Trap Muzik

Background

Due to the poor commercial reception of his debut album I'm Serious (2001), T.I. asked for a joint venture deal with Arista Records or to be released from his contract; he was subsequently dropped from the label. He then formed his own record label,Grand Hustle Records, with his longtime business partner Jason Geter, and began releasing mixtapes with the assistance of one of his DJ's, DJ Drama.

T.I.'s mixtapes eventually earned attention from record labels such as Warner Bros. Records, Universal Records, Epic Records, and Columbia Records. T.I. ultimately signed a joint venture deal with Atlantic Records that year.

Context

"It's called trap music," T.I. explains. "So you know it's gonna be dealing with all aspects of the trap. And if you don't know what the trap is, that's basically where drugs are sold. In this country, the majority of us live in a neighborhood where drugs are sold, whether we like it or not. Whether you in the trap selling dope, whether you in the trap buying dope, whether you in the trap trying to get out - whatever the case may be, I'm trying to deal with all aspects of that lifestyle." T.I. also stated his second album shows more insight than his first: "It's the same thing, as far as trap music," he says. "Yeah it's trap music. But it's another outlook on the trap. Before, trappin' was cool, but now trappin' ain't cool. It's necessary for some, but no, it ain't cool - even if you a hustler. All the hustlers I know - sellin' dope is the last thing they wanna do. If you a real hustler, you gon' move on to bigger and better things."

Production

Producers for the album include DJ Toomp, Benny "Dada" Tillman, Carlos "Los Vegas" Thornton, David Banner, Jazze Pha, Kanye West, Nick Fury, San "Chez" Holmes, and Ryan "LiquidSound" Katz.

Singles

"24's" was the first official single to be released from Trap Muzik. The single entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 78, it charted at number 27 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and at number 15 on the Hot Rap Tracks chart. "Be Easy" was the second official single from the album, peaking at number 55 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The single was Produced by DJ Toomp.

"Rubber Band Man" was the third official single from the album. Upon release, it charted reasonably well, peaking at number 30 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. It charted at number 15 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and at number 11 on the Hot Rap Tracks chart. David Banner's production was noted by music reviewers, particularly the ascending organ riff that has been described as 'hypnotic' and 'pure halftime show'. The song is included in the hits collections Totally Hits 2004, Crunk Hits Volume 1, and Hip Hop Hits Volume 9. T.I. says the song's title is a reference to his habit of wearing rubber bands around his wrist, a habit that dates back to when he was a drug dealer. Publicity efforts for the single were derailed by T.I.'s arrest in August 2003.

"Let's Get Away" was the fourth and final official single from the album. The single entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 35, it charted at number 17 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, at number 10 on the Hot Rap Songs chart, and at number 16 on the Rhythmic Top 40.

Critical reception

Upon its release, Trap Muzik received generally favorable reviews from most music critics. Most critics saw it as a major improvement over his first album, I'm Serious. According to About.com, Trap Muzik is the highest rated T.I. album to date. In 2010, Rhapsody called it one of the top "coke rap" albums of all time. Entertainment Weekly claimed that "This Atlanta rapper's self-coronation as King of the South is belied by the very ordinariness of his lyrics and flow. Only when T.I. breaks from his static Southern comfort zone does he distinguish himself. Let's Get Away interpolates Aretha for a satisfying slice of G-funk, and the introspective No Mo Talk offers a glimpse of greatness for a would-be king." Rolling Stone gave the album a 3 out of 5 stars, saying "[T.I.] is a hustler with a conscience and a heart....[T]he limber linguist is at his best when he's dissecting the minutiae of the game..." Prefix Magazine praised David Banner and Kanye West's production.

Commercial performance

Trap Muzik achieved commercial success. The album debuted at number 4 on the Billboard 200 selling 109,000 copies on its first week, and was certified gold. Trap Muzik has sold well over 1.7 million copies since its 2003 release in the United States and was certified as Platinum by The Recording Industry Association of America.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits for Trap Muzik adapted from Allmusic.