A&E

'Paper Trail'

T.I.

(Grand Hustle)

Clifford Harris Jr., the looking-good emcee named T.I., sounds grimmer here than on his other recent records. His rhymes are provocatively intimate and withdrawn, his overall sonic demeanor smaller than before. Recording mostly at home while awaiting trial for possession of machine guns can humble a man. So, too, can the sadness of a miscarriage. "I lost my partner and my daughter in the same year / Somehow I rise above my problems and remain here," raps T.I. during No Matter What. Death and detention lace his raps with newfound ardor and forlorn grace. Weirdly enough, it works. Right when Swing Ya Rag and Whatever You Like get ready for the obvious kink, they chill. "The old me is dead and gone," T.I. raps in rumination. Paper Trail shows a broken man with an openness few major-label rappers would allow.

- A.D. Amorosi,

Philadelphia Enquirer