The cell is leather and wood clad, he’s got a bathrobe and cigar instead of a federal jumpsuit, and he doesn’t have to sneak his video camera in like he did before, but TI is still locked down and making the best of it.

According to Entertainment Weekly, TI has already home-recorded 6 songs for a new album called Paper Trail (no, that’s not a reference to the Federal case stacked against him, it means that TI has decided to move away from the Jay-Z method of paperless lyric memorization, to go back to the traditional written documentation of his rhymes, lol). And, allegedly, even his lady, Tiny, is getting in on the action. Sandra Rose reports that Tiny is working on new music and has posted a song featuring Tip called “Lately” on her myspace page. (I’m not sure if this song is new, but I checked it out, and it sounds like Tiny isn’t the only one singing on “Lately”…maybe Khandi Buruss in the beginning? Now I know its just a coincidence, but her music player also features songs like “Locked Down,” and “Call the Police.” Awkward.)

And now TI has recorded a video message for his fans, via streetcred.com (Tip is the spokesperson for the Atlanta-based website and mobile network)…

I like how he sounds like he’s in good spirits. He’s got spunk. I wonder if the prosecutors are pissed off though. They can’t stop the powers of the web. He’s not breaking any rules.