The King of da South T.I.’s albums ranked – peep here

It’s been over 20 years since T.I. dropped his debut album, I’m Serious. While it wasn’t the commercial success he hoped, the initial stumble sparked a focus that would lead the man born Clifford Joseph Harris Jr. to rap superstardom.

The South, and particularly Atlanta, already had its share of rap stars. But, Tip distinguished himself with an obsessive devotion to chronicling the grittier side of ATL culture and “The Trap.” The latter wasn’t a new euphemism for the streets, but T.I. embraced it on his sophomore album, Trap Muzik, and it would be the basis for a discography that’s now several albums deep with multiple No. 1 debuts to his credit.

REVOLT ranks the King’s albums from least to most favorite below. Check it out.

This album’s lead single “I’m Back” dropped after T.I. was released to a halfway house in March 2010 as part of a one-year sentence on federal gun charges. However, when the album finally dropped in December of the same year, T.I. was back behind bars, this time serving an 11-month prison sentence for a probation violation. His circumstances didn’t allow him to do much for the project’s relatively tepid response from fans and critics. It still had its moments. But, despite an A-list roster of collaborators including Kanye West, Drake, Kid Cudi, Eminem and Chris Brown, the LP lacked Tip’s usual focus.

As you might have guessed, The L.I.B.R.A.’s title is an homage to T.I.’s astrological sign, as well as an acronym for Legend Is Back Running Atlanta. Released in 2020 and fully independent, much didn’t change as the Atlanta rep leveraged his OG status to nab high profiles guests. Name some of the best contemporary rappers and producers, currently in Hip Hop, and there’s a good chance they made it onto the album’s track list. From Benny The Butcher, Conway The Machine and Jadakiss to Lil Baby and 21 Savage on to Rapsody, T.I. holds his own alongside them all, proving true rhyme talent can stand the test of time.

Not many rappers make it to a 10th album, so it’s obvious why Tip called his milestone LP Dime Trap. Released in 2018, T.I. had been talking up the project for several years. Such delays are usually a bad omen, but the album was released to favorable reviews from fans and critics alike. Yet another new label (Epic Records) didn’t hinder T.I. from using his connections to land features with hot rappers like Meek Mill on the Mr. Bangladesh-produced “El Jefe” and Yo Gotti on the Scott Storch-produced “Wraith.”

Paperwork was T.I.’s first LP on Columbia Records. However, the energy was as fresh as ever with the album’s first single featuring a bubbling, relatively new rapper named Young Thug trading bars with Tip over a vibrant London on da Track production. Tip got Pharrell Williams to executive produce the album and with features from Iggy Azalea (“No Mediocre”), Jeezy (“G Sh*t) and Chris Brown (“Private Show”), it hit all the usual angles. But, in a crowded T.I. discography, not everything can rank very high.

It must be mentioned that the T.I. vs. T.I.P. album was recorded after Tip’s childhood friend and personal assistant Philant "Big Phil" Johnson was killed in a May 2006 shooting after getting into an altercation in a Cincinnati club. As the title suggests, it’s a concept album with one side being the smoother businessman and other being the aggressive street rapper. Broken up into three acts, the first is the thugged out T.I.P., the second is the more polished T.I., while the third is a battle between both sides. Although the album’s lead single, the Mannie Fresh-produced "Big Shit Poppin' (Do It)" was yet another big hit, the project didn’t resonate with many critics despite being a commercial success.

Tip, who shortened his name to T.I. to avoid confusion with then-Arista labelmate Q-Tip, was a small fish in a big music pond when he dropped his debut. The record label only released one single -- the title track featuring Beenie Man -- and the album featured a who's who of 2001 rap talent including production from The Neptunes and Jazze Pha, and a cameo from Too Short. But, it didn’t really click beyond Atlanta and nearby Southern states. Tip would ultimately use this experience to build his own following and to launch his Grand Hustle Records.

After a couple of tumultuous years that included prison stints, T.I. was back in form on Trouble Man: Heavy Is the Head. The album was sonically a return to his “trap sound,” and a tighter list of contributors like André 3000 (“Sorry”), Lil Wayne (“Ball”), and the DJ Toom-produced “Trap Back Jumpin’” helped him accomplish critical acclaim. The LP also marked his final release on Atlantic Records.

Paper Trail is T.I.’s most commercially successful album for a reason. Released a little over a year after his lukewarmly received T.I. vs. T.I.P. album, Tip started writing Paper Trail while he was awaiting federal trial for weapons charges, and the Atlanta rapper had his hitmaking formula down to a science. The LP featured massive singles of all types: “Dead and Gone” hit the pop audience thanks to an assist from Justin Timberlake, the worldwide smash “Live Your Life” featured Rihanna, “Swagga Like Us” was a dancefloor pleaser with verses from JAY-Z and Kanye West, and “What Up, What's Haapnin'” was a street single to let his haters know wasn’t anything sweet now that he was a big(ger) time rapper.

More times than not, Urban Legend is the true T.I. devotee’s favorite album. The lead single was the Swizz Beatz-produced, JAY-Z-sampling “Bring ‘Em Out” that seemed to blast out of every passing car stereo. The follow-up singles, “U Don’t Know Me” and “ASAP,” only kept the momentum going for an album loaded with fan-favorites like the Scott Storch-produced, Lil’ Kim-assisted “Get Ya S**t Together.” T.I. managed to bring a fine gloss to the trap.

Calling yourself the King of the South, despite the existence of Scarface or OutKast is audacious. Nevertheless, it’s a moniker Tip basically bestowed on himself, and upon listening to his fourth album, King (technically named after his son Clifford "King" Joseph Harris III), you get a better understanding of where that confidence comes from. While his street devotion was evident, the project took a more commercial friendly lean thanks to songs like the Crystal Waters-sampling “Why You Wanna” and chart-topping lead single “What You Know.”

It’s not that Tip’s debut was lackluster, but it was too glossy for a rapper whose bonafides were unapologetically street. So, for his sophomore smash -- and with confidence built from its independent success -- T.I. fully embraced relaying the realities of “The Trap.” The result was a sonic tour of an ATL world where Dope Boys rode on “24’s” and exuded the controlled menace of “Rubber Band Man.” He even brought along OGs like 8Ball & MJG and Bun B (“Bezzle”), while still having the panache to crown himself “King of da South.” Trap Muzik has become one of the most influential albums to come out of the South with rappers still trying to match its cultural-shifting legacy.

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