Tale Of The (Mix)Tape: T.I. Finds Even More Redemption…In Jeezy We Trust

What Up! Tale of the Tape is back in your area, giving you what you need in this (mix) tape game. We cover artists from all over, from north to south, east to west. The search for music goes further than one coast or particular artist, and I try my hardest to make sure that you get rewarded for paying attention to Tale of the Tape each week. You know if it is utterly dope, I am bringing it to you raw and uncut. If it’s nasty, then I am going to shoot it down with better accuracy than a Navy Seal.   This week we remember T.I is going to be Gone Till November. Young Jeezy and his corporate thugs try to get us to believe In Shield We Trust 2. Hip-Hop bully 50 Cent takes a shot as The Undertaker. La the Darkman shows us what Living Notoriously could sound like. Last but not least, fem fatale Rece Steele makes a case for herself with It’s A Man’s World. Tale of the Tape is definitely cash like a drug dealer’s stash.   T.I Gone Till November Heavy Rotation   T.I seems to be in a push to get it all out of his system. For those with a short memory, T.I is about to go up north for his gun possession charges. Regardless of what you think about what his time should be, or the case specifics, you have to agree Hip-Hop will be at a loss until he returns. His latest, Gone Till November is full of music T.I has made since his platinum effort Paper Trail. His tracks with guests shine (“#1” & “Just Think”) and as usual, his party tracks are good listens (“Party Ain’t A Party”). One of the only knocks to this are the constant drops by the Trap-A-Holics. If you can ignore them, you are left with a pretty solid product.   Young Jeezy In Shield We Trust 2 Heavy Rotation   In Hip-Hop it must be an unwritten rule to bring your people on. Every star has done it in one way or another, whether by giving them mixtape shine to giving them the push to make whole albums. Young Jeezy isn’t any different, as his Corporate Thugs imprint has effectively been “put on” by the rapper. In Shield We Trust 2 is the next outlet to hear the CTE “movement”. The leader is quite impressive here (“Turn My Scale On”) as he continues to be Hip-Hop’s #1 dopeboy. The rest of the crew hold it down like Slick Pulla (“Gutta Butta”), Blood Raw(“Where Ya Swag At”), and Bama (“I Know How To Surf”). Jeezy gives his troops plenty of room to stretch their legs, and they don’t disappoint.   50 Cent The Undertaker Heavy Rotation   It’s undisputable at this point. 50 Cent is at his best when he is in the middle of some beef. It allows his comedic and terrorizing sides to shine, as he is just that relentless when it comes to whoever decided to match wits with him. Let’s be honest, he just isn’t as memorable when he isn’t steeped in some sort of high profile squabble. Hevehitta put together some of 50’s best disses (“Funeral Music” & “Tia Told Me”) as well as some important tracks that introduces us to the Queens MC (“How to Rob”). It just isn’t a basic compilation, it creatively paints the picture of his come up and later dominance in the game.   La The Darkman Living Notoriously Heavy Rotation   For someone who has only released one album, LA The Darkman has made his fair share of rounds within this industry. The Wu-Tang affiliated artist has made the leap from underground artist, to executive as the president of DJ Drama’s AMG music group. When he decides to release material, it’s often home to some hard hitting, gritty underground NY flow. Living Notoriously is no different, as it’s filled with some good rhymes (“La The Dark”), solid production (“Ya’ll Ain’t Ready”), and of course, DJ Drama doing his legendary drops. Like most other Gangsta Grillz, Living Notoriously is built for the car.   Rece Steele It’s A Man’s World Peep It   It has been a while since the femcee has had the type of mainstream shine that other eras had produced. While there may be more women doing it, it seems like none can really dig into the sales, respect and appeal that Lil Kim or Queen Latifah had. Hoping to step onto the national spotlight, artist Rece Steele already got the eyes of many winning VH1’s Miss Rap Supreme. Her first effort after being crowned, It’s A Man’s World, shows some lyrical dexterity (“Flow”) as well as some radio/club appeal (“Spend It On Me”). This won’t be a mixtape that holds down the fort too long, but it’s worth a listen.   TALE OF THE TAPE   Hit me – http://www.twitter.com/TheHonorableAT. If you know about a hot tape, want to drop comments about the column, or even if you just want to real some insightful tweets, get honorable.