King (T.I. album)

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King
Studio album by
T.I.
ReleasedMarch 28, 2006 (2006-03-28)
Recorded2005
GenreSouthern hip hop
Length75:41
Label
Producer
T.I. chronology
Urban Legend
(2004) 		King
(2006) 		T.I. vs. T.I.P.
(2007)
Singles from King
  1. "What You Know"
    Released: January 28, 2006
  2. "Why You Wanna"
    Released: April 18, 2006
  3. "Live in the Sky"
    Released: September 5, 2006
  4. "Top Back (Remix)"
    Released: December 12, 2006

King (stylized as King.), is the fourth

studio album by American rapper T.I., released on March 28, 2006, through Grand Hustle Records and Atlantic Records. Recording sessions for the album took one and a half years to complete in late 2005 according to T.I. in an interview with MTV News. Production was handled by several high-profile record producers, including DJ Toomp, Just Blaze, Mannie Fresh, Swizz Beatz, Keith Mack, Travis Barker, The Neptunes, Kevin "Khao" Cates, Nick "Fury" Loftin, and Tony Galvin, among others. The album also serves as the soundtrack to T.I.’s feature film debut, ATL.[1][2]

The album debuted at number one on the US

hit singles "What You Know" and "Why You Wanna". It was certified gold in sales by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), following shipment in excess of 523,408 copies in the United States.[3] The RIAA later certified the album platinum.[4]

Upon its release, King received general acclaim from music critics, earning praise for its varied musical style, opulent production quality, and T.I.'s

Best Rap Solo Performance
, winning the latter for "What You Know". The album also appeared at the top of several publications year-end lists of top albums.

Background

King was originally set to be released as a soundtrack to T.I.'s film acting debut, ATL. However, due to recording a sufficient amount of material, he proceeded to prepare it as his fourth album as well. T.I. named the album after his son, Clifford "King" Joseph Harris III.[5]

Recording

T.I. confirmed work on his fourth solo album in a 2005 interview with MTV, where he revealed the title King.

Young Jeezy, T.I. stated that he had begun recording for the album.[7]
In late 2005, T.I. told
steroids."[10] T.I. stated that the album would show audiences that "my life is not all that it's cracked up to be".[11] T.I. attempted to recruit Jay-Z for a guest verse, but due to scheduling conflicts, Jay-Z was replaced by Common.[11]

Release and promotion

Leaks

After half of the songs of the album leaked on the Internet in early 2006, T.I. used the leaked tracks, plus a few more new songs to make an album titled Gangsta Grillz: The Leak, which came about after several songs from the King recording sessions leaked onto the Internet.[8]

Promo singles

"

Bubbling Under R&B/Hip-Hop Singles chart at number 11.[12] It featured Port Arthur's own UGK. It had small attention and has helped promote the album.[13]
The song is the remake of UGK's 1994 single "Front,Back,Side to Side" from their album
Making the Band 4 as the contestants did several dances to the instrumental version of this song. The three promotional singles garnered little attention, but helped to promote not only the album, but also ATL
.

Singles

"

Dirty South rapper Lil' Flip. The song is also played during the end credits of ATL. The song was a major smash during the spring of 2006. The RIAA certified the single double platinum.[20]

"

Got 'Til It's Gone with Janet Jackson and Find a Way with his group A Tribe Called Quest. The song was produced by Kevin "Khao" Cates. The RIAA certified the single gold.[20]

"

drugs, and even tuberculosis
. An alternate version exists with varied lyrics, due to the explicit nature of the original track. The alternate version does not also include the third verse. The song was produced by Keith Mack.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
URB
[30]
USA Today[31]

King received generally positive reviews from

Young Jeezy without the gravitas; he still hasn’t distinguished himself as an artist worth exploring past the singles. Thankfully, he’s packed album No. 4 full of singles, which might be just as good. His sonorous, self-assured drawl adds an air of unflustered authority to his alpha brags, and he pours it into unexpected patterns. What he’s best at is craft—woozy refrains and hypnotic rhyme schemes—and his fleet of beats is impeccable, highlighted by the four-minute epic “What You Know,” which laces imperious synths with an intriguing wistfulness. Throughout, producers Just Blaze, Swizz Beatz and DJ Toomp back T.I.’s self-deifying spiels with wild bombast: he’d seem a lot less kingly if it weren’t for his court."[24]

drums respectively. King isn’t complacent enough to act like all the wars are fought and all the gods are dead; T.I. sees his legacy and city very much up for grabs. A city, a scene and his legacy are unfinished, and while King won’t be T.I.’s last, or, hopefully, best section of his mosaic, it’s the perfection of his aesthetic thus far."[34]

misogynistic. Overall, a triumph."[37] The Austin Chronicle's Robert Gabriel stated "Respected from East to West like he was running the Mob," T.I. ascends the throne of rap regality on his fourth LP. Consistent as it is tenacious, King's effortless flow over top-grade beats comes courtesy of Mannie Fresh, Just Blaze, and DJ Toomp, and as the synth-laden 'What You Know' has already made the job of radio programmers that much easier, T.I.'s transcends flash-in-the-pan status with a swagger unmatched in hip-hop. T.I.'s Southern drawl bends pedestrian phrases into irresistible melodies hotter than the summer streets to come."[23]

Accolades

The album appeared on several music critics' and publications' end-of-year albums lists. Pitchfork placed the album at number 147 on their list of top 200 albums of the 2000s.[38] Spin placed the album at number 14 on its 40 Best Albums list for 2006.[39] Stylus Magazine placed the album at number 14 on its list of their Top 50 Albums of 2006.[40] Paste named it the 81st on its list of their Top 100 Albums of 2006.[41] Sia Michel of The New York Times named it the 9th best album of 2006.[42]

At the

Best Rap Solo Performance
for "What You Know".

Commercial performance

King debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, selling over 522,000 copies in its first week of release from the promotion of his debut film ATL and the smash single, "What You Know".[43] This became T.I. first number-one debut on the chart and his third top-ten album.[43] In its second week, the album dropped to number three on the chart, selling an additional 185,000 copies.[44] In its third week, slipped to number five on the chart, selling 136,000 copies that week.[45] In its fourth week, remained at number five on the chart, selling 86,000 more copies.[46] On April 25, 2006, the album was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of over a million copies in the United States.[4]

King attained respectable international charting. In

Canadian Recording Industry Association certified the album gold for sales of over 50,000 copies in Canada.[47]

Track listing

(NOTE: newer pressings of the album have removed all "skit" sections, including "The Breakup," "Pimp C Skit," and "Phone Call.")

No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."King Back"
  • Ernest Gold
DJ Toomp4:26

 • (co.) Co-producer

Japan bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
19."Drug Related"
  • Harris
  • Chad Hamilton
  • W. Hutch
  • R. Press
Chad "Wes" Hamilton3:41
Limited Edition DVD bonus track
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
3."Drive Slow (Remix)" (Kanye West featuring T.I., Paul Wall & GLC)
  • Harris
  • Kanye West
  • Paul Slayton
  • Leonard Harris
Kanye West5:18
iTunes bonus track
No.TitleProducer(s)Length
19."You Ain't Fly"Just Blaze3:47
20."Why You Wanna (Benztown Remix)"Khao3:50

Limited edition DVD

A limited edition of King was released, featuring a DVD. The DVD contained:

Sample credits

"King Back"

  • Excerpts from "Sting Of The Serpent" written and performed by Ray "Funky Trumpet" Davies[48]

"Front Back"

  • Contains a vocal sample from "Front Back Side To Side" performed by UGK[49]

"What You Know"

"I'm Talkin' to You"

"Why You Wanna"

"Get It"

"You Know Who"

  • "Fight Back" written & performed by Solomon Burke, off the Cool Breeze OST (blaxploitation movie)

"Hello"

"Drug Related"

  • Excerpts from "Love Me Back" written by Willie Hutch

"Drive Slow (Remix)"

  • Excerpts From "Wildflower" Performed By Hank Williams

Personnel

Credits for King adapted from

Allmusic.[56]

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[70] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[71] Silver 60,000*
United States (RIAA)[72] Platinum 1,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

See also

References

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  2. ^ ""ATL" Merges Music and Film with Big Results".
  3. ^ Katie Hasty (April 5, 2006). T.I. Rules As 'King' of Album Chart Archived August 17, 2016, at the Wayback Machine Billboard. Retrieved October 9, 2008.
  4. ^ a b "RIAA - Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Archived from the original on 2016-01-03. Retrieved 2009-03-01.
  5. ^ "Here's Why 'King' is T.I.'s Most Important Album". 29 March 2016. Archived from the original on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2017-01-29.
  6. ^ Crosley, Hillary (2005-04-20). "T.I. Squashes His Beef With Lil' Flip, Plans To Serve 25 To Life - Music, Celebrity, Artist News". MTV. Archived from the original on 2010-07-06. Retrieved 2012-02-27.
  7. ^ Reid, Shaheem (2005-11-04). "T.I., Young Jeezy Hitting The Road On Georgia Power Tour - Music, Celebrity, Artist News". MTV.com. Archived from the original on 2009-01-13. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
  8. ^ a b Reid, Shaheem (2006-01-10). "New T.I. Songs Leak — Swizz Beatz Calls Track With Tip 'A Whole 'Nuther Level' - Music, Celebrity, Artist News". MTV. Archived from the original on 2009-09-07. Retrieved 2012-02-27.
  9. ^ "Mixtape Monday: Nas' Ex Spills The Beans, T.I. Beats The Bootleggers". Mtv.com. Archived from the original on 2011-09-11. Retrieved 2012-02-27.
  10. ^ Tecson, Brandee J. (2006-02-06). "T.I. Says Grammy Noms Are Only The Beginning Of His 'Global Conquest' - Music, Celebrity, Artist News". MTV. Archived from the original on 2009-01-13. Retrieved 2012-02-27.
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  12. ^ Top Music Charts - Hot 100 - Billboard 200 - Music Genre Sales[dead link]
  13. ^ "'King' Of Rap". Billboard. March 26, 2006. Archived from the original on May 27, 2014. Retrieved 2008-10-21.
  14. ^ a b c d "King - T.I." AllMusic. 2006-03-28. Retrieved 2012-02-27.
  15. ^ a b c d allmusic ((( T.I. > Charts & Awards > Billboard Singles )))
  16. ^ "News". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 2008-07-24. Retrieved 2012-05-20.
  17. ^ MuchMusic.com | Holiday Wrap 2006 Archived January 14, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  18. ^ The Top 100 Tracks of 2006 | Pitchfork Archived February 20, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  19. ^ What You Know | Pitchfork Archived January 13, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  20. ^ a b RIAA T.I. gold & platinum dataRIAA. Accessed October 11.
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    CBS Interactive. Archived
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  22. ^ a b Kellman, Andy. "King – T.I." AllMusic. Archived from the original on January 27, 2011. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
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  24. ^ a b Weiner, Jonah. "T.I.: King". Blender. Archived from the original on June 24, 2007. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
  25. ^ Fiore, Raymond (March 31, 2006). "T.I.: King". Entertainment Weekly. p. 64.
  26. ^ Tardio, Andres (April 7, 2006). "T.I. – King". HipHopDX. Archived from the original on May 16, 2017. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
  27. ^ a b Breihan, Tom (April 4, 2006). "T.I.: King". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on October 22, 2016. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
  28. ^ Relic, Peter (April 5, 2006). "King". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on April 30, 2014. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
  29. ^ "Quick Cuts". Spin. 22 (5): 91. May 2006. Retrieved August 19, 2011.
  30. URB
     (136): 95. May 2006.
  31. ^ Jones, Steve (March 27, 2006). "T.I., King". USA Today. Archived from the original on October 26, 2012. Retrieved March 17, 2020.
  32. About.com
    . Retrieved on 2010-12-14.
  33. ^ Cibula, Matt (April 10, 2006). "T.I.: King". PopMatters. Archived from the original on May 15, 2008. Retrieved December 14, 2010.
  34. ^ McGarvey, Evan. Review: King Archived December 31, 2006, at the Wayback Machine. Stylus Magazine. Retrieved on 2010-12-14.
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  38. ^ Pitchfork staff (September 28, 2009). "The Top 200 Albums of the 2000s: 200-151". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on October 2, 2009. Retrieved October 1, 2009.
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  43. ^ a b "T.I. Rules As 'King' Of Album Chart". Billboard. April 5, 2006. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  44. ^ "Rascal Flatts' 'Gang' Takes Over No. 1". Billboard. April 12, 2006. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  45. ^ Chris Harris (April 19, 2006). "LL COOL J CAN'T KNOCK OUT BILLBOARD CHAMPS". MTV. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
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  47. ^ "Canadian Recording Industry Association (CRIA): Gold & Platinum - January 2005". Cria.ca. Archived from the original on 2010-03-25. Retrieved 2010-04-17.
  48. ^ ""King Back" Sample of "Sting of the Serpent". WhoSampled.com". WhoSampled. Archived from the original on 2016-11-27. Retrieved 2016-11-26.
  49. ^ "T.I. and UGK's "Front Back" Sample of UGK's "Front, Back and Side to Side". WhoSampled.com". WhoSampled. Archived from the original on 2016-11-27. Retrieved 2016-11-26.
  50. ^ ""What You Know" Sample of "Gone Away". WhoSampled.com". WhoSampled. Archived from the original on 2016-11-27. Retrieved 2016-11-26.
  51. ^ ""What You Know" Sample of "I Believe to My Soul". WhoSampled.com". WhoSampled. Archived from the original on 2016-11-27. Retrieved 2016-11-26.
  52. ^ ""I'm Talkin' to You" Sample of "Nobody Knows". WhoSampled.com". WhoSampled. Archived from the original on 2016-11-28. Retrieved 2016-11-27.
  53. ^ ""Why You Wanna" Sample of "Find a Way". WhoSampled.com". WhoSampled. Archived from the original on 2016-11-27. Retrieved 2016-11-26.
  54. ^ ""Why You Wanna" Sample of "Got 'Til It's Gone". WhoSampled.com". WhoSampled. Archived from the original on 2016-11-27. Retrieved 2016-11-26.
  55. ^ ""Get It" Sample of "Molla Tutto". WhoSampled.com". WhoSampled. Archived from the original on 2016-11-27. Retrieved 2016-11-26.
  56. ^ Credits: King. Allmusic. Retrieved on 2010-12-13.
  57. ^ "CANOE - JAM! Music SoundScan Charts". Jam.canoe.ca. Archived from the original on 2008-12-17. Retrieved 2011-02-23.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  58. ^ "Lescharts.com – T.I. – King.". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  59. GfK Entertainment Charts
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  61. ^ "T.I. Album History – Oricon". Oricon (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 2013-10-26. Retrieved 2010-12-30.
  62. ^ "Swisscharts.com – T.I. – King.". Hung Medien. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  63. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  64. ^ "T.I. Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
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  68. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Year End 2006". Billboard. Retrieved March 1, 2020.
  69. ^ "Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums – Year-End 2007". Billboard. Retrieved October 3, 2020.
  70. ^ "Canadian album certifications – T.I. – King". Music Canada.
  71. ^ "British album certifications – T.I. – King". British Phonographic Industry.
  72. ^ "American album certifications – T.I. – King". Recording Industry Association of America.

External links

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