T.I. calls Kill the King his final album and leaves the Jeezy record open

T.I. released Kill the King in June 2026 and says it is the last album he will make. Speaking to XXL for its Summer 2026 issue, the Atlanta rapper described the title as a metaphor for killing the ego he built a career on, after 25 years of calling himself the King of the South.

He is not treating it as a loss. Making a final album, he said, comes with more freedom rather than more pressure, and being able to walk away on his own terms is a blessing he is celebrating. He does not need the money and does not want to take up space fighting for a position he has already held.

The retirement was announced back in 2021 and rolled out through this year. In January he reunited with Pharrell Williams for the single Let 'Em Know, which went gold and reached number 33 on the Hot 100, his first solo top 40 entry since 2014. Kill the King is his twelfth album, with production from Pharrell, Dr Dre, DJ Toomp and Organized Noize, and guests including Usher, The-Dream, Summer Walker and Young Dro.

The joint album with Jeezy, which fans have waited years for, is not dead. Asked directly whether it will happen, he said that if Jeezy wanted to do it he probably would, and that he would be more inclined toward collaborative albums than another T.I. record. He also expects to keep rapping when a song is right.

His comedy career is on hold rather than abandoned. He said he does not fare well switching between writing records and developing stand-up material, because they are completely different mindsets and skill sets, so he is finishing this album first.

He was also asked about his public back-and-forth with 50 Cent earlier this year, which pulled in his wife Tiny and his sons Domani and King. He said he cut everything he had written about it from the album, because it was not worth his time or newsworthy, and he did not want to share this particular moment with it.

What has changed most, by his own account, is discretion. He said he is more mindful of what he says now that he has grandchildren as well as children, with less crotch-grabbing, though he still walks the ledge. We have covered his platinum certification for Let 'Em Know as he neared retirement and his guest turn on David Banner's The God Box 2. More is on our hip-hop hub.