Rapper, entrepreneur, actor, jailbird, Grammy winner, reality TV star and Iggy Azalea svengali, TI is now on his ninth album. He is no stranger to hits, having featured on many (Robin Thicke’s Blurred Lines among them). Paperwork finds the Atlantan diversifying. Sure, catchy singles such as No Mediocre (featuring Azalea) and About the Money cleave close to the worship of money and compliant “ho”s rife in hip-hop. But intriguing things are afoot here too: jazzy doo-wop on the autobiographical, Pharrell-produced title track, and New National Anthem (featuring Skylar Grey), an outpouring of disgust at the police murder of Michael Brown.
