No Mercy (T.I. album)
No Mercy is the seventh studio album by American rapper T.I. Originally titled King Uncaged, It was released on December 7, 2010, by Grand Hustle Records and Atlantic Records. Recording sessions for the album took place during 2009 to 2010. Production was handled by several high-profile record producers, including Kanye West, Polow da Don, The-Dream, J.U.S.T.I.C.E. League, The Neptunes, TrackSlayerz, Jake One, T-Minus, Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, Rico Love, Alex da Kid, DJ Toomp, Jim Jonsin, Danja and Dr. Luke, among others. The album also features guest appearances from several prominent artists such as Kanye West, Kid Cudi, Scarface, Chris Brown, Eminem, The-Dream, Trey Songz, Pharrell, Drake, Christina Aguilera, Keri Hilson and Rick Ross, among others.
The album debuted and peaked at number four on the US Billboard 200 chart, selling 159,000 copies in its first week in the United States. It attained international charting and produced the lead singles "Got Your Back" and "Get Back Up". Due to violating his parole stemming from a drug arrest, T.I. was forced to alter things, including the album's intended bellicose tone and its title, from "King Uncaged" to its eventual name "No Mercy". Additionally, four purported singles failed to make the final cut. Upon its release, No Mercy received mixed reviews from most music critics. A vinyl edition of the album was released on February 22, 2011. The album was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Background
During an interview with MTV, T.I. confirmed that he had started recording for an album that would be released in 2010 following his release from prison. In February 2010, Jason Geter, T.I.'s manager and co-founder of Grand Hustle Records, said that the album is slated for a summer release. Rap-Up reported that the album is slated to be released around the same time as T.I.'s upcoming film project, Takers. It was later confirmed to be released on August 24, 2010. The release date was pushed up one week to August 17, 2010. The album was placed for pre-order on June 14, 2010.In an interview with Rolling Stone, T.I. stated that the album was the final album in a trilogy that started with T.I. vs. T.I.P. and included Paper Trail.
On March 1, 2010, Atlantic Records created a Twitter account to keep the public informed about T.I. news. Atlantic Records said a major announcement would take place on T.I.'s official site, TrapMuzik.com, on March 8, 2010. This announcement was the release of the first single from the album. On April 1, 2010, T.I. posted the first post-prison interview on his website and he described the album's direction being "more aggressive. It's going hard like classic T.I.". T.I. announced that the album would be titled King Uncaged on April 15, 2010.
T.I. stated he would refrain from "gun talk" on this release.
Recording
T.I. had recorded 20 songs for the album in April 2009 and said that the recording style of the album would be a mix of writing his lyrics down and free-styling. In December 2009, former Warner Music Group executive, Kevin Liles, posted a message on his Twitter saying that T.I. was recording new material for a new album. Jim Jonsin told Rap-Up that "It doesn't seem like he missed a beat." On May 25, 2010, T.I. stated that he recorded 80 songs for the album. Jason Geter said that T.I. has been in the studio with Lil' C, DJ Toomp, Danja, The Runners and TrackSlayerz. He also said that much of the album's production would come from new producers. In an interview with Vibe, the production duo, TrackSlayerz, confirmed that they recorded three songs with T.I., including "I'm Back". DJ Toomp confirmed that he had already worked three songs with T.I. and plans to record two more. Vibe reported that Swizz Beatz has been contributing production to the album. Hip-hop DX reported that Drumma Boy will contribute to the project as well. Just Blaze revealed that he contributed four beats to the project. In an interview with Hot 107.9, T.I. stated Smash Factory, Timbaland and Dr. Luke had contributed production to the album as well.Jason Geter confirmed potential features from The-Dream and Trey Songz. The-Dream commented on his work with T.I. saying "sounds great. He's sounding beautiful. His spirit is really good. He's got the eye of the tiger." Rap-Up had reported that T.I. has been recording with fellow Grand Hustle artist B.o.B, one track was confirmed by B.o.B being titled "Dream Me Up" with production from Cut the Check. In an interview with Vibe, DJ Toomp revealed that T.I. was looking to get André 3000 as a feature on the album. MTV reported that T.I. confirmed collaborations from Lady Gaga, Kid Rock, Young Dro, Mac Boney and Eminem. T.I. told Rolling Stone about the content he had recorded, "some songs talk about my time in prison — how I was affected by that, the way I've grown from that, things I see now that I may have not seen then, sometimes I talk about love, some songs I talk about life, some songs I talk about me being the shit on every level." Kanye West recorded six songs for the album at Avex Honolulu Studios in Honolulu, Hawaii. T.I. told MTV's Jayson Rodriguez that the song "Castle Walls" originally belonged to Diddy who had commissioned the song for his fifth album Last Train to Paris with his group Dirty Money. But Diddy told T.I. "Yeah, this is my record, but you know what, I think this is a better fit for you. I think you should rock out on this one. I think this speaks volumes to where you are, what you going through, what you living and how you feel."
Title change
The album was originally intended to be titled King Uncaged. The cover features T.I., in front of a stark white background, sunk deep into a wicker throne, a lion standing by his side: however, after T.I. was sent back to prison, the title and cover were altered. On October 25, 2010, T.I. announced on The Rickey Smiley Show that the album would now be titled No Mercy.Release and promotion
In preparation for the album's release, T.I. released a promotional mixtape titled Fuck a Mixtape with DJ Drama and DJ MLK. The mixtape was released on May 27, 2010.Singles
Upon T.I's return from prison, he released the song appropriately titled "I'm Back". The song was the first official single to be released from No Mercy, with the single cover being released on T.I.'s official website on March 3, 2010. The song was released on March 8, 2010 on T.I.'s official site. The producers of the song, TrackSlayerz, described the song as "T.I. swatting at haters and assuming his rightful position atop the game after spending time behind bars". The song was available through iTunes on March 9, 2010. The single entered the US Billboard Hot 100 chart at number 44, it charted at number 12 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, it charted at number seven on the Hot Rap Tracks chart. The single attained nearly respectable international charting. In Canada, the single entered the Canadian Hot 100 at number 44, while in Germany, the single entered the German Black Chart at number 29. The single is nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance at the 2011 53rd Annual Grammy Awards."Yeah Ya Know " was released as the second official single from the album on May 24, 2010. The song was produced by DJ Toomp. It was released on iTunes for purchase on June 1, 2010. The single entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 44, and charted at number 65 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart. The single attained international charting. In Canada, the single entered the Canadian Hot 100 at number 68. It will also serve as an official soundtrack for the crime-thriller film Takers and can be found on T.I.'s mixtape prior to the album, Fuck a Mixtape. Its music video was released on June 2, 2010. The video features the song playing over clips from the movie Takers.
"Got Your Back" was released as the third official single from the album, serviced on June 1, 2010, as the album's lead mainstream single. The single entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 38, charted at number 10 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and charted at number 4 on the Hot Rap Tracks chart. The single attained respectable international charting. In Canada, the single entered the Canadian Hot 100 at number 48, charted at number 45 on the UK Singles Chart, and charted at number 19 on the UK R&B Chart. In the Netherlands, the single entered the Dutch Singles Chart at number 81, while in the Republic of Ireland, the single entered the Irish Singles Chart at number 33; as well as in Germany, the single entered the German Black at number 6, and in Belgium, the single entered the Belgium chart at number 21. The song features American R&B singer-songwriter Keri Hilson who he wrote the DJ Toomp-produced track with.
"Ya Hear Me" was released as the fourth official single from the album. It was produced by ATL producer Keith Mack, who has previously produced tracks such as "Live in the Sky", "Ride wit Me" and "My Type", for T.I.. It was sent to the iTunes Store on July 28, 2010.
The song, titled "Get Back Up" featuring American pop and R&B singer Chris Brown, produced by The Neptunes, was the fifth official single to be released from No Mercy. It was released on October 29, 2010 to the iTunes Store. The single entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 70, charted at number 37 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart, and charted at number 20 on the Hot Rap Tracks chart. The single attained international charting. In Australia, the single entered the Australian ARIA Singles Chart at number 91, and in Germany, the single entered the German Black at number 9.
"I Can't Help It" was the sixth official single from the album. The track features guest appearances from a fellow Atlanta-based rapper Rocko and was released to the iTunes Store on November 22, 2010. The single was produced by Smash Factory.
On November 30, 2010, the title track, featuring The-Dream, was officially released through iTunes. The single was released as the seventh single from the album.