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From Worst to Best: T.I.

The King of the South's Albums Ranked

By Matthew SullivanPublished 6 years ago 4 min read
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10) No Mercy (69)

No Mercy is his worst album by far. It has decent production but he comes off as lazy and uninspired. It's like he wants you to feel sorry for him and that’s just not kingly at all. There are some gems though, like “That’s All She Wrote” and “Amazing”. This album was originally titled King Uncaged…thank God he changed it. Top Tracks: Welcome to The World, No Mercy, Amazing, That’s All She Wrote.

9) I’m Serious (80)

This is his actual first album, and every true T.I. fan knows it. This album isn’t bad but its not great either. It sounds extremely dated. It came out in 2001. Its nice hearing a young TIP though. Top Tracks: Dope Boyz, I’m Serious, Do It.

8) T.I. vs TIP (83)

I really like this album but there’s a lot of flaws. It gets off to a strong start then gets really uneven. The TIP part of his personality is first, then you get the T.I. part, then you get a mixture of both. I think the album comes off sounding like an expansion of his incredible King album. Definitely give this one a spin. TT: You Know What It Is, Big Shit Poppin, Hurt, Show It To Me, Tell Em I said That.

7) Urban Legend (87)

Unless I am mistaken this was the 1st album of his I owned. I really like this one as the songs are really cohesive. This was really the first time he said he was King of the South, but he didn’t really prove it till King lol. The first 4 songs are 4 of his best. The love songs come off as very corny but all in all good album. TT: Motivation, U Don’t Know Me, ASAP, Bring Em Out.

6) Trap Musik (88)

Some fans call this T.I.’s best album…For the time it was really dope. Also most of the songs are good. The production is pretty good as is his lyricism. I really like the singles here. The last 3 songs sound a little too similar. This is the album that got his name out there. TT: Rubber Band Man, 24s, Let’s Get Away, Look What I Got, Be Easy.

5) Trouble Man Heavy is the Head (90)

This album might be the one no one really talks about. It is solid. It’s like after No Mercy, T.I. wanted to get back to his old styles…and he did, but he combined it with his new style of course. The guest features are all really good which some include P!nk, Andre 3000, Meek Mill, A$AP Rocky, and Lil Wayne. Some songs are obviously filler tho like "Addresses". TT: Sorry, Ball, Guns And Roses, Hello.

4) Us Or Else: Letter to the System (92)

The newest T.I. album, UoE was actually a solid mixtape before he released this full length album. It’s about injustice in America. It’s a great album. I don’t really have a lot to say about it at this time. TT: We Will Not, Black Man, Switchin Lanes, 40 Acres.

3) Paperwork (92)

The sequel to the excellent Paper Trail album, Paperwork is fire. T.I. just sounds really invigorated on it. There’s a ton of guest spots, but most really add to album. The album is very cohesive too. It is not without flaws. The album kinda loses steam after the midway point. Strong Young Thug verse on “About the Money” lol. All in all it’s a worthy sequel. TT: G’Shit, New National Anthem, Oh Yeah, About My Issue, No Mediocre.

2) King (96)

This one is really special because it was not only his best album (for 2 years) but it also has his best song, “What You Know” on it. In fact, the first 5 songs are just incredible. Of course you’d expect the 2nd half to fall a bit, and it does. The production is amazing, as is his lyricism. With this album rivals like Lil Flip…and dare I say even Ludacris were made to recognize the king of the south. TT: King Back, What You Know, Front Back, Top Back, Live In the Sky, Why You Wanna, I’m Talkin To You.

1) Paper Trail (97)

I am not alone in my scoring this as his best album. Rapreviews.com also did. But anyway I just feel it’s executed really really well. Why is that? Well T.I. talks about really personal things here like on songs like “Ready For Whatever” and “NO Matter What”. There is filler, but not much. The production is also really dope. And the guest features are all really well used. TT: No Matter What, I’m Illy, Live Your Life, Whatever You Like, Dead and Gone, Swagga Like Us.

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About the Creator

Matthew Sullivan

Hello there. I am a blogger supreme. I started a blog on blogger.com www.maxreviewsandthoughts.blogspot.com. There i talk about music, movies, video games and news sometimes.http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/mattayo88

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