T.I. - Live your Life feat. Rihanna [Single]

Atlantic

This song was released. I hated it. It went a little like this:

Listen # 1: WTF??? What is this crap? Who produced it? What on earth does Rihanna think she’s doing getting associated with this? Bugger me, it’s that stupid tune off the internet!!!

Listen # 2: Seriously, someone has to stop this. It’s making my ears bleed. There’s something very wrong with the listening ears of millions of people who have bought this.

Listen # 3: Ayay…ayay…ayay….oh jeez, did I really just sing that out loud???

On a more serious note (if you can be serious about a hook that was made famous by a boy in his bedroom via the medium of YouTube), this is a classic example of a record that is made a hit by a ridiculously memorable hook. The lyrics, in general, are nothing that we haven’t heard before, but this is definitely going to be a club banger. The production (by Just Blaze, whose credits include work with Jay Z, Cam’ron, Jadakiss, Talib Kweli and many others) is slick and digital (perhaps a little too digital?) but in all honesty, I think it’s Rihanna that rescues this single from being just another mediocre album filler. Rihanna’s simple but beautifully delivered vocals give the girls on the dancefloor something to sing to, and quite clearly elevate this track to the ranks of the Top 10.

If you’re a fan of T.I. you’ll probably love it regardless but, I can imagine thousands of us being sick to death of this track in just a few weeks.