Over the past few years, T.I. has gone from being just another obscure southern rapper to the self-proclaimed “King Of The South”, garnering respect from fans all over the country, despite coastal biases. Following the critical and commercial success of his Grammy nominated 2006 LP, King, T.I. looks to one-up himself (literally) with his fifth full-length LP. The title of the LP, T.I. Vs. T.I.P., asks just who is responsible for his success thus far. The young, hungry, fresh off the streets drug dealer that penned early albums like I’m Serious and Trap Muzik; or the freshly dipped hit-machine that shot more recent albums like Urban Legend and King up the Billboard charts? With his latest release, he hopes to settle that argument once and for all. 

    The album begins with “Act 1: T.I.P.”, which finds his brash alter ego, T.I.P., on the phone disrespecting his record label, threatening to not drop an album until the year 2028. He does however turn something in, which is the first half of this record. In this half of the record, we find darker songs like “Big Shit Poppin” and “Raw”, both of which suggest that his competitors can’t ball on his level.  The Wyclef produced “You Know What It Is” follows, which is the album’s first departure from the heavy southern sound, as Wycelf plays rudeboy, backing up T.I.P.’s boats. Here, a pot shot is taken at 2006 Grammy winner Ludacris, where T.I.P. boasts “I had the album of the year, Grammy or not.” “Dopeman” is another dark and dreary track, where T.I.P. gives his own rendition of the “10 Crack Commandments”, but basically telling listeners that he is one of the few lucky enough to escape that lifestyle. 

     With a lukewarm beginning, things finally begin to get interesting on “Watch What You Say To Me”, which sort of begins as a classic, slow-cooked southern head-nodder, but kicks into high gear when Jay-Z spits a show-stealing verse about lame studio gangsters. The same can be said for Danja’s ceremonial horns and table-knocking drums of “Hurt”, which again is absolutely murdered by Busta Rhymes, who comes with his A-game, in a naturally delivered double-time verse. Shame for T.I.P. that the best moments from his half of the record come from the guests…. 

    Thankfully, the album reaches a turning point, and continues to improve midway through. In “Act 2: T.I.”, the second-half of the Jekyll/Hyde scenario is introduced, as T.I. wakes up from a blackout in which his friends tell him that the label is mad at him for his earlier behavior. With no memory of the earlier events in the album even happening, T.I. turns in his album to the record label, which begins at this point in the record.            

    Immediately things get off to a great start with the Just Blaze produced “Help On The Way”, which combines Blaze’s symphonic strings, rock guitars, opera organs, with southern bounce atypical of the producer. Here, T.I. responds to all of the recent “hip-hop is dead” talk, suggesting that he’s going to single-handedly save hip-hop. A bold claim (one sure to ruffle the feathers of a certain QB legend), but it comes off as somewhat noble. “Show It To Me” is a cool duet with Nelly, that puts that two southern gentlemen on a track sure to make Big Boi and Sleepy Brown envious. “Don’t You Want To Be High” follows, another track that spotlights the cool-as-a-fan T.I., over a smooth baseline, snaps, and horns. This half of the album concludes with “Touchdown” featuring Eminem, featuring a great hook from the Shady one, but T.I.’s last verse takes the cake. 

     The third act of the album, “T.I. vs. T.I.P.: The Confrontation” finally pits the two one on one, where T.I. humorously tells T.I.P. to “meet me at the mirror”. The last act of the album merges the two personalities, reaching it’s apex on “Tell ‘Em I Said That”, produced by Timbaland protégé Danja, where T.I. passionately rhymes about fake emcees that try to fabricate the life he’s really lived. The album closes with the piano driven “My Type”, where T.I. takes on the role of “the last real n***a alive.” 

     So who wins the T.I. vs. T.I.P. battle? T.I., naturally, just like in his real-life success story. However, the real battle here is T.I. Vs. T.I.P. vs. King. With his last album being such a success on so many levels, expectations are ridiculously high for this LP. Fact of the matter is, while it does have plenty of standout moments, it lacks both the consistency of King, as well as a certified classic club banger like “What You Know”. Perhaps the exclusion of longtime production partner DJ Toomp is the reason for this? Still, props are definitely due to T.I. for coming with a concept album, especially in this age of flushable albums and ring-tone rap. While it may not be his best LP to date, it’s still a worthy follow-up. The king hasn’t lost his crown just yet.