T.I. is a man who has been more of an outspoken pop culture critic than he has been a rapper over the last little while. He angrily chastised Joel Osteen and Lakewood Church after they allegedly didn't open their doors to the victims of Hurricane Harvey earlier this month, as well as putting Lonzo Ball in his place for saying that "no one" listens to Nas and that Future and Migos are "real" hip-hop these days. Some controversial topics to be sure, but Tip has never been one to shy away from the polarizing issues. On top of all that, just as Ludacris did at the MTV Video Music Awards, T.I. is another "old-school" emcee who is hinting at some brand-new musical material that could be on the horizon for his fans.
Sharing two videos to his Instagram page earlier today (September 7th), T.I. previewed two new tracks for his followers. One is an uptempo number that was produced by Zaytoeven, inviting listeners to welcome themselves "back to the trap." The other video plays a snippet of a slightly more downtempo song, with a curious reference to how "little girls and little boys" can be the "dirtiest motherf**kers" they want to be. I don't want to pass judgement on that one, since I haven't heard the full-length record and those lyrics could very easily be taken out of context, but damn, it kind of sounds like like T.I. is living that Neverland Ranch lifestyle for a minute.
No further details were provided by Mr. Harris in the captions to the videos, but suffice it to say that it's a project that sounds close to be completed and ready for distribution to the public, both in stores and via streaming platforms. It also sounds like a welcome return to Tip's older sound, which helped accentuate both his flow and the sparkling production value on the vast majority of his records, especially his hit songs. What do you think? Is the world ready for more T.I.? Or is he in the same category as Nas is to Lonzo Ball, aka not "real" rap? Sound off below!
