In early September, rapper T.I. was arrested along with his wife Tameka “Tiny” Cottle for drug possession in their vehicle. The drugs confiscated from the vehicle included marijuana and pills of ecstasy. Needless to say, T.I.’s jail sentence after being just recently released makes the album title King Uncaged loses most of its relevance. So T.I. changed the name of his sixth studio effort to No Mercy, either referring to his cold-blooded ruthlessness on the streets or the unrelenting tough treatment he’s experienced in the court system over the past few years. Let’s see what T.I. has to offer in our No Mercy album review.
Despite T.I.’s jail sentence and highly publicized miscues, he still remains one of the more intelligent rappers in the game. While Southern rappers are known for not putting an emphasis on lyricism, he’s one of the few artists to possess an SAT-like vocabulary. T.I.’s No Mercy album attempts to shed any perceptions that he is another sad case of exorbitant amounts of money with no true direction in life.
”You can be for certain nobody is perfect, but when you’re rich nobody gives a shit,” he says on the Dream-assisted title track. Even with the trail of zeros on his bank account statements, T.I.’s No Mercy album strives for the sympathy and understanding of his listeners. Redemption is key and on “Get Back Up” he teams up with Chris Brown, an artist who is seeking public forgiveness himself albeit for completely different reasons.
When not reminding us that he’s a convict with a conscience, T.I. shows that he’s still about the party tracks. The xylophone-filled “Amazing” featuring Pharrell has a subdued cool with minimal instruments. “Poppin’ Bottles” featuring Drake is straight pre-gaming before going to the club material. The most poignant moment on the record comes on “Castle Walls” with Christina Aguilera. The theme of money creating isolation rears its head again, but the song succeeds with Aguliera’s powerful chorus and exceptional production from London native Alex Da Kid.
Aside from T.I.’s jail sentence, there seems to be a black cloud following him lately, partly due to terrible judgment in choices and just plain bad luck. But what makes him special as an artist is that he doesn’t try to patch up his flaws and shortcomings. Even at his most boisterous, T.I. has a sense of humility that allows him to be relatable. In our No Mercy album review, we think the album is a scope into the last couple of chaotic years he has endured and documents another chapter in the life of Clifford Harris.
No Mercy album review
This album receives a PAR
Rating system:
P… Horrible
PA… Tolerable
PAR…Good
PARL… Kinda Great
PARLÉ… Classic
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