Amplifier

T.I.’s New Album Named After a Marvin Gaye Song

By | Amplifier – Mon, Nov 21, 2011 2:16 PM EST

Trouble ManWhile Kanye West and Jay-Z recently evoked the spirit of Otis Redding for 'Watch the Throne', T.I. has been seeking inspiration from another soul legend as the rapper works on his latest post-prison album: Marvin Gaye. Last time we heard from Tip, he was still deciding whether to call his upcoming LP 'Kill the King' (an ill-advised choice) or 'Trouble'. He's chosen the latter, with a small edit: T.I.'s next album will instead be called 'Trouble Man', which happens to share its title with Gaye's 1972 soundtrack for the blaxploitation film of the same name. That means 'Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song' is still available, if any rapper wants it for an album title.

Billboard caught up with T.I. in Atlanta, where the rapper revealed he has already recorded 45 songs to choose from for his next album. (The rapper wasn't joking when he said prison had filled him with an "inferno of inspiration.") Of the 45 tracks, in addition to the already-released singles "Here Ye, Here Ye" and "Flexin'," the one guarantee is the title track "Trouble Man," which of course features a sample of Gaye's song of the same name. Other potential 'Trouble' tracks include "Pyro" -- again, not the best idea for a just-released inmate to be rapping about more crimes -- and "Why You Wanna, " which Billboard describes as a song for the ladies. The magazine adds that a couple of these 'Trouble Man' tracks could appear online any moment now.

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