T.I. Reflects On Southern Rappers’ Reactions To His “King Of The South” Claim

Rapper Clifford “T.I.” Harris attends META – Convened by BET Networks at The Edition Hotel on February 20, 2020 in Los Angeles, California.

Robin L Marshall/Getty Images for BET

T.I. dubbed himself the “King Of The South” several years ago and lived up to the moniker. Given rap being a competitive genre, he understood the claim may have caused some tension and recently reflected on the reactions he had gotten from his southern rap peers.

“The first time I called myself the ‘King of the South,’ I went and asked everybody that I had access to for their blessings,” he told AllHipHop. He wanted to see if he would get any opposition, which would decide whether he would adopt the nickname or not. He spoke to southern rap luminaries such as Big Boi and André 3000 from OutKast, members of Goodie Mobb, 8 Ball, MJG, Bun B, and Scarface.

“I remember Scarface said, ‘Hell yeah go ahead. I don’t wanna be king! You could have that sh*t,’” he recounted. “Then I asked 3000 and he hit me with, ‘What does it really mean to be king?’ And Big Boi said, ‘Aight now, be careful what you ask for because you known as the king, they gon’ put the target on your back. Ain’t nobody going to be trying to help you out with nothing. So just be careful what you ask for.’”

T.I. shared what he learned from those statements, though it took him some time to truly get them. “It took me later in life to really understand what he was telling me,” he said. “He was really telling me that I was causing myself to have more anguish than necessary — like in chess, the object is to kill the king.”

In 2005, Tip staked his claim to the throne and rapped some confident lyrics on PSC’s “I’m A King“: “Now, e’rybody wanna be the king of the south/ When, they ain’t runnin’ a damn thing but they mouth/ No doubt, it’s all good, y’all just statin y’all opinion/ But in the south, and in the hood, it’s understood without sayin’/ It’s a given, and it ain’t cuz of what I’m doin’ for a livin’/ It’s more because of what I do and how I’m livin’/ Not to mention, when I’m rappin’, I’m just hurtin’ ni**as feelings.”

These days, he is preparing to pass the crown with his final album. It will be a double LP titled Kill The King / Kiss The King. “It’s gon’ be edgy, energetic,” he said last October on The Baller Alert Show. “It’s gon’ have a lot of Tip in it… but I’ve been making somewhat, I guess, more melodic, you know, more R&B vibes, Afrobeat-R&B vibe, party music.”

The title, as T.I. explained to the We In Miami podcast, represents “killing the ego.” At this stage of his career, he believes the “King Of The South” nickname is “egotistical, self-gratuitous.” There is no set release date for Kill The King / Kiss The King at the time of publishing.

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