T.I. The "T.I. vs T.I.P." Era (JULY) HUGE Guests!

[damnnnitzzjohn]

When T.I. releases his T.I. vs T.I.P. album — now slated for July — it won't just be a one-on-one face off of Clifford Harris' two musical personas. Plenty of his friends are jumping on it. Sunday night via phone from Atlanta, T.I. revealed some of the album's collaborators, and it sounded like a red-carpet roll call at a high-profile awards show. The biggest names? A guy who knows a thing or two about split personalities and some cat who T.I. just performed with at the Grammys.

"I'm anticipating going in with Eminem," the King of the South revealed. "Eminem, we got a real hot concept that we spoke about over the phone. It's gonna be on some real creative sh--. JT, Justin Timberlake, we're just waiting on the proper song to get him on my album as well."

That's just the beginning. The two-time Grammy Award winner says he has about 60 songs in the can and will once again be working right up to the deadline to turn the album in.

"I'm working with everybody who I have an opportunity to work with," he added. "Timbaland, I'm working with Danja [Timbaland protégé Nate Hills] today. Scott Storch, Mannie Fresh, Wyclef — [Wyclef] came through with some real worldly music and great vocals. Nelly, Lil Wayne, R. Kelly. We reached out to Ciara, gonna see what she says. Akon did his thing for me. A lot of the Grand Hustle producers: Khao, Black Mob. ... Just Blaze, we did a song called 'Help Is Coming.' I'm basically talking about how they say the industry is suffering. Well, help is on the way. Fret not."

T.I. vs. T.I.P. is undoubtedly the film/mic star's most conceptual album to date. T.I. is the persona we hear in songs like "My Love" and "Why You Wanna." T.I.P., on the other hand, takes care of the much more gutter material like "Bring Em Out" and "You Don't Know Me." Tip says the LP will give you doses of T.I. and T.I.P. solo records as well as the two collaborating on the same track. There will be interludes throughout the LP, telling a story — and don't be surprised if more than one single from the project is released at once.
========================
O M F G ! Eminem!? Akon?! Lil' Wayne?! Ciara?! R. Kelly?! Nelly?! JT?!

f**k THIS IS AMAZING!

[damnnnitzzjohn]

No one posted in here?! T.I. was the KING in the rap game last year.

[Wavey✨️]

Sure was with big ass Debut.

[damnnnitzzjohn]

I think he will be huge again. I didn't even think "What You Know" would be so huge...

[Wavey✨️]

You know what? Me either im thinkin it woule be like Top 20

[Linnethia Monique]

"What You Know" is a certified HOOD CLASSIC now. That song will be known for a long time. Its going to be that one T.I. song that everybody knows the words too and will always spark a reaction. I want to see what him and The Neptunes and Swizz can cook up this time.

[damnnnitzzjohn]

I was just surprised at his huge first week. He wasn't THAT popular before "What You Know" came out...I just didn't think that song (it was good) would do all of that mainstream success...

[jaxxalude]

History has already proved this too many times: when you have a ton of guests, it's usually the sign of a messy album.

[🅳🅸🆂🅲🅾]

jaxxalude said:

History has already proved this too many times: when you have a ton of guests, it's usually the sign of a messy album.

A lot of guests can work sometimes, but usually it's a huge mess, i.e. Diddy's Press Play. It had a handful of hot tracks and then a lot of not so good ones.

[damnnnitzzjohn]

Bleah?!

[beaston]

Hopefully it is another quality record from him, he's one of rap's last hopes, imo.

[damnnnitzzjohn]

Eminem? 50? Kanye?

[XXIX]

Diddy is just a messy artist period. He did that so his album would be hot. I'm sure T.I. did it for a more creative reason.

[roentgenizdat]

T.I. Stretches Out With Eminem, Timbaland, Wyclef

March 22, 2007, 12:00 AM ET
Jonathan Cohen, N.Y.

Atlanta rapper T.I. tries a little bit of everything on his upcoming album "T.I. vs. T.I.P.," due July 3 via Grand Hustle/Atlantic. The set will feature guest turns by Eminem, Justin Timberlake, R. Kelly, Nelly, Akon and Lil' Wayne as well as production from Timbaland, Scott Storch, Mannie Fresh, Wyclef Jean and Just Blaze, among others. A single should hit radio by early April.

Billboard.com previewed 14 songs in contention to make the final album out of the more than 60 that have been recorded. Among the single contenders are the Mannie Fresh-produced "Big Things Poppin'," where T.I. proclaims, "I made it from the bottom to the top / where I oughta be," and "Show It to Me," a club track that will feature Nelly. "When you barely had flow, I had crack for the ho's," T.I. raps.

Among the more surprising cuts are the three produced by Wyclef; the artists wrote eight songs during just three days of collaboration. "You Know What It Is" sports a dubby thump behind the sound of a gun being cocked, with T.I. boasting, "Had the album of the year, n***a / Grammy or not." "Shorty Got a Gun" has an almost Latin melody and a lot going on production wise, while "Pass the Dutchie" nicks lines from the chorus of Muscial Youth's hit of the same name, with a melody not unlike Wyclef's own "Gone Till November."

R. Kelly will be featured on the jovial "Life of the Party," while Lil' Wayne utilizes his trademark Southern drawl to great effect on the sparse, Donny Hathaway-namechecking "Yeah." The album is also tipped to feature the Runners-produced club track "Don't You Wanna Get High," Scott Storch's "It's OK" and "Tell 'Em I Said That," marked by a spiraling synth line and production by Danja Handz.

However, arguably the most interesting track is the Grand Hustle-trumpeting "Hip-Hop," a Just Blaze production marked by a chopped-up rock guitar riff and loud, '80s drums. It is not yet clear if the song will appear on "T.I. vs. T.I.P." The Eminem tracks will be put to tape in the coming days in Detroit, while Timbaland and Timbalake are earmarked to contribute in the next few weeks as well.

Throughout, T.I. raps in two personas: that of himself, and of his alter ego, T.I.P. "It's basically a battle within myself," the artist told Billboard in December. "There's not nobody out there doing what I do as well as I do it, so I see myself as worthy competition for myself."

The upcoming album is the follow-up to 2006's "King," which has sold 1.6 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. T.I. is also making another foray into film acting with the Nov. 2 release of "American Gangster," alongside Denzel Washington and Russell Crowe. In addition, the rapper's Grand Hustle Films is developing two projects: "For Sale" and "Random Check," the latter centered around airport security.

[Filthy Pop]

Why You Wanna is the best T.I. song ever!

I have his last CD haven't listened to it in forever though.

[joker]

While I agree that more guests doesn't usually equal more hawtness, I liked T.I.'s past couple albums so I'll check this out.

[damnnnitzzjohn]

I'm sure it will be hot...especially with eminem

[Linnethia Monique]

It's just after 11 p.m. one night in late February when Timbaland decamps to Executive Studios, a recording facility owned by multi-platinum rapper T.I. in Atlanta. The night before, Tim (the mega-producer's offstage name) and Justin Timberlake performed at Atlanta's Philips Arena for yet another sold-out show on the ''FutureSex/LoveSounds'' tour and, after a day's rest, Tim is ready to hit the studio again.

When the door to the studio swings open, we're led by an assistant to a sprawling studio where T.I. is congregating with a group of friends that includes Atlanta mixtape maestro D.J. Drama, Philadelphia rapper Cassidy and T.I. himself, whose tiny, reed-like build belies his ''King of the South'' moniker.

Tonight, T.I. is impatiently pacing back-and-forth in the recording studio — which is sparsely furnished with a mixing desk and a flat screen TV — playing back songs from his upcoming album which is untitled but is themed ''T.I. vs. T.I.P.,'' out in July on Grand Hustle/Atlantic. (The rapper's real name is Clifford Harris and his two nicknames are ''T.I.'' and ''T.I.P.''). ''I got almost 60 songs already,'' T.I. announces, reeling off the names of big-name producers (Wyclef Jean and Mannie Fresh among them) who have already contributed beats to his new release. Then T.I. plays snippets from several of the tracks he's completed, including a fierce collaboration with Southern superstars Lil' Wayne and Young Jeezy. ''Whoo!'' Tim cries, nodding his head to the beat. ''Them n---as is a problem. Ya'll should start a group together.''

After T.I. finishes previewing his new album, Tim grabs a pair of chunky Sony headphones and begins setting up his Ensoniq ASR-10 in a corner of the studio. Tim's made all of his hits on this early '90s-era keyboard, from Ginuwine's ''Pony'' to Timberlake's ''What Goes Around Comes Around''. He has an almost romantic relationship with his ASR-10 — he confesses that when he tried to switch to another keyboard, it ''got mad at me?the letters [on the keyboard] starting looking at me like they was frowning'' — so he can't start a session until the machine is ready to go.

Moments later, when the ASR-10 is plugged in, Tim calls out to T.I. ''What you lookin' for? I'm a man of many colors.'' T.I. scratches his goatee contemplatively. ''I could go anywhere with you,'' T.I. says, ''how about 'Dirt off Your Shoulder' [Timbaland's hit with Jay-Z on The Black Album]. I want this year's version of that.''

Tim sits down at the ASR-10 and begins silently beat-boxing to himself (this is how all Tim productions begin, even multi-layered masterpieces like Timberlake's ''Cry Me A River''. Moments later, Tim shouts ''Turn the lights down!'' to an engineer, and when they dim he cranks out a minimalist drum beat (which sounds like something like L.L. Cool J's ''Rock the Bells'' over the gargantuan studio speakers. Heads nod approvingly to the beat but Tim is far from finished. ''This is the foundation,'' Tim says over the music. ''I can go much further than this. You want it melodic?''

T.I. looks on, thrilled at the early progress of Tim's work. ''Do what you do,'' he replies, smiling widely, ''Do you.'' So, Timbaland adds a squishy, Parliament-Funkadelic-styled synth sound followed by a sample of an angelic sounding voice cooing ''AHHHHH.''

Suddenly, Tim stops the music and presses a button on a computer perched next to his ASR-10. The voice of an old Southern black man comes over the speakers: ''Put a ball on each end,'' the voice croaks, ''stretch it upside the wall and make a SOUND.'' No one — not even the beatsmiths who work for Tim — has any clue where the maestro is going with this. Tim confuses the situation even more by actually talking to the sample. ''You like that track?'' he says directly to the computer. ''It's aiiiiight,'' the sample says back when Tim pushes a button on the computer. ''Who the hell is that?'' T.I. says, laughing. ''It's Ed,'' Tim says nonchalantly. Tim then reboots the sample and when ''Ed'' says ''make a SOUND,'' Tim cuts to the track he made for T.I. Now it all makes sense; Tim has created an unusually powerful spoken word intro to the song. But Tim still isn't done. He runs across the hall to a soundbooth and beat-boxes into a microphone which T.I.'s engineer rushes to record. Then Tim taps out a frenetic beat on the studio glass which he motions the engineer to capture as well. T.I. looks on silently, stunned by Tim's strange genius.

Now T.I. is inspired. ''Let me in!'' he shouts to Tim. T.I. and Tim then trade places in the vocal booth. Like Jay-Z before him, T.I. does not write any of his lyrics down on paper, so he stands in the vocal booth for a moment running through rhymes in his head. Then he grabs the mic and nods to his engineer who pushes ''record.'' To everyone's surprise, T.I. starts with what's obviously the song's hook: ''Get that money, get that money!'' he raps in trademark husky Southern drawl. ''If you ain't got nothin' for me/well get back from me!'' The chorus is so instantly catchy that when T.I. repeats it in order to get the most perfect take, Tim's beat-makers stand up from their chairs and pantomime handing out huge wads of cash. ''Does that suffice,'' T.I. says, bowing down respectfully in front of Tim, ''oh great one?'' Tim expresses his satisfaction with the hook and then T.I asks for help: he wants an even darker sound. ''I want that zeeeeeooowwww,'' T.I. says, making a bassy, growling sound. Tim goes to work on his ASR-10 and a low, humming ''Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz'' booms over the speakers, shaking the room as though it had been hit with an earthquake. ''It's the mark of Zorro,'' Timbaland says proudly, packing up his keyboard just after 5 a.m. ''I'm gone.''

[damnnnitzzjohn]

DAMN! That album sounds like it is going to be so amazing.

[busyboy]

There's this song called "Where They At" charting #77 R&B. Is it the street single? I remember DiscoBelle and Different Kitchen posting it back in December saying it was mixtape material, has it been revamped?

[Linnethia Monique]

busyboy said:

There's this song called "Where They At" charting #77 R&B. Is it the street single? I remember DiscoBelle and Different Kitchen posting it back in December saying it was mixtape material, has it been revamped?

Its the same track that was released on the Grand Hustle Mixtape. Its a non/dj song and its full so DJs have been spinning it.

[sdot23]

alex81979 said:

Tweet's gonna be on this too!

Yes Tweet!

[busyboy]

T.I. Has 'Big Things Poppin' ' With Mannie Fresh, Himself On T.I.P.

New single due April 17; T.I. vs. T.I.P. drops in the summer.

By Shaheem Reid

NEW YORK — T.I. is just about done with his T.I. vs. T.I.P. album, due sometime in late June or early July.

He's already recorded with Eminem, Nelly and Ciara among other guest stars, and the first single is ready to hit radio, officially debuting April 17 (see "T.I. Taking On T.I.P. With Help From Eminem, Justin Timberlake"). The song is another collaboration for the King of the South and Mannie Fresh and is called "Big Things Poppin' " — the clean version of the record, anyway.

"Big Sh-- Poppin' is really just me talking to these people who say things and can't back it up," T.I. said, referring to the song's title as it will probably appear on the album. "You know how some people say, 'Money talks and bullsh-- runs a marathon'? I'm saying the equivalent of that."

"Big sh-- poppin', little sh-- stoppin'/ Ball on these n---as, being broke is not an option," T.I. raps on the song's hook.

T.I. vs. T.I.P. is a concept LP on which the rapper uses both sides of himself — the suave, level-minded CEO and the 'hood-friendly former dope boy — to express his thoughts on everything from the Grammy Awards to sideways-talking bustas to making dough. Sometimes the two sides duel, and occasionally you'll catch them on the same track. More often than not, though, each personality gets his own song. "Big Sh-- Poppin' " showcases the Grammy winner rapping in his grittier T.I.P. persona.

"Dominated '06 and I'm going right back," he rhymes. T.I.P. also says he's "doing it" for his children, family and friends.

"Me and T.I. clique up and the songs are magic," said Mannie Fresh, who's in Atlanta working on a bunch of LPs that T.I. is overseeing, like B.G.'s new album. T.I.P. even has co-production credit on "Big Things Poppin'." "The songs we're doing for his album are definitely right, yes indeed."

The beat Fresh and his accomplice came up with is another energetic brouhaha in step with some of their proven street ditties such as "Top Back."

[beextina]

alex81979 said:

Tweet's gonna be on this too!

I used to love her and then she disappeared. ???

And this single better live up to What You Know's standards. If it does, I'm buying his CD again.

[Linnethia Monique]

- T.I. vs. T.I.P.
- "Respect the Hustle" (prod by Danja) [The first joint with T.I. and TIP in conversation. As the man explained, "They both just telling each other, 'Why don't you just let me do what I do?'"]
- "Tell 'em I Said That" (prod by Danja) [According to T.I., the song is about "too much lying coming out the mouths of people occupying the kids' time. Rappers coerce their kids to do shit they ain't never even done they self."]

Description of the 2 Nate "Danja" Hills productions.

[busyboy]

Single leaked!

[diamond]

Im feelin the single. Hope it' huge.

[joker]

HHDX News Bits

In what has got to be one of the most long-awaited collabos in hip hop, T.I. confirmed having recorded a song with Jay-Z. It's not definite that the song will be on T.I.'s upcoming album T.I. vs T.I.P., but the song has been recorded.

"We got word back that Jay did a verse for this song I got," said T.I., according to MTV. When asked about the song, Hov replied: "I'm getting my Andre 3000 on right now."

On the topic of Andre 3000, he will also likely appear on the album.

[roentgenizdat]

BOOKED: T.I. - Erik White, director

artist: T.I.
song: "Things Keep Poppin"
label: Grand Hustle/Atlantic
director(s): Erik White
production co: Uncle

[damnnnitzzjohn]

LOL @ Edited title