T.I. -- "What You Know" (2006)

All that attitude?

Unnecessary, dude!

Given that Atlanta-born rapper T.I. (who was born Clifford Joseph Harris, Jr.) has more attitude than you can shake a stick at, the lyric quoted above is ironic with a capital "I." 

See all that attitude?

I admit that I was a little late to the party as far as T.I. goes.  I first heard this song (which was a huge hit in 2006 – it won the Grammy as "Best Rap Solo Performance" that year) a couple of days ago.  

I got T.I.'s Paper Trail CD from the library last year, and "Whatever You Like" quickly went into heavy rotation on my iPod.  But this is a much better song – it is very strong.

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Pretty much everything about "What You Know" is despicable.  After all, it glorifies drugs, violence, misogynism, conspicuous consumption, and wasting energy.  

Does that bother me?  HELL no!  I LOVE this record!  Listening to it puts me into a drooling Beavis-and-Buttheadesque trance.  It makes me want to be T.I. like I want to be Derek Jeter. 

(Speaking of baseball, did you know that the Minnesota Twins play this song whenever Joe Mauer comes to bat?  He's won three batting titles and an MVP with "What You Know" as his personal theme song.  It doesn't exactly fit his personality, but you could say that "Sandman" doesn't really fit Mariano Rivera's personality either.)

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Click here to watch "What You Know About Math," a video that parodies "What You Know."

Click here to watch the sequel to that video. 

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Click here to watch the official "What You Know" video.

Click on the link below to buy the record from Amazon: