According to Atlanta, Georgia rapper T.I., fellow artist Young Thug is one of the first artists out of his city since Andre 3000 to not be concerned with how they’re perceived by the general public. In addition to offering praise to Thugger, T.I. also credited Rich Homie Quan and Migos for “showing promise in Atlanta.”

The Hustle Gang helmsman addressed the artists mentioned during an interview with Life + Times, when asked about Atlanta’s current rap scene and the music out of the city being “too different.”

“I appreciate it, because I can remember being in the position of some of those cats,” T.I. said. “I was young and looking to somehow gain acceptance, but knew that I didn’t fit in. I remember that, so I ain’t going to be the nigga to just cast a shun on a young nigga, unless you do some fuck shit…It’s supposed to be different. I think that the sound has become so broad. You got a nigga like Young Thug, who is as hood as he can be, yet is as broad also. That’s really the first nigga since Andre 3000 that was really willing to go there with it. He’s like, ‘Fuck what niggas say. I know who I am. I know what I’ll do’…I think people like Thug, Rich Homie Quan and Migos are doing their thing, and there are a lot of other cats that are showing promise in Atlanta. I think the future of Atlanta has prosperity.”

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T.I. also explained his post-Paperwork plans. He revealed that Paperwork is the first in a series of three projects and will be followed by The Return and Love & Liability. In regards to The Return, T.I. says the project will be “the closest thing to Trap Muzik” that people have heard.

“It’s the journey of, but it’s also bigger than him,” he said while speaking on Paperwork. “It’s like a motherfucker was almost born into it. It’s certain applications of skill and certain manifestations that must take place for it to really come into fruition, but the tools or the foundation was already put out there by his daddy, his granddaddy, his uncles, his momma, etc. It was ordained. That’s the theme of Paperwork. The second one is called The Return and it’s going to be the closest thing to Trap Muzik I think people have seen. It’s going to be unapologetic, straight up gangster shit. The third one, Love & Liability is the story of a young man, who is a solid cat, but his heart finds him in relationships with people who he probably shouldn’t be in relationships with, because of the people they’re in relationships with. It’s a gangster version of 808s & Heartbreak. So those are the three sections. Paperwork is just the first.”

T.I. later spoke on working with Pharrell Williams in the studio again for Paperwork. He says both he and Pharrell were “a lot more invested this go around” and “were very passionate” in their views about the album.

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“The conversations were different,” T.I. said. “I think we both could tell that the other was a lot more invested this go around. He wanted me to know that he wanted to put his best effort forward and I wanted him to know the same, so we were very passionate in our views. We had days worth of hour-long conversations, no bullshit. I promise to God that every song on that album came with at least two hours of commentary afterwards. We had different approaches to music… We went back and forth so much about that and we were both right. We both had valid points. And we both walked away with a mutual respect and agreeing to agree and disagree at the same time. You know what I’m saying? The music came out phenomenal because of it. We probably should’ve recorded the recording process behind this album.”

Paperwork was released on October 21 and received a 3-star rating from HipHopDX.

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