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T.I. Returns With “No Matter What”

T.I.’s last album, T.I. vs. T.I.P., was not his best. Lyrically, it seemed rushed, like he just spit the first thing that came to mind on every verse, while production-wise, it was lacking the DJ Toomp bangers that became his previous albums’ signature songs.

On Paper Trail, the album he started recording in his home studio while on house arrest awaiting his gun trial, Tip seems determined to right his wrongs. He’s working with Toomp again, and the album’s title is even a reference to the fact that he’s been meticulously writing out his verses, rather than just freestyling off the dome. This morning, “No Matter What,” the first official joint from Paper Trail leaked, and it doesn’t disappoint. This is Tip at his most thoughtful and unflinchingly honest, speaking about overcoming his legal troubles like a motivational speaker. He even finds time to fire back at Shawty Lo, who has been throwing subliminal jabs at the King of the South over the last year:

“Set the standard in Atlanta, how to get, get, get it/So you up and coming rappers wanna diss, just kill it/I’m officially the realest/Point blank period/Whether I still live in the hood or just visit/Whatever you could do in the hood, I done did it/That’s why the dope boys and the misfits feel it.”

Listen to Tip’s return below.

[Nah Right]