Exclusive: T.I. Reveals Diddy Gave Him 'Castle Walls'
Apparently, it takes royalty to recognize the greatness in a king.
According to [artist id="1225081"]T.I.,[/artist] Diddy offered up the track [article id="1653167"]"Castle Walls,"[/article] featuring Christina Aguilera, for the Atlanta MC's album No Mercy.
The [article id="1652869"]Alex da Kid-produced record[/article] was originally slated for Diddy-Dirty Money, before the Bad Boy mogul thought it would be better for T.I., considering his tribulations.
"A funny thing about this record: It belonged to my big homey Puff first," Tip explained in an exclusive interview on "RapFix Live."
"Puff, he acknowledged it, '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.' "
So, Tip took the track and penned a personal ode to his life, which has become clouded with controversy in the past year as the beloved star has exited and [article id="1651287"]re-entered prison[/article].
"See with the Phantoms and Ferraris in the driveway/ But you see it came in exchange of a sane man's sanity," he rhymes on the song. "Your vision jaded by the Grammys on the mantelpiece/ Just switch your camera lenses, you will see the agony."
The embattled rapper explained the song's inspiration: "I live the life that most would die for, but there's a lot of things that come with this life. People don't take that into consideration. There are a lot of things in this life that I would trade in a minute just for a slice of normalcy.
"I just listed a few things that they probably never viewed from that particular perspective," he continued. "Because I think people need to see things another way; they need to see it other than just celebrity.
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Are you happy T.I. recorded "Castle Walls," or would it have been better as a Diddy-Dirty Money track? Sound off in the comments below!