Artist: T.I.Title: I Am (T.I. Vs T.I.P.)Rating: 4 StarsReviewed by: Alejandro Mojado
Following the huge success of last year’s aptly titled King, the King of the South has continued to pound the air waves with hit after hit. It’s almost summer time and T.I.P is still giving the public what they want…more music. This time its in the form of a mixtape and T.I. has brought us I Am (T.I. Vs T.I.P.) (Tapemasters). More or less a prelude to the A-Towner’s projected summer release, with all the other madness out there, this compilation should hold Southern heads over in the interim. I Am takes listeners on a 32 track ride down memory lane, up Peachtree and over to Donald Lee Hollowell Parkway before dropping them off. In short we get a chance to see the old, most recent and newest forms of T.I.’s music. Many of the tracks have been heard before, stemming back from old LPs and past collaborations. Tracks like, “We Pimpin”, originally brought to us on The Leak have made their way here along with newer favorites such as “Top Back (Remix)” featuring everyone’s favorite snowman, Jeezy. There are also some newer tunes including “Laying the Trap,” in which T.I. shows that his lyrical prowess is not to be challenged by the weak of heart. As usual there is no shortage of excellent production, this latest effort has the likes of Sleepy Brown, The Neptunes, Jazzy Pha and Manny Fresh, to name a few. I Am is also cameo laden with the likes of Ciara, Jeezy, and the El Presidente himself, Sean Carter. All in all, I Am is a good appetizer to this summer’s proper T.I. Vs T.I.P. release on Grand Hustle/Atlantic. This time, listeners are given a chance to remember why they started liking T.I.P. in the first place.
