded to record several albums' worth of material). Then there was the MC's surprise performance at a concert for an Atlanta radio station, where he avenged the alleged shots Lil' Flip took at him while he was incarcerated. And that hardly covers all the events that transpired during the 15 months that led to Urban Legend, the follow-up to Trap Muzik. With all that chaos surrounding T.I., it's disappointing to hear him retracing his steps, rewriting old lines, developing with little progress. At the negative end, there's "Countdown," a flimsy rehash of "Rubber Band Man." At the positive end, there's "Bring Em Out" -- a rowdy Swizz Beatz production with blaring synth horns and a sampled Jay-Z (from "What More Can I Say") acting as hype man, in which T.I. rides the beat while bouncing off it at the same time. Some of his most incisive moments are delivered when the mood is somber, as on "Prayin for Help," where he expresses pain and regret without dealing in clich�s. Mannie Fresh, the Neptunes, Jazze Pha, and Scott Storch also contribute beats; some are perfectly satisfactory, none are highlight-reel worthy. Perhaps it's asking too much to expect T.I. to show as much growth here as he did on Trap Muzik, but -- as is the case with Jadakiss -- remaining patient for that classic album (and you know he has one in him) is getting tough. [A clean version of the album was also made available.] ~ 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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