Atlanta rapper T.I. tries a little bit of everything on his new album, "T.I. vs. T.I.P.," due this week via Grand Hustle/Atlantic. The set features guest turns by Eminem, Nelly, Jay-Z and Busta Rhymes as well as production from Timbaland, Scott Storch, Mannie Fresh, Wyclef Jean and Just Blaze. On it, T.I. raps both as himself and as his alter ego, T.I.P.

"These are the things that T.I.P. does to keep T.I. from getting where T.I. thinks he can be ... The only person that can beat me is me," T.I. says. Among the most surprising songs is the Jean-produced "You Know What It Is"; the artists wrote eight songs during just three days of collaboration. The cut sports a dubby thump behind the sound of a gun being cocked, with T.I. boasting, "Had the album of the year, n***a / Grammy or not."

The album also features the Runners-produced club track "Don't You Wanna Be High" and "Tell 'Em I Said That," marked by a spiraling synth line and production by Danja Handz.

"I can never go pop -- the hood is in me," T.I. says. "I'm just going for a different audience than I usually target. It's not fair to me to keep talking about the same things. I've gone so far past the hood that I've got to talk about other things."