This article is about the album. For a definition of the term "paper trail", see the Wiktionary entrypaper trail.For the video game, seePaper Trail (video game).
Paper Trail is the sixthstudio album by American rapperT.I., released September 30, 2008, onGrand Hustle Records andAtlantic Records. He began to write songs for the album as he awaited trial for federal weapons and possession charges. Unlike his past albums, he wrote his lyrics down on paper, which he had not done since his debut album,I'm Serious (2001).
The album debuted at number one on the USBillboard 200, selling 568,000 copies in its first week, becoming T.I.'s highest debut sales to date, and the fourth highest debut of the year. The album was eventually certifieddouble platinum by theRecording Industry Association of America (RIAA). It received generally favorable reviews from critics, and is T.I.'s most successful to date.[1] The album spawned eight singles, four of which peaked within the top five of theBillboard Hot 100, with two singles peaking at number one.
On November 12, 2007, while awaiting a trial for federal weapons charges, T.I. announced he had been writing songs for a new album to be entitledPaper Trail. He wrote his lyrics down on paper, which he had not done since his debut album,I'm Serious.[2] The album highlights his "fear, anger and guilt" as he awaited trial.[3]
T.I. recorded nearly 100 tracks during the production forPaper Trail,[4] including a collaboration withFall Out Boy on a track entitled "Out in the Cold".[5] However the song was left out of the final cut, but T.I. toldMTV that he may add some of the cut tracks to his next album.[6] On August 22, 2008, the songs "Like I Do" featuringThe-Dream, "Let My Beat Pound", "My Life Your Entertainment" featuringUsher, and "Swagga Like Us" were allleaked online.[7]
The album was scheduled to be released in September 2008, but was subsequently moved up to an August 12 after the release of the promotional and lead single "No Matter What" and high demand of the album. At the time, T.I. said that the first single may have been "Top of the World", originally featuringB.o.B andLudacris, explaining that the song was "a reflective song about our humble beginnings and how far we've come".[8] The album was pushed back for a release date of September 2, then September 9 and to its final release date of September 30, 2008, in the US.[9] The album was first released on September 29, 2008, in continental Europe.[10]
The firstsingle released from the album was a song titled "No Matter What". It was posted on StreetCred's website on April 29, 2008, as apromotional recording, then released as a single on May 6, along with amusic video, which he premiered onMTV'sFNMTV.[11] The song narrates T.I. rising above his misfortunes, including a prison sentence for weapon charges.[12]
On August 19, 2008, the album'slead single "Whatever You Like", was made available for digital download.[11] The song reached number one on theBillboard Hot 100 on September 6, 2008, and set a new record for biggest one-week jump to the top position, going from number seventy-one to number one, becoming his first number one song on the chart as a lead artist and best opening-week sales by a rap track sinceNielsen SoundScan began compiling download data in 2003.[13] T.I. announced that he was "ecstatic" and "overjoyed" after setting a record for the biggest jump to top of theBillboard Hot 100.[14]
The album's seventh single, "Live Your Life" featuringRihanna, broke T.I's own record for biggest leap to number one, when it jumped from number eighty to number one on the Hot 100, giving T.I. his second Hot 100 number one as a lead artist, and Rihanna her fifth overall. The song also set a first week digital record, when it sold 334,000 digital downloads in its first week of availability, a record that was previously held byMariah Carey's "Touch My Body."[16]
The eighth single was confirmed to be "Dead and Gone" featuringJustin Timberlake, by the song's co-producerRob Knox.[17] T.I. himself later confirmed the release of the single.[18] The song was charted byBillboard before the announcement of the single. The song reached number two on theBillboard Hot 100 on February 27, 2009.[19] Overall, eight songs from the album charted on theBillboard Hot 100, including "56 Bars (Intro)", "I'm Illy" and "My Life Your Entertainment", despite not being singles. Amusic video was released for the song "Slide Show" which highlighted a photo collage that followed T.I.'s career as a recording artist. The track "Every Chance I Get" was featured on the promotional trailer forArmored starringColumbus Short.
Paper Trail was met with positive reviews.[30] AtMetacritic, which assigns anormalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received anaverage score of 74, based on 19 reviews, which indicates "generally favorable reviews".[30] Several critics praised the production on the album; Andy Kellman ofAllMusic noted thatDJ Toomp's andDanja's production appearance provided "some much needed punch", which placed the album above T.I.'s previous album,T.I. vs. T.I.P..[20] Margeaux Watson ofEntertainment Weekly said that the "outstanding production" proved that T.I. "still knows how to have a good time".[24] Wilson McBee ofSlant Magazine called the songs produced by Toomp the "vintage T.I.", describing the sound as "ecstasies of sweltering synth lines, ground-shaking 808 patterns and breathless verbalizing".[28] However, McBee felt that the songs that were directly about T.I.'s prison sentence for weapons charges ("No Matter What", "Ready for Whatever") were among the weakest on the album, saying that "admitting guilt, making excuses and expressing no regrets falls flat".[28] Sharing a similar sentiment, Jody Rosen ofRolling Stone called the songs "mostly dispenses with theTupac-wannabe gangsta-confessor pretensions to deliver catchy, tight, bombastic pop-rap alongside a who's-who of megastar guests", saying that T.I. was a "well-oiled hit machine who's more fun than deep".[27]
Newsday's Glen Gamboa gavePaper Trail a B rating and commented that "[T.I.] is still bouncing between pop-leaning hip-hop anthems [...] and spare, often violent, tales of crime and brutality".[31] Michael Saba ofPaste said that, "Even with the burden of sloppy crossover tracks,Paper Trail has enough standout moments for T.I.’s throne to remain secure for now."[32] Shannon Barbour ofAbout.com said that, "Regardless of the outcome of reality, Paper Trail is a solid combination of rhyme, repentance, swagger and substance."[33]People magazine gave the album four out of four stars, saying that the album was "a near-perfect hip-hop album for 2008."[34] In his consumer guide forMSN Music, criticRobert Christgau calledPaper Trail an "expediently excessive piece of rich-get-richer" and gave it an A− rating,[23] indicating "the kind of garden-variety good record that is the great luxury of musical micromarketing and overproduction. Anyone open to its aesthetic will enjoy more than half its tracks".[35]
According toNielsen SoundScan,Paper Trail sold 357,000 copies in the United States in the first three days of its release.[36] Ultimately, the album debuted at number one on the USBillboard 200 chart, selling 568,000 copies in its first week.[37] This became T.I.'s third consecutive US number one debut and the fourth highest debut of 2008. In its second week, the album remained at number one on the chart, selling an additional 177,000 copies.[38] In its third week, the album dropped to number two on the chart, selling 131,000 more copies.[39] In its fourth week, the album dropped to number three, selling 93,427 copies.[40] The album ended up spending a total of 55 weeks on the chart.[41] On August 26, 2009, the album was certifieddouble platinum by theRecording Industry Association of America for sales of over two million copies.[42]
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