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Zero 7
Stars indicate the most critically-acclaimed albums.
Paper Trail
Generally favorable reviews
Based on 19 critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
Based on 34 votes
Read user comments
Rate this album >
Album Info
Label: Grand Hustle/Atlantic
Release Date: 30 September 2008
Discs: 1 disc
Genre(s): Rap
Summary
The sixth album for the rapper features guest artists such as Ludicris, Rihanna, Usher, Jay-Z, kayne West, Lil Wayne, Justin Timberlake, and John Legend.
Also By This Artist: King T.I. Vs T.I.P.
Also On The Web: Official Artist Site
What The Critics Said
All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...
MSN Consumer Guide (Robert Christgau)
If you can't get with this expediently excessive piece of rich-get-richer, commercial rap albums are beyond your ken.
Read Full Review >RapReviews.com
With very little filler and a strong selection of songs from start to finish, the hype that this is potentially "album of the year" according to Atlantic Records may ACTUALLY be true.
Read Full Review >Entertainment Weekly
Despite his often earnest lyrics, the radio-friendly party anthems, flirty come-ons, collaborations with A-list pals (Rihanna, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Lil Wayne, Justin Timberlake), and outstanding production prove this beleaguered bad boy still knows how to have a good time.
Read Full Review >The Onion (A.V. Club)
A welcome return to form after the underwhelming, muddled concept album "T.I. Vs. T.I.P.," Trail is an uneven but oft-invigorating combination of velvet and grit, angst and celebration.
Read Full Review >Billboard
He's embodied literature's most popular archetype--the survivor--by transforming his woes into a reflective, enjoyable album.
Read Full Review >Boston Globe
Paper Trail tops them both [previous two albums] simply by being content driven, from the plot to the refined delivery.
Read Full Review >Paste Magazine
Even with the burden of sloppy crossover tracks, Paper Trail has enough standout moments for T.I.’s throne to remain secure for now.
Read Full Review >Blender
T.I. boats one of gangsta rap's most mellifluous voices and more polysyllabic lexicons, and when he combines the two, he's dazzling, hypnotic, virtuosic. [Dec 08/Jan 09, p.82]
All Music Guide
There is a sense of urgency and a new dimension of self-reflection not touched upon throughout the holding pattern that was "T.I. vs T.I.P."
Read Full Review >Sputnikmusic
More lyrical than Lil' Wayne and catchier than Young Jeezy, T.I. has once again proved the fact that he represents an excellent blend of lyrical talent and pop sensibility.
Read Full Review >cokemachineglow
Sequenced as the record is, with each personality dominating certain stretches of runtime, Paper Trail feels almost vaudevillian.
Read Full Review >Pitchfork
Paper Trail more often succeeds when the positivity sounds more earned than court-ordered.
Read Full Review >Rolling Stone
T.I. is still a bit too keen to remake his signature hit 'What You Know,' but songs like the clever 'I'm Illy' and the Just Blaze-produced stomper 'Live Your Life' find T.I. reconciling himself to his lot in life: he's a well-oiled hit machine who's more fun than deep.
Read Full Review >Slant Magazine
T.I.'s voice is still one of the best instruments in all of hip-hop, but the vapidity of his words is all the more pronounced after his audience has been waiting so long for him to say something interesting.
Read Full Review >The Guardian
His apparent claims to have had "no choice" in his most recent legal entanglement--attempting to procure machine guns from an FBI cooperating witness--do him little credit, but the skilled, catchy choruses of On Top of the World, Whatever You Like and current UK hit Live Your Life suggest he is still a strong "buy".
Read Full Review >The Wire
Though you'd be justified in hanging this writer for conflating person and persona, you're asked to contemplate the uneasy positivity that chacterizes Paper Trail's three mot popular songs. [Dec 2008, p.74]
Prefix Magazine
On what has been for the most part an impeccably executed commercial rap album, TI again reminds us what he’s really capable of.
Read Full Review >What Our Users Said
The average user rating for this album is 8.9 (out of 10) based on 34 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.
