The king’s back!!!!! T.I.’s fifth studio album, T.I. vs. T.I.P., finally leaked and it’s all I’ve been listening to today. I must say the album is HOT with tight productions and rap flow, but so far I don’t think it quite lives up to King or Urban Legend. I’ll give it time though, as I didn’t much care for King when it was released, but it’s one of my favorites now. The CD is split up into three “acts”; the first being songs by T.I.P., the second T.I., and the third T.I. vs. T.I.P. Let’s get on with the review…
01. “Act 1″ - produced by T.I. & Just Blaze (10/10) - the album kicks off with a bang with this introduction of T.I.P. All three “acts” on the CD have the same beat and it is easily the best beat here. I was pumped when I heard this. The next 6 tracks are from T.I.P.

02. “Big Shit Poppin (Do It)” - produced by Mannie Fresh (10/10) - first single off the album. This is classic T.I. (or should I say T.I.P. - I’m confused). Anyway, the beat by Mannie Fresh is straight on point. This joint is fire!

03. “Raw” - produced by Lil C (9/10) - Whoo! Love the flow on this one!! Tip brings it and the beat is sweet. Got a little repetitive, so I gave it a 9.

04. “You Know What It Is” - produced by Wyclef Jean (8/10) - second single, just released to radio. I wasn’t feeling this one at first; it’s not your typical T.I., but the more I listen to it the more it grows on me. The flow’s nice and the beat is a little contagious. Not sure if it’s single material though. There are better songs on here.

05. “Dope Man (featuring Young Jeezy)” - produced by Mannie Fresh (8/10) - at first I was like, “what is this?” Then 45 seconds into it, the beat kicks in and I’m nodding my head. This track is more laid back than Mannie Fresh’s usual productions and Young Jeezy adds some nice flavor to it.

06. “Watch What You Say to Me (featuring Jay-Z)” - produced by Khao (10/10) - this is the one I’ve been waiting for! Tip and Hov on the same track!! Love the beat and I love the flow. I almost strained my neck while boppin’ to it. I still can’t stop moving my head!! Jay is on point with this one. His verse is a lot better here than we’ve heard on the past few songs he’s been on lately. Hope they release this as a single!

07. “Hurt (featuring Alphamega & Busta Rhymes)” - produced by Danja (9/10) - my man Danja came through! This track is HEAT!! T.I.P. finishes off his set with a bang. Never heard of Alphamega before, but his rap is tight! Busta came through on this track as well. This song coulda been a 10 if it had a better hook, but still great!

08. “Act 2″ - produced by T.I. & Just Blaze (10/10) - same as Act 1, but introducing T.I. this time. The next 6 tracks are from T.I.

09. “Help Is Coming” - produced by Just Blaze (10/10) - Just Blaaaaze! That’s my man! This beat is SICK! And T.I.’s flow is wild, but I can’t tell the difference between T.I. & T.I.P. Anyway, this track will definately save hip hop.

10. “My Swag” - produced by Wyclef Jean (5/10) - why the hell did Wyclef get two tracks on this album? Not really feeling this just yet. Maybe it’ll grow on me. This song is a little more laid back and mellow.

11. “We Do This” - produced by The Runners (6/10) - this track is a little better than the last, but not by much. If this is T.I. though, please bring T.I.P. back!

12. “Show It To Me (featuring Nelly)” - produced by Black Mob (6/10) - something about having Nelly on a track kinda degrades it a little bit. The production on here is different that the rest of the album. Kind of a samba beat with some horns through the chorus. Not too bad though, but Nelly hasn’t changed his style since Country Grammar! Could have done without him.

13. “Don’t You Wanna Be High” - produced by The Runners (8/10) - ok, this is the T.I. that T.I.P. was talking about. This song screams mainstream Hollywood production. Nice laid back song though. I’m sure this will be a single eventually.

14. “Touch Down (featuring Eminem)” - produced by Eminem (8/10) - I’m not usually a fan of Eminem’s productions, even though I like his rap flow, but this song is alright. Definately like T.I.’s flow in this one. The hook is nice, but Em’s flow seems kinda lazy. Is he testing a new style? Sounds like he’s trying to blend in with the south!

15. “Act 3″ - produced by T.I. & Just Blaze (9.5/10) - again, same beat as Acts 1 & 2, BUT I had to drop this one a notch due to the content of the interlude. This is the introduction of T.I. vs. T.I.P. and it was just weird hearing T.I. talk to himself. Funny at times, but weird. But I guess that’s the whole gimmick of this album. Hahaha, this is some funny stuff! The last three tracks have both T.I. and T.I.P. battling it out.

16. “Tell ‘Em I Said That” - produced by Danja (8/10) - another track produced by my man Danja. The beat is tight, but nothing memorable. T.I.’s verses seem to just flow from one to the next though, with no hook or space to breathe. The song’s just alright.

17. “Respect The Hustle” - produced by Danja (7/10) - wow, Danja got three tracks on this album? The other two are better than this one. Nothing real special about this track. But it’s not bad.

18. “My Type” - produced by Lil C (9/10) - nice track to finish the album, this song is laid back and has a nice flow.

Overall, I give the album T.I. vs. T.I.P. an 8/10. There are some really good songs on here and overall the production is great, aside from a few songs. Originally, this was supposed to be a double album, with T.I. on one CD and T.I.P. on the other. T.I. supposedly recorded a bunch more songs and a lot of the ones I was hoping to hear got dropped from the retail release, which kinda disappointed me. Itunes is supposed to have two bonus tracks to download (No Sweat & You Ain’t Fly), but the songs I was hoping to hear were T.I. collaborations with Justin Timberlake, Akon, Lil Wayne, Akon, R. Kelly, and Andre 3000. Who knows, with the magic of the Internet, we may get to hear them someday. T.I. vs. T.I.P. will be released in stores July 3rd.