King Back! 5 Reasons We're Feeling T.I.'s New Mixtape, 'F--- Da City Up'
1. T.I. sounds reenergized, refocused, and interested in rapping again on just about every track.
We haven't heard a ton of new music from T.I. since he got out of the clink back at the beginning of the fall. So we were very happy to press play on Fuck Da City Up and hear Tip rapping aggressively like we know he's capable of. That's not to say that he's rapping angrily like he's done in the past on tracks like 2010's "I'm Back." But he sounds more proficient than he did on a lot of the tracks that appeared on his last album, No Mercy. The hooks are catchier, the lyrics are delivered with a renewed sense of purpose, and T.I. just sounds, for lack of a better word, better than he has in recent years. It's a much welcomed return to the game for him.
2. The production efforts on the mixtape—and the producers T.I. chose to work with—are strong.
In recent times, T.I. has made a habit out of either only selecting the hot "it" producers of the moment when he records (just check the tracklisting of No Mercy, which featured efforts from Dr. Luke, Alex da Kid, and The Neptunes) or relying solely on in-house productions for the songs that wind up on his mixtapes. He mixes it up a little more on Fuck Da City Up by being a little more selective with his beats. The big names (Hit Boy, DJ Toomp, and Just Blaze) are still there, but they're solid efforts from each. It sounds like Tip's A&Rs were on the ball this time around and it sounds like he's selecting the beats he rocks over carefully this time around. That's encouraging to hear.
3. T.I. crowded Fuck Da City Up with a lot of guest features—without making it feel like there are a lot of guest features.
There are 19 tracks on Fuck Da City Up—three of which are skits—and almost 20 guest artists. So with that in mind, you would think that it'd sound like one guest appearance after another. But, in actuality, T.I. does a good job of keeping the focus on him while still sharing the mic at times to provide looks for other artists. We're not sure how he did it, but he managed to invite an entire slew of guests without it sounding like one big clusterfuck. And, for that, we commend him. Because while we love us some T.I., we also enjoyed the guest spots from 2 Chainz, Pimp C, and Pusha T. Well done, Tip.
4. T.I. doesn't sound like he's playing a character on Fuck Da City Up, like he has on some of his most recent efforts.
Ever since 2007's T.I. vs. T.I.P., T.I.'s personal life has sort of forced him to assume the role of a character on his albums. Paper Trail was the album where he was rapping through adversity with his federal gun trial going on in the background. His Fuck A Mixtape mixtape was him giving a middle finger to the mixtape concept and trying to go against the grain. And No Mercy featured him awkwardly trying to overcome his legal issues—right as he was facing another prison sentence. On Fuck Da City Up, he simply sounds like T.I. again, a guy trying to have a good time, rap his ass off, and make good music again. There's no gimmick on the mixtape and we sincerely hope he keeps that up on Trouble Man.
5. Fuck Da City Up doesn't sound anything like Fuck A Mixtape.
When Tip dropped Fuck A Mixtape, it was pretty clear that it was simply a collection of songs that weren't going to appear on No Mercy. Think about it: What was your favorite song from that tape? We'll wait while you search your iTunes and try and find one song from that tape that still holds up today. It ain't happening. But we could easily hear a number of the songs on Fuck Da City Up making the final cut on Trouble Man. Or, better yet, if these are the songs that won't make the cut, we could easily hear Trouble Man sounding phenomenal. Above all else, that's what makes us so excited about this particular tape. It shows that Tip's got his groove back. And it raises the anticipation level for his new album. What a way to ring in 2012.
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