Background and Recording
On November 13, 2007, while awaiting trial for federal weapons charges, T.I. announced he had been writing songs for a new album to be entitled Paper Trail. He wrote his lyrics down on paper, which he had not done since his debut album, I'm Serious. The album highlights his "fear, anger and guilt" as he awaited trial.
T.I. recorded nearly 100 tracks during the production for Paper Trail, including a collaboration with Fall Out Boy on a track entitled "Out in the Cold". However the song was left out of the final cut, but T.I. told MTV that he may add some of the cut tracks to his next album.
The album was scheduled to be released in September 2008, but was subsequently moved up to an August 12 after the release of the promotional and lead single "No Matter What" and high demand of the album. At the time, T.I. said that the first single may have been "Top of the World", originally featuring B.o.B and Kanye West, explaining that the song was "a reflective song about our humble beginnings and how far we've come". The album was pushed back for a release date of September 2, then September 9 and to its final release date of September 30, 2008, in the US. The album was first released on September 29, 2008, in continental Europe.
Read more about this topic: Paper Trail
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