Swagger is more than a concept in hip-hop; it’s a trait inherent in any artist with pride in his rhyme skills who has earned the right to boast about being an MC. Every artist who has impacted hip-hop in the past thirty years of the art form has presented some element of swagger. From Run DMC and LL Cool J to Jay Z and Kanye West, swagger is a form of behavior that has encompassed the better part of three decades of rap music.
T.I. is more than the latest rap artist to boast of his swagger, he’s the most promising. If Jay Z, (who boasts of walking like a ballplayer) is the Michael Jordan of swagger, T.I. is the LeBron James, exhibiting the same knockout punch of God-given ability and effervescent creativity as LeBron (only in a much different endeavor). He has even dubbed himself as The King (of the South), which is comparable to LeBron, who’s renowned as King James.
As T.I. proves on “Paper Trail,” he’s a legitimate superstar in his own right, well deserving of all the swagger he exhibits on the mic. “Paper Trail” is much more than an affirmation of one artist’s vanity, it is the best rap album of the year (so far) and the best of T.I.’s career.
T.I.’s lyricism on “Paper Trail” focuses, for the most part, on his well documented legal troubles, offering a startling depiction of an artist repentant for his mistakes but contemplative and hopeful while facing an uncertain future. As the chart-topper with Rihanna proves, T.I. just wants to “Live his Life” as one thankful for what he has in life and ever hopeful that good things are still to come. “Paper Trail” is just that, a “paper” trail blazing record deserving of all the success it garners for hip-hop’s most promising and troubled artist.
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