Castle Walls

Originally, "Castle Walls" belonged to Diddy, who had commissioned the song for his fifth album Last Train to Paris with his group Dirty Money. But Diddy told T.I., "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."{{cite web|last=Rodriguez |first=Jayson |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/1653943/exclusive-ti-reveals-diddy-gave-him-castle-walls/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140717174754/http://www.mtv.com/news/1653943/exclusive-ti-reveals-diddy-gave-him-castle-walls/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=July 17, 2014 |title=Exclusive: T.I. Reveals Diddy Gave Him 'Castle Walls'|publisher=MTV News |date=9 December 2010 |access-date=15 July 2014}} Consequently, Christina Aguilera was chosen as the featured guest on the song, which appeared on T.I.'s album No Mercy. Alex da Kid, producer of the song, said about the collaboration, "I love it. I think it's amazing. It's my sound, just kind of an evolution of that. I think it'll cater to a lot of different people."{{cite web|url=http://www.vh1.com/news/articles/1652869/20101122/index.jhtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101208001536/http://www.vh1.com/news/articles/1652869/20101122/index.jhtml|title=T.I., Christina Aguilera Collabo Is 'Amazing,' Alex Da Kid Says|publisher=VH1|date=22 November 2010|archive-date=8 December 2010|first=James|last=Dinh}} T.I. told RapFix Live about the track'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. Because I think people need to see things another way; they need to see it other than just celebrity.

In November 2010, Alex da Kid announced that "Castle Walls" would be released as a single from No Mercy. However, the song was not released. A 30-second snippet of the song featuring Aguilera's part was released onto YouTube later that month.{{cite web|url=http://www.rap-up.com/2010/11/24/new-music-ti-f-christina-aguilera-castle-walls-snippet/|title=New Music: T.I. f/ Christina Aguilera – 'Castle Walls'|work=Rap-Up|date=24 November 2010|access-date=15 July 2014}}

"Castle Walls" lasts for a duration of 5:29 (five minutes and twenty nine seconds){{cite web|url=https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/no-mercy-deluxe-version/id404386339|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101210003008/http://itunes.apple.com/us/album/no-mercy-deluxe-version/id404386339|url-status=dead|archive-date=December 10, 2010|title=No Mercy (Deluxe Edition)|publisher=iTunes Store (US)|access-date=15 July 2014}} and is a hip hop and electro song.{{cite web|url=http://www.rap-up.com/2010/11/23/rap-up-tv-alex-da-kid-builds-castle-walls-for-ti-and-christina-aguilera/|title=Alex Da Kid Builds Castle Walls for T.I. and Christina Aguilera|work=Rap-Up|date=23 November 2010|access-date=15 July 2014|archive-date=22 October 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141022160459/http://www.rap-up.com/2010/11/23/rap-up-tv-alex-da-kid-builds-castle-walls-for-ti-and-christina-aguilera/|url-status=dead}} The song features a Europop keyboard in its arrangement.{{cite web|url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/14923-no-mercy/|title=T.I.: No Mercy|publisher=Pitchfork Media|first=Tom|last=Breihan|date=10 December 2010|access-date=15 July 2014}} Nathan Rabin from The A.V. Club wrote that the lyrics of "Castle Walls" "offer similarly incisive and only occasionally self-pitying commentary on the tragedy and triumph of being young, black, rich, famous, and a repeat felon."{{cite web|url=http://www.avclub.com/review/ti-emno-mercyem-49006|title=T.I.: No Mercy {{*}} Music Review|work=The A.V. Club|first=Nathan|last=Rabin|date=14 December 2010|access-date=17 July 2014}} The song begins with the chorus, in which Aguilera sings, "Everyone thinks that I have it all / But it's so empty living behind these castle walls (These castle walls) / If I should tumble if I should fall/ Would anyone hear me screaming behind these castle walls? / There's no one here at all, behind these castle walls."{{cite web|url=http://www.muumuse.com/2010/11/t-i-builds-castle-walls-with-christina-aguilera.html/|title=T.I. Builds "Castle Walls" with Christina Aguilera|publisher=MuuMuse|first=Bradley|last=Stern|date=30 November 2010 |access-date=15 July 2014}} After the chorus, T.I. raps the verse "See with the Phantoms and Ferraris in the driveway / But you see it came in exchange of a sane man's sanity / Your vision jaded by the Grammys on the mantlepiece / Just switch your camera lenses, you will see the agony" over a "warbling" electronic background and hip hop beats.{{cite web|last=Cheung|first= Nadine|date=29 November 2012|url=http://www.aolradioblog.com/2010/11/29/t-i-castle-walls-christina-aguilera/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101201225646/http://www.aolradioblog.com/2010/11/29/t-i-castle-walls-christina-aguilera/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=December 1, 2010|title=T.I., 'Castle Walls' feat. Christina Aguilera - New Song|publisher=AOL Radio|access-date=15 July 2014}} Towards the song's conclusion, there is a "sad" string arrangement and an electronica-influenced "triumphantly striding beat." An editor from HipHopDX compared "Castle Walls" to "Love the Way You Lie" by Eminem featuring Rihanna, which was also produced by da Kid.{{cite web|url=http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/singles/id.12934/title.ti-f-christina-aguilera-castle-walls-prod-alex-da-kid|title=T.I. f. Christina Aguilera – Castle Walls [Prod. Alex da Kid]|publisher=HipHopDX|date=1 December 2010|access-date=17 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140727005715/http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/singles/id.12934/title.ti-f-christina-aguilera-castle-walls-prod-alex-da-kid|archive-date=27 July 2014|url-status=dead}}

File:Christina Aguilera at the premiere of Burlesque (2010).jpg

"Castle Walls" received mixed reviews from music critics. Becky Bain from Idolator called "Castle Walls" a "bright spot" for both T.I. and Aguilera "after the not-so-great years both artists have had."{{cite web|url=http://www.idolator.com/5702242/christina-aguilera-soars-on-t-i-s-castle-walls|title=Christina Aguilera Soars On T.I.'s 'Castle Walls'|publisher=Idolator|first=Becky|last=Bain|date=29 November 2010|access-date=15 July 2014}} Steve Jones, an editor from USA Today, praised Aguilera's appearance on the track and picked it as one of the highlights on No Mercy.{{cite web|url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/life/music/reviews/2010-12-07-listen07_st_N.htm|title=Listen Up: T.I., Daft Punk, Natasha Bedingfield, more|first1=Steve|last1= Jones|first2= Edna|last2= Gundersen|first3= Elysa|last3= Gardner|first4= Brian |last4=Mansfield|work=USA Today|date=7 December 2010|access-date=15 July 2014}} Likewise, Slava Kupersein of HipHopDX and The Boston Globe's Ken Capobianco labelled "Castle Walls" a standout from No Mercy and applauded Aguilera's vocals.{{cite web|url=http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/album-reviews/id.1592/title.ti-no-mercy|title=T.I. – No Mercy|publisher=HipHopDX|first=Slava|last=Kuperstein|date=7 December 2010|access-date=16 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140823103238/http://www.hiphopdx.com/index/album-reviews/id.1592/title.ti-no-mercy|archive-date=23 August 2014|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.boston.com/ae/music/cd_reviews/articles/2010/12/06/ti_no_mercy/|title=T.I. 'No Mercy' Review|work=The Boston Globe|date=6 December 2010|access-date=16 July 2014|first=Ken|last=Capobianco}} Chase McMullen from One Thirty BPM thought that the song "epitomizes the album nearly perfectly", but opined that Justin Timberlake should be the guest vocalist rather than Aguilera.{{cite web|url=http://onethirtybpm.com/reviews/album-review-t-i-no-mercy/|title=Album Review: T.I. – No Mercy|publisher=One Thirty BPM|first=Chase|last=McMullen|date=14 December 2010|access-date=17 July 2014|archive-date=28 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140428062107/http://onethirtybpm.com/reviews/album-review-t-i-no-mercy/|url-status=dead}} Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly simply deemed the track "mournful, lonely" and described the chorus on the song as "melancholy".{{cite magazine|url=http://music-mix.ew.com/2010/11/30/t-i-castle-walls-christina-aguilera/|title=New T.I. track feat. Christina Aguilera, 'Castle Walls': Hear it here|first=Leah|last=Greenblatt|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|date=30 November 2010|access-date=15 July 2014}}

David Amidon writing for PopMatters wrote a mixed review, calling "Castle Walls" "heartfelt [...] but it also feels like a hip-hop version of late-period Phil Collins, a sort of end so inoffensive and far removed from the life force of hip-hop as to appear a sick joke."{{cite web|url=http://www.popmatters.com/review/135066-t.i.-no-mercy/|title=T.I.: No Mercy – Review|publisher=PopMatters|first=David|last=Amidon|date=3 January 2011|access-date=15 July 2014}} Critic Jody Rosen from Rolling Stone was displeased with the lyrics of the song, deeming it "an icky bit of self-pity from a rich and famous man."{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/no-mercy-20101207|title=No Mercy|magazine=Rolling Stone|first=Jody|last=Rosen|date=7 December 2010|access-date=16 July 2014}} Sean Fennessey of The Washington Post named it an "unfortunately regal perspective",{{cite news|url=http://blog.washingtonpost.com/clicktrack/2010/12/album_review_ti_no_mercy.html|title=Album review: T.I., 'No Mercy'|newspaper=The Washington Post|first=Sean|last=Fennessey|date=7 December 2010}} while Pitchfork Media's Tom Breihan called it "downright insulting." Prefix Magazine's Dave Park described "Castle Walls" as "cloying" and opined that the track bore an "embarrassing resemblance" to Britney Spears' song "Lucky" (2001).{{cite web|url=http://www.prefixmag.com/reviews/ti/no-mercy/45294/|title=Album Review: T.I. – No Mercy|publisher=Prefix Magazine|first=Dave|last=Park|access-date=16 July 2014}}

Despite not being released as an official single, "Castle Walls" still managed to enter the record charts of several countries. The track was a success in South Korea, where it debuted at number six on the Gaon International Singles Chart during the week of 5 December 2010. In the United States, the song reached number five on the Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles chart and number 84 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs. On the Canadian Hot 100 chart, it peaked at number 99. "Castle Walls" also entered the charts of three European countries: number 27 in Czech Republic, number 31 in Slovakia, and number 51 in Sweden.

A music video for "Castle Walls" was filmed in the Fall of 2010 before T.I. was sentenced to eleven months in prison, but was ultimately scrapped and remains unreleased.{{cite web|url=http://www.rap-up.com/2010/11/23/rap-up-tv-alex-da-kid-builds-castle-walls-for-ti-and-christina-aguilera/|title=Rap-Up TV: Alex Da Kid Builds 'Castle Walls' for T.I. and Christina Aguilera|work=Rap-Up|date=November 23, 2010|access-date=October 20, 2023|archive-date=December 6, 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206052925/http://www.rap-up.com/2010/11/23/rap-up-tv-alex-da-kid-builds-castle-walls-for-ti-and-christina-aguilera/|url-status=dead}} An exclusive sneak peek was uploaded to the rapper's YouTube channel in late November 2010.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3_O2zPjmWI|title=T.I. – Castle Walls ft. Christina Aguilera (Exclusive Sneak Peak)|publisher=YouTube|date=November 23, 2010|archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/B3_O2zPjmWI|archive-date=June 8, 2025|access-date=October 20, 2023}}

In the sixth season of T.I. & Tiny: The Family Hustle the song was used in the final episode titled "100", in a crucial scene featuring T.I.{{cite web|url=https://www.hiphopmyway.com/g/no-more-hustle-t-i-tiny-the-family-hustle-series-finale-recap/8/?ipp=1|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200902103649/https://www.hiphopmyway.com/g/no-more-hustle-t-i-tiny-the-family-hustle-series-finale-recap/8/?ipp=1|url-status=dead|archive-date=2020-09-02|title=NO MORE HUSTLE! 'T.I. & TINY: THE FAMILY HUSTLE' SERIES FINALE RECAP|work=HipHopMyWay|date=May 30, 2017|access-date=September 2, 2020}}

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Category:Christina Aguilera songs

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Category:2010 songs

Category:Songs written by Alex da Kid

Category:Songs written by Skylar Grey

Category:Electro songs