As one of rap’s elder statesmen, T.I. has a rolodex thicker than your head.
On his latest mixtape he puts it to good use: every song on G.D.O.D. II features a bevy of hard-hitting guest appearances. Houston legend Trae The Truth unleashes his guttural drawl on several tracks; both Kanye protege Travis Scott and Dro (née Young) appear several times.
Trey Songz‘ croons on “Champaign Room” evoke late-night V.I.P debauchery and Young Thug warbles over the triumphant horns of “I Need War.”
Rich Homie Quan plays a similar role on “Make Me Something” and T.I. also peppers the tape with new verses from his Hustle Gang protege Doe B, tragically killed last year.
But the protege who everyone was wondering about is definitely Iggy Azalea, who spits about being the “only white girl with a ghetto booty” over the trance-sampling “We Go Hard.”
This mixtape allows T.I. to work with rising rappers and O.G.s, keeping his finger on the pulse of rap’s underground while still putting Iggy on.
He’s saving the big guns for his next album, Paperwork: The Motion Picture, due out October 21. He recently released the track list, featuring an absurd bounty of superstars: Pharrell, Usher, Rick Ross and The-Dream all appear.
To tide yourself over, download the new mixtape via Datpiff.
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