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In the opening seconds of Paper Trail’s first track T.I. calls to producer du jour DJ Toomp: “hey man they been waiting on this shit since “What You Know” huh?”. This utterance may be a subtle reference to Toomp’s absence from last year's T.I. vs T.I.P. and the accepted consensus that the album was a flop both critically and artistically in comparison to 2006’s triumphant King. It is doubtful though, that the man born Clifford Harris spent any time dwelling on this. Soon faced with the possibility of decades in the slammer for buying a militias worth of guns off the feds, T.I. undoubtedly had bigger problems to think about. Now, almost a year after getting busted, the Atlanta hustler has emerged with some community service under his belt, only a year of jail time ahead of him, and a sixth studio effort.

The first tracks of Paper Trail convey a pent up urgency obviously cultivated by the personal and professional turmoil T.I. experienced since King. On the directly vindictive “Ready For Whatever” he pleads, “yes officially I broke the law but not maliciously” and provides what we can imagine is an abridged version of his actual defense. As the final soliloquy of that song fades Paper Trail quickly shifts; Ludacris pops up seconds later and the celebrations begin. “On Top Of The World” sees T.I. and Luda basking in their success, on “Live Your Life” producer Just Blaze throws internet memes and Rihanna together along with some didactic moralizing from T.I.P while #1 single/ringtone “Whatever You Like” is mostly about providing his bitches with, um, whatever they like.

A scan of the track list evidences a departure from the gangsterisms that previously defined T.I. (and landed him in legal hot water). Notwithstanding the all-star team on “Swagga Like Us”, most of Paper Trail’s guests are pop stars. This ultimately divides the album between self-helmed declarations of perseverance and songs aimed straight towards the charts. At times he sounds like a motivational speaker and at others he approaches tracks with Snoop Dogg like apathy (two choruses with Patron shoutouts?!?), but predictably where T.I. shines is when his arrogant boasts are allowed to strut uninhibited alongside bangers from the likes Toomp and Swizz Beatz.

After mentally preparing for his looming year in the pen, T.I. solicits “My Love” co-conspirator Justin Timberlake to help lament his past on closer “Dead and Gone”. Mediocrities aside, Paper Trail sees Clifford Harris finish his grandest hustle: maturing from rap superstar to superstar and developing a self-awareness that makes a king worthy of his crown. However, if his trap star days are truly “Dead and Gone” one can only hope he does more with his future than complain about the paparazzi with Usher.