“Live Your Life”’s lyrical encouragement to not let all the negativity cramp your style was nice and all, but let’s not be foolish. The main source of this record’s appeal had little to do with T.I.’s positive spewings and all to do with Rihanna’s ice queen warbles, the larger-than-life pop production and that damn “Dragostea din tei” sample.
So with that being said, it’s not all that surprising that with a lacking of all those aforementioned elements, garage-pop-ster Just Jack’s recent Live Lounge acoustic cover of the tune falls a bit flat (or maybe it’s simply because his consonant-omitting accent just feels totally awkward in place of T.I.’s fluid flow).
You know you’re one of the hip hop world’s top dogs when everyone is scrambling to remake or reconfigure your records while they’ll still dominating the airwaves. Below, check out a couple recent instances of artists putting their own unique spin on T.I.’s 2008 double-dose of smash, “Whatever You Like” and “Live Your Life”:
-First up, head on over to Paste Magazine and peep California singer-songwriter Anya Marina serving an acoustic rendition of “Whatever You Like” that makes the over-played bouncer sound fresh again.
Reincarnating T.I.’s sing-song flow with her delicate coo and low register moans, the straight-forward cover (she retains it’s male perspective) is all kinds of cute, making us wish that she could do an entire album’s worth of these Lilith Fair-ian-styled rap remakes (until then, check out her non-T.I.-associated, yet still fine, tunes on her latest album, Slow & Steady Seduction: Phase II).
-Next up we have R&B-pop newcomer Mateo, whose recent mixtape release Underneath The Sky crafts engaging romance tales over beats both new and familiar (808s and Heartbreak is swiped from twice). Of the five cuts featured, the track making the most noise around the blogosphere is “Get Out Of My Mind”, which sees him divulging the difficulty of getting over an ex atop the instrumental to T.I.’s “Live Your Life”.
“Stay out my door/ And I’ll be just fine,” he asserts to his own lingering memory of the former lover. But that’s easier said than done, especially since he’s unable to even shake off the imagined scent of her perfume, much less the heart pangs he still suffers for her.
Download the rest of Skyhere and become acquainted with even more excellent displays of Mateo’s dreamy pipes and vivid pen game (Mixtape Maestro’s favorite, the mesmerizing love ballad “Oooh N Love”, quickly positions this cat as one threat Ne-Yo should really be watching out for).
T.I. and Ri-Ri’s “Live Your Life” might not have yet reached that point where if you hear it again you’ll shoot yourself in the head, but it’s coming dangerously close. Enter Dallas Austin, who thanks to this beefier remix of the chart-topper, pushes that imminent moment a little further in the future.
With heavy drums and blaring synths, this “turn it up to 11″ take pushes “Life” to stadium-size proportions (which, honestly, is only slightly bigger than every other T.I. single).
From the moment T.I.’s “Whatever You Like” first laid on ears, it was clear that it was going to be one of those records to get an overwhelming amount of mainstream radio spins (and thus become highly annoying in rapid time). Taking the widescreen sonic palette of previous Tip singles and pushing it to bubblegum pop-rap heights, the sing-song ditty landed as a sort of sister-like entry to Weezy’s “Lollipop” (especially with both being helmed by producer Jim Jonsin).
Re-tooling it’s cool, molasses pace for easier club floor accessibility, dance beatsmith Alan Astor underlines it with a quicker thrust while bedazzling it with even more synth layers and a celebratory mood, perfectly prepositioning the tune to become a no-brainer, strike-of-midnight New Years Day DJ staple.
TI. Kanye West. Jay Z. Lil’ Wayne. Together on the same track!!??!! Atop a M.I.A. “Paper Planes” sample!!??!! We know we’re a bit late on this, but it still seems just too damn good to be true. Alas this box office blockbuster of 2008’s hip hop hierarchs is real, and to bite a bit off the voice modified words of Kanye: “It’s the shit and the urine”.
Of course, if you want be nit-picky, you can moan over West and Weezy’s waaaaay past tiresome T-Pain-isms, how annoying the MIA loop gets after awhile, or the fact that until TI pops up for his rightfully track-owning final verse, the rhymes previously dropped feel a little anemic. But come on, don’t act like hearing this pow-wow of adored tastemakers doesn’t give you a knot in your jeans; and we’re not talking about the kinds of “knots” that “jockin’ jockin’” Jay Z is referring to either.
When you’re a major rapper facing federal weapons charges and isolated under house arrest for months, it’s highly expected for your new recordings to be your richest material yet. For the stellar “No Matter What”, T.I. shines with a bravura performance filled with enough inspiring resilience to leave you in silent awe long after the tune’s fadeout.
While no one could question the swaggerific emcee’s skills and unwavering status as one of the top guest star picks in the game, T.I. had definitely lost some of his hunger on 2007’s T.I. vs. T.I.P., a middling set full of regurgitated attitude and based around a tired split-personality concept. This latest offering, from the upcoming Paper Trail, thankfully finds him re-focused and sharper than ever.
Refusing to feel defeated by his current situation (“Facin’ all kinds of time/ But smile like I’m fine/ Brag with such passion/ Shine without trying”), “No Matter What” sees T.I. holding strong for the sake of his family, friends and fans while dishing out stern warnings to detractors (“Revenge is best served as a cold dish/ And suckas will get served/ Better know this”) and thwarting the advances of T.I.-wannabes itching to claim the spot he has no plans on vacating. If you thought this was the end of him, the hook firmly asserts otherwise: “I ain’t dead/ I ain’t done/ I ain’t scared/ I ain’t run/ But still I stand/ No matter what”.
While he’s not choking back tears here, the song is weighted in heavy emotion, be it from his relating of a spiritual strength (“Wonder how I face years and I’m still chillin’?/ Easy, let go and let God deal with it”), the regret-tinged apology to his worried followers or the Danja-handled beat, which melts howling guitar riffs and electro bits into a melancholy, organ-drenched midtempo. Yeah, he might say he’s in no danger of fading from his rap perch or only passively concerned about his impending trial, yet listening to the record, it’s hard shaking off the feeling that there’s not a simultaneous purpose occurring here, like the rousing speech he’s delivering is doubly representing as parting words of some sort.
Whatever it’s purpose, it’s the most powerful cut he’s dropped in a minute, and it promises Paper Trail to be a return to his top-notch heights.
As nice as it is to get free music, think of how much better your soul would feel if you purchased it the old-fashioned way.
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(MP3 posts are for promotional and/ or previewing purposes only; if any artist or their representation wish to have the links removed, contact me and I will happily comply!)
“Live Your Life”’s lyrical encouragement to not let all the negativity cramp your style was nice and all, but let’s not be foolish. The main source of this record’s appeal had little to do with T.I.’s positive spewings and all to do with Rihanna’s ice queen warbles, the larger-than-life pop production and that damn “Dragostea din tei” sample. 
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