After starting his career, he seemed to be destined for legend status. He was even a superstar for a brief second before his ultimate infamous gun bust. I know he had a series of law troubles after that put a damp on his career, but so has pac and wayne and that seemed to not affect their careers. Now he has been out for a good second and his career just seems to be going by the wayside as if he's being ignored. What happened? Was it the rumors of him being a snitch, the drop off in quality of music or a combination. I just find his career to be in a weird place for someone that was similar to jay and em where he had the credibility and the acclaim.

Pharrell productions (Robin Thicke, Jennifer Hudson) so, if that isn't good for his career (or if Pharrell doesn't want to work with him on TI's own releases) then.....

He was poised to be where Drake is now. He could write great songs, he had crossover hits, handsome enough fella, could do mainstream interviews very well. He was the complete package on the surface but he was also a complete idiot at home/away from the cameras.

He cooked his own goose. From Atlantic's vantage point, why continue to invest in a guy that keeps going to jail? You can only go to the Tupac narrative well so many times. Eventually you have to stop spending money on someone who hasn't proven himself wholly invested in his music career. In turn his music suffered. It sounds less inspired now and he's floundering and it's such a shame.

TI could've been the next Jay-Z and he alone is the primary reason he won't be.

>He was poised to be where Drake is now. He could write great
>songs, he had crossover hits, handsome enough fella, could do
>mainstream interviews very well. He was the complete package
>on the surface but he was also a complete idiot at home/away
>from the cameras.
>
>He cooked his own goose. From Atlantic's vantage point, why
>continue to invest in a guy that keeps going to jail? You can
>only go to the Tupac narrative well so many times. Eventually
>you have to stop spending money on someone who hasn't proven
>himself wholly invested in his music career. In turn his music
>suffered. It sounds less inspired now and he's floundering and
>it's such a shame.
>
>TI could've been the next Jay-Z and he alone is the primary
>reason he won't be.


Nah...dude going to jail has nothing to do with TI losing his place...

All signs point to his reality show...To his myopic fanbase it's been hard to disconnect the father knows best persona of his reality show from his recording persona...

When you see one of the creators of the D-Boy/Trap Star genre in a G-rated family show, for unsophisticated music fans it's bound to cause problems....

GOAT of his era......long live Prince.....God is alive....

The dissonance between Snoop and Jay-Z's rap persona and family friendly persona has not hurt there careers at all.

TI's problem is just not dropping quality product.


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

>The dissonance between Snoop and Jay-Z's rap persona and
>family friendly persona has not hurt there careers at all.
>
>TI's problem is just not dropping quality product.

Quality?...lol...In today's rap landscape, as good as the music has been today, music quality is NOT an issue, homie...I mean Trinidad James got a few hits...That ain't the issue....

Besides, both Snoop and Jay were already 10 PLUS deep into their careers, player...

That's a bad analogy...

TI made his reality show debut during the middle of his prime career years...Snoop and Jay were already "characters" before they did the family guy routine...To the fans they were already icons before Snoop started his reality show (dude has become more of a cartoon character who can even make a reggae album and not get totally clowned) or before the birth of Blue Ivy...

TI on the other hand basically was known for being the Rubber Band Man....Even if some folks know dude is nice with the guns they still find it hard to balance his Trap King persona with the same dude that's playing Cosby on TV right now...

GOAT of his era......long live Prince.....God is alive....

Nah....I don't subscribe to this whole "quality" angle or the jail excuse...

If people want to say Jeezy, Ross and them took TI's Trap Boy SWAG and drained him and made him smaller then we can talk...I can see that view point...

But dude's jail time has nothing to do with his lagging sales...Nor does the lack of quality of his music....

To me it comes down to his fans having a hard time connecting his family man image with the same dude that talks about selling that work...If TI had 10 years ON TOP in the game BEFORE going the family reality show route then he might have been able to survive this, subpar music and all...

Hell, TI even spoke on this very subject...His label has tried to pressure him on dropping the show because they felt their research showed it was having a negative effect on his career (imagine that...lol...being positive role model hurts him? What kind of shit is that?)

But what's funny is TI may just have the last laugh...It's quite possible that his success on the Robin Thicke song may be the opening he needs to re-boot...

GOAT of his era......long live Prince.....God is alive....

...his tv show or whatever has nothing to do with his decline in musical relevancy.

i'd say his half hearted and rushed first post jail album hurt his career the most. he promised an aeom and what we ultimately got had no impact on the rap game at all. then he went to jail again. more time passes, people move on and he comes out of jail all out of touch.

What r u talking about? lol....I realize people just type shit out of their ass on this site at times...But the least u could do is use Google, dog...

TI's show at its height and when his music popularity started to wane was getting 4. 3 million viewers to tune in on his show....And its been renewed for another season

In the reality show ratings world, 4.3 million is HUGE...Dude has one of the most popular shows on VH1, which is the leader in all the ratchet reality show hype....And his show is ironically the complete opposite of say Love & Hip Hop....

Just saying.....

GOAT of his era......long live Prince.....God is alive....

he started making that bullshit 'something for everybody' type of album & the last one that was even over 50% good songs was 'King'.

Paper Trail was the probationary pop one after that, No Mercy was the forgettable 'I'm back doing gun talk but y'all know I don't leave the house unless it's to do something dumb centered around an industry event'.

Trouble Man for some reason I hoped would be a return to form based on some of his mixtape heat six months prior to it's long-delayed release but nah, just another mediocre-ass TI album but I think that's the only one since the show which I've literally never seen a second of in its run nor does anyone else I know.

Dude's a talented MC making generic, watered down, schizo albums that are quickly forgotten.

The acting & prison stretches were both bigger hindrances to his musical concentration than the show, it was already long over by the time that happened.

He doesn't even have those Snoop-type 'at least a couple great Snoop records each time' level of QC.

The fact that Rick Ross will go down with a better regarded catalog is sad.

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----

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>After starting his career, he seemed to be destined for
>legend status. He was even a superstar for a brief second
>before his ultimate infamous gun bust. I know he had a series
>of law troubles after that put a damp on his career, but so
>has pac and wayne and that seemed to not affect their careers.
>Now he has been out for a good second and his career just
>seems to be going by the wayside as if he's being ignored.
>What happened? Was it the rumors of him being a snitch, the
>drop off in quality of music or a combination. I just find his
>career to be in a weird place for someone that was similar to
>jay and em where he had the credibility and the acclaim.

I was always kinda meh about him. I liked his early shit like "24s"...He can rap, but he's just not that interesting...to be honest...his shit could be totally interchangeable with like 15 other rappers.

That's the last album of his that I thoroughly enjoyed. He has his moments on the following albums but never reached that level of quality again. He started releasing albums too fast too. Plus rap albums are just too bloated now anyway. Niggas need to start trimming the fat instead of releasing no limit type tracklists.

******************************************
Falcons, Braves, Bulldogs and Hawks

Geto Boys, Poison Clan, UGK, Eightball & MJG, OutKast, Goodie Mob

guested and released during that era folks would really see. He was in a got damn zone..look at some shit like swagga like us he destroyed those niggaz..look at superstar remix..he destroyed in his prime Lupe

http://twitter.com/Menphyel7


"F you Im better in tune with the Infinite"

-mofo had the world in his hands & he was getting away w/ doing it all by being him, complete w/ a movie.

_____________
if racism is a cancer, black thought is the answer.

Rjcc is code for "bitch-ass troll"

DROkayplayer™

like his music. his core folks just didn't buy into that tv persona cuz its the complete opposite of his records.

he peaked in 2008, went to jail, and hasn't reached that status since either artistically or professionally.

----------------------------------------

"Fuck aliens." © WarriorPoet415

or at least up there... He wouldn't crack my top 10...or 20...

_____________________________________________________________
Everyone here hates pop music, but loves Michael Jackson... Okay Player...

And yea, I'm with you...Wayne don't crack my top 50. Maybe even 100

----------------------------------------

"Fuck aliens." © WarriorPoet415

well probably never see something like wayne from squad 1 to no celings ever again with no real Classic album but so many many classic songs and performances.

http://twitter.com/Menphyel7


"F you Im better in tune with the Infinite"

he had a much longer, deeper, more successful & more varied run than TI though.

But I can't be bothered since around '08, the mixtapes aren't even really that good anymore & I'm honestly scared to even listen to the following albums: Rebirth (especially this one), the cash-grab Not A Human Being with the most unnecessary sequel since Mannequin 2, Carter 4 (hated absolutely every single).

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www.anwarmorse.com
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I thought dude was going to be the next big black thing but dude doesn't seem to have any real discipline when it comes to crafting a quality album.


**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

too tough on the real 1)

however the cat got films, tv and a decade long career despite his personal situations, he still is on big songs so i wouldn't feel to bad for him.

i mean it ain't like his career was never the same such as SLick Rick and Shyne.

TI still got a pressence and he still can have a hit,etc.. and the cat still got hook love so i ain't hardly feeling to badd for him.

if he plays his cards right he can be the dirty south version of Snoop and the success of "Blurred Lines" reality tv and films and then albums,etc... keeps his paper trail coming in.

mistermaxxx R.Kelly, Michael Jackson,Stevie wonder,Rick James,Marvin Gaye,El Debarge, Barry WHite Lionel RIchie,Isleys EWF,Lady T.,Kid creole and coconuts,the crusaders,kc sunshine band,bee gees,jW,sd,NE,JB

Miami Heat, New York Yankees,buffalo bills

<--- Big Baller World Order

Just that he hasn't had enough songs at once to make impact. He's killed a good amount of features in the last two years, though

"Ball" was a dope New Orleans Bounce, "Twerkin" type of song, but that's not his lane...so it didn't really help him, even though it got some play.

I feel that he has more than enough fans to where he'll always be good whenever he makes something dope, similar to Snoop. But his solo shit just ain't been hittin.

------------------------------

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lol, sike
dude fell the fuck off. i feel like he was always kind of overrated anyway. ppl were desperate for a southern artist post outkast i think

~~~~~~

come up, and that was right after Outkast made a huge double album.

I feel there weren't as many major-huge Southern artists to go along with the number of hits they had coming, but no way they just felt like "hmm we need somebody to stand out...hey T.I!" Ludacris was more of that pick than T.I., but the "streets" always felt T.I. more.

------------------------------

50+ FREE Mixes on www.DJR-Tistic.com!

Twitter and Instagram - @DJ_RTistic

Let's not act like he's Chamillionaire.

TI's had a long career and is taking a back seat in order to push artists. Bob and Dro both have albums coming out this fall so TI can chill.

His last few albums weren't weed plates so the quality is there. However, the climate is starting to change.

No empathy for white misery (c) BDot

"root for everybody black haters say that's crazy, wow..."

trouble man debuted at #2 with 179,000 sold first week. T.I. just hasn't had any major major hits since "dead and gone" in 2009.

************************************************************

He needs to make better albums period. Stop living off the name and make some quality product. Fuck making a hit. Make a solid album,

******************************************
Falcons, Braves, Bulldogs and Hawks

Geto Boys, Poison Clan, UGK, Eightball & MJG, OutKast, Goodie Mob

>He needs to make better albums period. Stop living off the
>name and make some quality product. Fuck making a hit. Make a
>solid album,

Wasn't his best work by a long shot, but it's still a solid 3.75-4 star album. Still rapping his ass off, still had dope production, and only a few songs that weren't that dope. Tip is past his prime, but he's still a serviceable artist. I just think he's too far removed from the street life - as shown by his TV show, as Murph said - to really be believable in that realm. He should probably make a Jay/Nas-like transition and make his raps reflect his new life a little bit more. He tried that with Paper Trail, which was actually a really dope record, but it felt more pseudo-apologetic than some were willing to accept, which was why he went back to the gutter approach for Trouble Man.

Also, his sound hasn't really updated very much, so his music sounds a little dated. Too focused on bringing the "old" T.I. back.

----

https://weketchum.contently.com/

________________________________________
who gonna check me boo?!

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Exactly.....

GOAT of his era......long live Prince.....God is alive....

Also, I think the snitch thing that got him out of big numbers in those gun charges also hurt his credibility in terms of perpetuating his street persona. I've heard this argument brought up by numerous people and I think that is credible. To what extent?, idk but I do think that played a part in his career not being fully reaching it's potential. Just think, prior to that gun case, he was on top of the world. After those charges, he's been fighting to get back up that hill since.

it ain't like he is a new jack, dude is decade in the game, plus a film career.

ti is winning and trying to do that snoop part 2 act

mistermaxxx R.Kelly, Michael Jackson,Stevie wonder,Rick James,Marvin Gaye,El Debarge, Barry WHite Lionel RIchie,Isleys EWF,Lady T.,Kid creole and coconuts,the crusaders,kc sunshine band,bee gees,jW,sd,NE,JB

Miami Heat, New York Yankees,buffalo bills

Well..

He's on a number one hit.. like a HUGE record

I think that he just needs one of his own..

He had a trifecta with "what you know"... career was big enough, song was a smash, movie was coming out... and BOOM

You can't get that back... same with wayne.. he'll never be as big as pre-carter III

he is in the space where he needs a "drop it like its hot" .. a "comeback" record of sorts

Double 0
DJ/Producer/Artist
Producer in Kidz In The Hall
-------------------------------------------
twitter: @godouble0
IG: @godouble0
www.thinklikearapper.com

it's been what, a decade-plus on a major? including a four-to-six-year window where he was one of the top acts in rap. jail didn't help, but his sound also got old too.

Jay-Z and his 20 years of relevance is an *extreme* outlier. TI was never going to be that kind of star.

--------

and his album sold more than alot of the so called "stars" of rap now

http://twitter.com/Menphyel7


"F you Im better in tune with the Infinite"

Hit tv show, decent album sales, appearance on THE song of the yr to date....

And that house looks nice. And his kids are happy and healthy. And his wife. But that's aside. I was talking about his career - all he 'needs' is a hot single and he's right back on top.

fuck you.

>Hit tv show, decent album sales, appearance on THE song of
>the yr to date....
>
>And that house looks nice. And his kids are happy and healthy.
>And his wife. But that's aside. I was talking about his career
>- all he 'needs' is a hot single and he's right back on top.


I agree....

GOAT of his era......long live Prince.....God is alive....

pretty much both the highs and lows are a result of his hard work at making them happen

__________________________________________
CHOP-THESE-BITCHES!!!!
------------------------------------
Garhart Ivanhoe Poppwell
Un-OK'd moderator for The Lesson and Make The Music (yes, I do's work up in here, and in your asscrease if you run foul of this

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this is the type of shit i wanna hear when i'm driving slow through the city

---

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i see he going in the right direction

>i see he going in the right direction

the final product will be the same uneven paint-by-numbers product.

And really, this joint ain't anything that great either, just sounds better than Rihanna yodeling or Wyclef showing up.

This man made 'What You Know', 'ASAP', 'Be Easy', 'Still Ain't Forgave Myself', 'Top Back', 'Rubberband Man' during his prime which feels like forever ago.

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grand hustle could've been mmg, hell he had meek. bob do numbers but don't get the respect

i like that he's worked with guys like jake one, but otherwise beats been wack, especially the records with the dream

chainz/future

and concentrating his career on his show "ti and tiny" "the family hustle"

His albums started getting worse before he went to the jail the first time. Then after he came out, he started rapping that positivite, regretful bullshit and that was even worse. The second time the music got MUCH better. I like a 80/20 ratio of ignorance/foolish to positive as far as Tip's music goes. Trap Muzik, Tip's classic album as far as I'm concerned, followed this formula.

------------------------------------------

"And just because I smile they be thinking I be jokin..."


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it had some hits but was unbelievable and uneven at a time his was on supposed to be at his peak. Slow decline from there.

_______________________________________
Current Playlist:
2 Chainz - Daniel Son: Necklace Don
Logic - Bobby Tarantino
Folded Like Fabric - Luxeries EP
dvsn - Sept 5th
Drake - Views
Radiohead - A Moon Shaped Pool
Netsky - 3

yall saying hes done must not have heard
all thr features he killed this past yeaf
his verse on we in this bitch....or the all gold rmx........verse on big boi shit.. the entire trouble man which went hard as fuck and will go.down as one of his best
he really talkin about shooting niggas again...and its real lol cuz that nigga is not
rehabilitated at all
then he can switch it up to the pop flow at any time and murder the charts
yall aint listening

_______________________________________
touched like midas these bitch ass niggas they study and bite us.

I think its just simply father time is still undefeated....

T.I. gave us some great songs and moments, good albums, pretty much CREATED an entire genre (that Frankenstiened on him in my opinion, cats like Jeezy, Gucci and just about every southern street artist has took his templet and took him over with his own style).

..but he's like what 12 years deep in the game? it's just a new era now and the current listener is more into the newer wave of artist..


TIP is actually doing what he's supposed to be doing at this point in his career and age..he has a pretty loyal fanbase of the 25-35 year olds that remember him in his prime and will always check for him.
I think the Snoop comparison is actually a very accurate one because, The older crowd is starting to warm up to him from his TV Show and Blurred Lines, and if he makes the right moves that's the path that he can occupy (even be less 'cartoonish' than Snoop can be at times with it).

I think he still wants to have the streets though and I think it's too much stacked up against him credibility wise (snitch rumors, the VH1 show, other ATL street artist barking at him now that it's chinks in the armor) to have that all the way like he had in the past, it as far as having the streets on smash.

#PicABeat Audio Photo series. Where the beat is inspired by the photo.
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“I love these bitches, man. I really do.”
- Andre 3000

gangster BUT he took it to a whole another level of shittyness on takers...

he played the worst fucking villain i've ever seen in my life

Someone to give him direction and tell him when sh*t ain't hittin. Some artist don't need that. Some really do.

**********
"Everyone has a plan until you punch them in the face. Then they don't have a plan anymore." (c) Mike Tyson

And I don't think it's a coincidence the less TI started working with Toomp, the more the overall quality of his music dropped.

#PicABeat Audio Photo series. Where the beat is inspired by the photo.
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http://kingakai.com

“I love these bitches, man. I really do.”
- Andre 3000

http://i54.tinypic.com/2j51hj4.jpg

...he's making money in every avenue involved in...he's putting out great music... he ain't dominationg the radio like he used to, but he doesn't need to...

"yes, sometimes my rhymes are sexist, but you lovely bitches and hos should know i'm tryin to correct it"- hiphopopotamus