A full month before the release of his upcoming studio album Trouble Man and right after the ball dropped on the New Year, ATL rapper T.I. (aka Tip) released the mixtape F-ck Da City Up to the public, his first project since being released from prison a few months ago. and guess what? It is FREE! So does him releasing a high profile item like this for free necessarily mean it is good?
I am please to report that I have rather enjoyed this album. I actually had to listen to it a few times in its entirety over the last few days just to be sure it really was T.I. that I was listening to since his previous studio album (No Mercy) was almost my choice for the most underwhelming album of 2010.
We start out strong in this effort, with a little intro featuring Tip hyping up the album before leading into the very exciting “F-ck Da City Up” featuring Young Jeezy and from there the songs have held my attention. “Hot Wheels” features a side of group Travis Porter that I actually did not find annoying, “This Time of Night” has one of the catchiest lines I have heard in weeks (“This time of night aint nothing open but legs”) but the crown jewel in this album has to be the Dre produced and featured “Popped Off” that served as a closer to the mixtape. Seriously, the guests on the tracks looks like a Who’s Who of up and coming rappers. Just look at the track listing below.
Besides the quality of T.I.’s raps I was very weary about this mixtape for a whole other reason before I pressed play; the DJ. I have heard great songs absolutely RUINED because some ass wants to get a little more recognition for himself by talking over an entire song “hyping” up the crowd listening to it as they are on their comute or playing box or whatever. That is an absolute deal-breaker that I am happy to report is 100% lacking on this album.
In the end it is a good album and it leaves me excited for T.I.’s official studio album Trouble Man schedules to release in February. Did this mix f-ck the city up as advertised? No but it sure is at red alert.
Since this is a free album why don’t you be the judge and tell us what you think in the comments below? Click HERE for the album’s hosted site and check out the trailer below.
Track Listing:
01. F*ck Da City Up (Intro) (1:36)
02. F*ck Da City Up (Feat. Young Jeezy) [Prod. By Chuck Deisel] (4:29)
03. Hot Wheels (Feat. Travis Porter & Young Dro) [Prod. By T-Minus] (4:50)
04. Loud Mouth (Feat. 2 Chainz) [Prod. By Valentino Khan] (4:45)
05. On Purpose (Feat. Trouble & Rich Kidd Shad) [Prod. By Jazzy & Mex Manny] (4:10)
06. Stunt’n Like A Fool [Prod. By Chizz] (3:39)
07. Pimp (Feat. Pimp C & Too Short) [Prod. By Cavi] (4:00)
08. This Time Of Night (Feat. Nelly) [Prod. By Mars] (4:00)
09. In A Nutshell (Feat. Lady G & Spodee) [Prod. By Will] (4:03)
10. Jeezy Speaks (Interlude) (2:09)
11. Who What When (Feat. Meek Mill & Yung Booke) [Prod. By Toomp] (3:37)
12. The One [Prod. By Manny Fresh] (3:18)
13. Piss’n On Your Ego (Feat. B.o.B) [Prod. By Lil C] (4:08)
14. Harry Potter (D.O.P.E. Feat. T.I.) [Prod. By Hit Boy] (4:43)
15. I See Ghost’s (Feat. Future & Rocko) [Prod. By Lil C] (4:51)
16. I’ll Show You (Feat. Pusha T) [Prod. By Cut The Check] (3:31)
17. Oh Yeah (Feat. Trey Songz) [Prod. By Just Blaze] (4:03)
18. Popped Off (Feat. Dr. Dre & DJ Drama) [Prod. By Dr. Dre] (3:43)
19. F*ck Da City Up (Outro) (5:08)