T.I has dropped his first record in five years.
After announcing his retirement from performing and shifting to other endeavors, T.I has stepped back into music. The Atlanta-based rapper teamed up with legendary producer Pharrell Williams to usher in his return to music.
In the single, “Let Em Know,” the Grand Hustle CEO is reminding everyone that he is back and better. “On another level, my incense all put together,
hit the pedal, do two hundred everywhere I go, let ’em know,” he spits over the hard-hitting track.
On Jan 18, T.I posted a preview of the single with him sitting in a barber’s chair while he gets his dreadlocks cut. It ends with a snippet of the song’s intro and a glimpse of T.I with his signature fade.
“Let Em Know,” is set to appear on T.I’s forthcoming, long-awaited new album Kill the King. In 2023, T.I revealed on the We In Miami podcast, that the project will be a double album, with side A titled Kill the King and side B labeled Kiss the King.
“When I was coming onto the scene, I went to all of the Southern legends that I respected and I asked [for their blessing to call myself King of the South] … All of them gave me their support … [but Big Boi] said, ‘That shit sounds cool but just understand, if you the king you’re gonna put a big bullseye on your back,” he stated. “The name of the game in chess is to kill the king.’”
The new single follows, “What It Came To,” released in 2021. Since his hiatus, T.’I’s kept busy with stand-up comedy, community outreach, and expanding his multiple business ventures.
The Atlanta-born rapper (real name: Clifford Joseph Harris Jr.) debuted with the 2001 album “I’m Serious.” T.I. has released 11 studio albums, including the quadruple-platinum “Paper Trail.”