On the day the hip-hop nation lost one of its beloved and prolific megastars, another one has returned.
Just hours after Lil Wayne was sentenced to one year in prison on weapons charges, T.I. gave the world notice that he's returning with a vengeance. The King of the South announced to a select group of DJs in a conference call that his new album is coming out on August 24 — and, as expected, he released his new single, "I'm Back."
"I ain't never let you down, I'mma shine on sight," Tip raps on the song. "Keep your mind on your grind and off of mine's, all right?/ Hard, I'mma ball on those squares, I flow/ A quarter million dollar cars everywhere I go ... No matter what they doin' they don't do it like me ... recognize I'm back."
Later in the first verse, Tip lays the fiery, brash delivery he's beloved for.
"You ain't got a pimp bone in your body," Tip chastises, throwing thunder at fraudulent MCs. "I can tell you ain't never bought a key or caught a body/ N---a probably just seen Wayne, Gucci Mane, me and Boosie all go to prison/ Now he flip his whole image/ N---a trippin'/ Listen, dude, for you that ain't in the cards." The song was helmed by new Grand Hustle producers the Trackslayerz, and is available for download at T.I.'s Web site.
An hour before the song hit the Internet, Tip held the conference call, for which he did not take questions but reflected on the song and announced his album's release date, according to audio of the call posted on DJ Judge Mental's Web site. There is a title for the LP, but he declined to reveal it.
"I appreciate the support and how hard I was going in during the brief hiatus," Tip said. "The support don't go unnoticed and I don't take it lightly. This marks a special day for us, because we putting out the first song off the album — not an official first single, just something to keep the streets warm. It's properly entitled 'I'm Back.' It's a lot of things that needed to be spoken on. In my absence, it was a lot of things that went down, a lot of matters that needed to be addressed. This was the greatest platform for me to do it. It was the first song I did when I came home. You get me fresh out the box going in. I'm sure you guys will enjoy it."
Tip spoke for a little over three minutes. He said that he should be traveling from city to city this summer.
"It ain't gonna be long before all this is behind me," he promised, referring to his prison sentence on weapons charges, which is expected to end within the next few weeks; he was released to a halfway house in December and last month made his first public appearance since heading to prison. "Middle of April, beginning of May. Y'all gonna start seeing me. Y'all already know, once again it's on. Like we always do this time."
The call ended with a final pledge of excellence from Tip.
"As long as there is air in my esophagus, champ, I'mma keep going," he said. "Nothing is gonna stop that. Nothing short of a 12 gauge is gonna stop me from doing what I do, champ. I just wanna say thank y'all and we gonna keep movin' on."
T.I. Says He's 'Reppin' ' For Lil Wayne While He's In Jail
'His daughter and my daughter, they're real, real close,' Tip says.
T.I. says he'll always have Lil Wayne's back. Just a few short months ago, Tip was in Wayne's shoes, having to put his career on hold and telling his loved ones goodbye while he served time in prison.
"Yeah, I speak to him. Sure," Tip said earlier this week in the MTV Newsroom when asked if he's in contact with Weezy. Tip said their relationship is a lot deeper than trading 16 bars on each other's songs.
"Well, his daughter and my daughter, they're real, real close," Tip explained. "My daughter spends the night with them, his daughter comes to spend the night with us. I told him, 'Whatever I can do. Whatever it is that's within my power' ... I know how it is with kids, especially with a period of time like that.
"Even though it may seem like a short time — to the media, it may seem like 'He got off easy'; to everybody, it may seem like 'It's only a couple of months' — to a child, that's an eternity," he continued. "So I'm like, 'Whatever I can do, it's all good.' I just let him know there's people out here who's still reppin' for him, people who will go above and beyond to do whatever needs to be done."
While sitting down with MTV News, Tip also revealed that while he was incarcerated, Eminem was a peer that supported him.
"Especially since I went through my situation [with having to go to prison]. [He would] just kinda remind me that 'I've been through dark period in my life too. You're gonna make it. You're one of the ones we need, so you're gonna make it. Stand tall and walk the walk,' " Tip said. "He just made it a point to always reassure me of the spot that I hold in this thing that we got called hip-hop. It was incredibly helpful. It was incredibly noble of him, in my eyes, to even take the time out to reach out to me. We continue to stay in touch," Tip said. "He wrote me since I was in the joint. We've spoken several time since I've been back home. We maintain a healthy relationship."
Next up, Tip is releasing a project straight to the streets and Internet on Thursday — for free. It's called F--- a Mixtape and is hosted by DJs Drama and MLK. Lil Wayne guests on the project.
T.I. On Collaborating With Lady Gaga, Eminem
Songs are among the 80 tracks in contention for Tip's King Uncaged LP.
There can never be a lack of star power on a T.I. album, because even standing alone, the King of the South shines just as bright as any celeb in the music cosmos. He's recorded 80 songs thus far for King Uncaged (due August 17), and while there's no official track listing for the LP as yet, Tip did reveal a list of some of his peers who have been collaborating with him. None of those tracks, however, are guaranteed to make the cut.
"I'm kinda doing a bit of the sequence," Tip said. "Of the 80 songs I have, I'm trying to filter out what may remain."
Atlanta's lyrical emperor recorded a tune with Kid Rock that pays homage to Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead or Alive" (Just Blaze produced that one). The-Dream checks in on "Show Me Your Tears," as does Keri Hilson on "I Got Ya Back." Tip and Trey Songz did a song that will probably be called "Strip." Lady Gaga has even laid down vocals for the LP.
"Phenomenal talent. Extremely proud [to work with her]. She's definitely that good. She knows what she's doing. She knows exactly what she wants people to think and say. She does everything that she needs to be done to ensure it happens. I think she's an entertainer, in all aspects of the word," Tip said of working with the Gaga. "She's a classic, all-around entertainer. A global star."
When asked about the name of his Gaga collaboration, the King couldn't contain his laughter. "See, this is the thing: We gonna go back in and record some more songs," he began explaining. "But the one we have right now is titled 'Lick It.' I think we both have a tendency to shock the world in a lot of different ways.
"I just tuned in to another side of T.I.," he added of his approach on the record. That song is produced by Gaga's ace beat man, Red One.
Tip has also been in the lab with his Grand Hustle family. " 'Knock Down, Drag Out' featuring Young Dro and Mac Boney," he answered when asked to reveal another collabo. "[It is an] up-tempo club record where we all take turns going hard. It's going to be a fan favorite."
Tip says he and Eminem have grown to become good friends and they have agreed on one particular song — which shall remain nameless for now — for a duet. "It's in the making," Tip said of the song. "It just hasn't been recorded yet. The song has been picked out and it's been agreed for us to do it. We're thinking a song that can definitely make its way to the club."
Tip also has an impressive list of artists come over just to listen to some of his material. Diddy, Drake, Nicki Minaj and Wale have all heard some of King Uncaged, and Tip says he's received accolades for how "big" the songs are sounding.
On Monday night, Tip released another single from his album. This one is called "Yeah Ya Know (Takers)," which will be used in the film "Takers." It follows the recently released "I'm Back." T.I. is also looking to drop his mixtape F--- a Mixtape on Thursday.
What do you think of T.I.'s new tracks? Can you imagine his collaboration with Lady Gaga? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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