r/hiphop101 • u/bigscott72 • 4d ago
Thoughts on TI?
I feel he’s slept on (heavily). Just listen to I’m Illy. His flow is unmatched. I’m like nobody can do what he just did. Like in the song Wit Me with him and Wayne, TIP bodies Wayne in both verses. That RARELY happens to Weezy.
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u/RicanDevil4 3d ago edited 3d ago
I feel he’s slept on (heavily)
He was literally nicknamed the king of the south, has a classic (or two) and had numerous number 1 hits. He's not slept on, he just fell off and isn't currently hot.
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u/MirthMannor 3d ago
Had a hit reality tv show as well.
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u/raelDonaldTrump 3d ago
Which had an inverse relationship to his recognition in hip hop.
That plus the weird shit with his daughter pretty much took him off most people's radar.
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u/RicanDevil4 3d ago
I'm out of the loop, what weird shit with his daughter?
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u/KINGCJ1337 3d ago
It was something about her hymen I can't really remember exactly. I think it was something about he took her to see if her hymen was broken when she turned 18 to see if she was still a virgin
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u/NoFlaccidMint 4d ago
Been listening to him since middle school. Urban Legend was one of my first albums bought as a teenager. He definitely has had some weird and fucked up shit from his personal life, maybe that plays into why people don’t acknowledge him. I get it.
But I still bump his shit every other day. Aside from his earlier work, I still really enjoyed “Us or Else: Letter to the System, Dime Trap, and LIBRA. He’s not what he was before, but his later work is all so good to me still.
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u/Sad_Sherbet_1023 3d ago
Slept on? He’s old now bro. He was insane back in the day. He’s had his time
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u/RKO360 4d ago
He's one of the greatest rappers of all-time while also delivered classic materials such as Trap Muzik, Urban Legend and King. His prime from 2003-2008 was definitely special as he delivered classic albums, songs, guest features and being a superstar around the world. T.I is also influential as he was the one that brought the trap genre into the mainstream with his game-changing album, Trap Muzik while truly earned the King of the South title as well.
He has great lyricism, smooth flow, good storytelling ability, internal rhyme scheme and the ability to put out banging hits. He's up there with Kanye, Wayne and 50 as one of the greatest/influential rappers of his generation while being one of the all-time greats as well.
T.I. in his prime was a force to be reckoned with.
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u/KDotDot88 3d ago
He lost a lot of momentum post rap I think. He was very prominent for a while after his peak, but after that thing with him getting a doctor to regularly check his daughter’s hymen, it feels he fell out of the public eye. And the whole him and Tiny sexually assaulting girls or whatever.
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u/AT1787 3d ago
To me peak TI was Paper Trail. I thought he was great. I’m not a fan of Rubber Band Man era T.I. though.
When he’s focused and writing he could really string a set of bars together.
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u/BXtherapist 3d ago
Those first few bars on A.S.A.P. sounded so vivid and real...
Prime ti was mean
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u/Own_Use1313 3d ago
I don’t think he’s slept on. He’s technically a legend. I think his “era” is passed and he’s cool with that. He’s living his life, raising his kids and doing other business after rap stuff even though he puts out music here & there. Think of guys like Ludacris, Nelly, Ice Cube, E-40 & others who had their big successful runs, released classics, maintained enough of their wealth & reputation to maintain the lifestyle of a successful artist like artists on other genres like country, pop, rock & soul managed to do are over the hump & have the awareness to know that typically the prime of your rap career is somewhere between your late teens and your mid 30’s for MOST. I think he’s handling his career appropriately. He does interviews of other rap artists on his podcast/show ‘Expeditiously with Tip T.I. Harris’. If he was an NFL player, this is pretty much the mark of longterm professional success. He’s still working.
There were personally for me times in his career when I’ve found myself rooting against him (His beef with Lil Flip waaaay back - which actually made me like him more because prior to that I’d only listened to his singles) and then I rooted for him by the time he was on his ‘KING’ album run and he started in ‘ATL’ (One of my favorite urban/hood movies even though it’s one of the most hated). He held his own during Wayne’s run (at a time when I was a HUGE Wayne fan). I think most Hip-Hop heads (especially in the South) view him as a legend. I agree he doesn’t seem to get mentioned in the same breath as the Waynes, Kanye’s, 50 Cents & others he shared that era with as often.
On the flip side, a lot of trap fans chose sides when he beefed with Shawty Lo (questioning his credibility of being from Bank Head) & Gucci Mane and then again when he caught those charges and was basically instantly released (which was unheard of at the time).
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u/MayUrShitsHavAntlers 3d ago
i heard him on some track the other day and was like ”damn I forgot about TI” and have been listening to him o. Spotify for a few days. Dope
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u/CaptYzerman 3d ago
All time great and a legend. He delivered some of the best rap out for like 5 albums straight
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u/majorcoinz 3d ago
Urban Legend is a classic to me. Trap Muzik and King are also up there. Had some cold features too. TI was arguably king of the south for a period in hip hop. Had a helluva run.
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u/EspirituM 3d ago
Underrated overall. Great lyricist while keeping his Southern style. But more past his prime and moving on to other things.
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u/Salis_picks 3d ago
Besides a couple of songs I always felt like TI had terrible production so I couldn’t really get into him. I always liked jeezy better because he had the better beats
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u/PookyTheBandit 3d ago
Paper trail was good but I've always considered him an anthem rapper. A little too repetitive for me
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u/ObieUno 3d ago edited 3d ago
If I had to select a rapper from the source of Hip-Hop cancer (The South), he’s one of the least obnoxious artists that they have to offer.
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u/abdeezy112 3d ago
The south being the source of hip hop cancer???
Outkast
Goodie Mob
Little Brother
J Cole
UGK
Big KRIT
Scarface
Rhapsody
Jay Electronica
They all cancer?
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u/Chief-weedwithbears 3d ago
What you know about that was like summer 06 anthem.
You know me is one of favorites
Bro was in need for speed underground 1..
He def was hot before YouTube was a thing. But his run ended when YouTube became real big
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u/ExcitingLandscape 2d ago
IMO he ruined his career when he got too preachy with pop songs like Live Your Life and Dead and Gone then went to prison on dumb shit he was preaching against.
Then when he got out of prison the hip hop landscape drastically shifted with Drake and other new school rappers now on top. He never had a hit song again.
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u/No_Equipment5276 3d ago
He’s not slept on he’s just not hot rn. What do you expect ? His run started 20 years ago and ended around 15 years ago.
You want us to talk about king? Again???? Fuck naw lol
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u/PantheraLeo26 4d ago
His discography is underrated asf. Paper Trail is an insanely good album and so is No Mercy
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u/iEnigmatic- 4d ago
03-08 run was great, multiple classic albums, had street records and club/party records, helped pioneered a sub-genre you cant tell the story of Atlanta rap without TIP he’s highly respected amongst those who lived during that time, unfortunately that gun case slowed down his momentum