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T.I
REALITY is a hard pill to swallow, and it can sometimes
leave a bitter aftertaste. But just as the most
torturous elixir can cure what ails you, a dose of
reality can be the best medicine for someone who wants
to get in touch with life and experience first hand its
many lumps and bruises.
On his sophomore release, "TRAP MUZIK" - his first for
Atlantic Records - T.I. fills the prescription for
reality music: uncovering life stories from the trap,
depicting the unrefined essence of street life and, more
specifically, unveiling the grim realities of the drug
game. "It's called trap music," T.I. explains. "So you
know it's gonna be dealing with all aspects of the trap.
And if you don't know what the trap is, that's basically
where drugs are sold. In this country, the majority of
us live in a neighborhood where drugs are sold, whether
we like it or not. Whether you in the trap selling dope,
whether you in the trap buying dope, whether you in the
trap trying to get out - whatever the case may be, I'm
trying to deal with all aspects of that lifestyle."
For the uninitiated, "TRAP MUZIK" is an introduction to
an often-glamorized underworld, a musical collage of
scenes that play out like excerpts from a TV drama. But
to others, it's an all-too-familiar slice of everyday
life. "It's informative for people who don't know
nothing about that side of life and wonder why somebody
they know that live on that side of life act the way
they do or do the things they do. So it's informative
for them and maybe it can help them deal with these
people, help them relate to these people, help them
understand, help them to see their point of view a
little better. It's also inspiration for people who live
that life."
 From
"24's," the album's shoulder-bouncing, head-bobbing
first single, to "Be Easy," "TRAP MUZIK" finds T.I. at
his mischievous best. Checking in on the set are
producers DJ Toomp, Sanchez, Carlos and Dada, and Jazze
Pha, as well as artists Jagged Edge, 8 Ball & MJG, and
Bun B of UGK.
Heavy on introspection and streetwise enlightenment,
"TRAP MUZIK" is not only a stroll around the 'hood, but
a journey through the mind of T.I. On "T.I. vs. T.I.P.,"
the rapper challenges himself to a verbal duel. "That's
basically me talking to myself, just me getting in my
own ear talking about the things I need to do and the
things I shouldn't be doing and just some kind of
psychological evaluation of myself."
And he waxes romantic on "Get Right," which features R&B
foursome Jagged Edge. "It's me talking to a lady I knew
back when I didn't have much," he says. "We knew each
other and we always felt like it was an attraction, but
she was dealing with somebody who had way more than me,
who could do way more for her at the time. But now I'm
like, 'What he got that I ain't got besides you right
now? So, get right'."
Then there's the ghetto anthem, "Be Easy." Says T.I.,
"That's basically tellin' cats, when you meet me, you
ain't gotta be...
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