A month after an overzealous S.W.A.T. team raided his studio for what they call “bootlegging,” DJ Drama (accompanied by Grammy-winning T.I.) released the “The Leak,” the next mixtape in Drama’s “Gangsta Grillz” series. Ironically, “The Leak” is anything but. It’s legitimately sold on Amazon and iTunes despite Drama’s lockup last month for producing such mixtapes against humanity (at least according to the Recording Industry Association of America). Whatever its official legality, “The Leak” springs an enjoyable track list – as long as you don’t take it too seriously.T.I. laces his drawly tone with Drama’s Southern-style beats – sometimes Crunk, sometimes stripped and haunting, sometimes dotted with horns – to produce a fun Friday night compilation.Just don’t look for deep meaning or unique inventiveness unless you consider a Maserati’s candy paint insightful art. But while it’s no breakthrough southern hip-hop album, “The Leak” is worth listening to above or below the Mason-Dixon line; sometimes lyrics like Young Dro’s borrowed hook, “trunk on blast and our cars go fast” is as deep as you need to dive for an entertaining listen or a good rug cutting.T.I.’s delivery is sharply honed as usual, flowing from verse to verse nonchalantly and sometimes lackadaisically as he spits about death, drugs and how he rose to the top of the rap game without the cocaine game. His and Drama’s styles work well together, even if that annoying mixtape voice keeps shouting “gangsta grizillz!” over every track.The short of it: Listen to it. Move to it. Don’t write a thesis on it.
