T.I. - Kill the King [2LP]

T.I. has been promising Kill the King as his final album since the late 2010s, and the 2026 release closes the book on the self-styled King of the South, spread across two LPs.

The title comes from the crown itself. T.I. has explained that calling himself King of the South made him a target, and that Big Boi once warned him the game of chess is all about killing the king. Released through Grand Hustle and Empire, his twelfth studio album is framed as a farewell, part victory lap and part reckoning with the persona he built.

The guest list reads like a history of Southern rap and beyond. Pharrell produces lead single "Let 'Em Know", Dr. Dre and Dem Jointz shape "Where I'm From" with Anderson .Paak, and "Dope Boys Academy" turns into a reunion with T-Pain, Jeezy and 2 Chainz. Usher glides through "Gorgeous", while DJ Toomp, Organized Noize and Juicy J bring the Atlanta and Memphis sounds that raised a generation. T.I.'s flow is as sharp and conversational as ever, moving between trap swagger and the reflection of a veteran taking stock.

As endings go, this one goes out with the whole family in the room. It is a fitting final chapter for one of the defining voices of 2000s hip-hop.