No Mercy's appearance is rather deceptive. After slipping off a stark wraparound sleeve bearing nothing but the ominous title, there’s the album’s proper cover, a black-and-white portrait of T.I. looking downward, alone and pensive. No Mercy does offer some revealing and poignant moments, as on the lyrically deep title track, otherwise a perplexing collaboration with the-Dream and Tricky Stewart that deploys churning guitars and a quasi-Evanescence chorus. However, they are significantly outnumbered by alternately defiant and deflated-sounding party tracks, as well as a taxing string of high-profile guest appearances. For every “How Life Changed” -- a soul-bearing anthem in which vivid wistfulness is tinted with a little regret -- there’s an “Amazing” -- hideous rhymes over a clunky Neptunes beat, a career low point for all involved. Neither redemptive nor triumphant, No Mercy is the MC's least compelling release thus far, but there's a sense that he'll regain focus once his legal matters settle.
No Mercy
T.I.
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No Mercy Review
by Andy Kellman
Track Listing
| Sample | Title/Composer | Performer | Time | Stream | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | T.I. | 04:14 | |||||
| 2 | T.I. | 04:30 | |||||
| 3 | T.I. | 04:24 | |||||
| 4 | T.I. | 03:32 | |||||
| 5 | T.I. | 05:18 | |||||
| 6 | T.I. | 04:07 | |||||
| 7 | T.I. | 04:25 | SpotifyAmazon | ||||
| 8 | T.I. | 03:42 | |||||
| 9 | T.I. | 03:07 | SpotifyAmazon | ||||
| 10 | T.I. | 05:14 | |||||
| 11 | T.I. | 04:24 | SpotifyAmazon | ||||
| 12 | T.I. | 05:20 | |||||
| 13 | T.I. | 03:16 | |||||
| 14 | T.I. | 05:29 |
