His mom advises, “Everything that shine ain’t a diamond” (“Freak Though”). He recites The Lord’s Prayer (“Prayin’ for Help”) and says, “If God with me, who could be agin’ me” (“Motivation”).
Aside from claiming God’s protection, T.I. seems to have no use for biblical truth. He’s a vicious thug who boasts that he possesses “the spirit of God, heart of a dope dealer” (“Motivation”). Gangsta violence includes a drive-by shooting on “Stand Up” (“Pull up in the Chevy spraying rounds through the glass/See you laying face down in the grass and I laugh”). “Countdown” says, “I’ll kill you if I want to.” The stickered disc contains countless f- and s-words. A half-dozen tracks glamorize marijuana, pills or cocaine. T.I. brags about selling drugs (for which he did time) as well as using them. “Chillin’ With My B****” combines pot with tequila, beer and piña coladas “with a double shot of rum.” Graphic sexual remarks involve strip clubs (“Bring Em Out”), casual encounters (“Countdown”), oral sex (“The Greatest”), erections (“Freak Though”), bisexuality (“Limelight”) and lewd commentaries about ejaculation (“Get Loose,” “What They Do”).
Clifford J. Harris Jr. made headlines in 2004 for filming a rap video in jail. His pompously perverse attitude toward sex, drugs and thug violence is the stuff of Urban Legend. Let T.I. stand for “totally inappropriate.”
