As we know, the King of the South T.I. applies his talents in many directions, not only in the music world, but towards well-rounded creative endeavours. For this reason, the streets have been waiting for a concrete project from Tip for quite some time. A topic that appears to have been kept on the down-low, the rapper’s latest project is underway as he applies studio time at a dedicated level.

In a recent interview with Billboard, the “Project Steps” trapper revealed that the new album is actually complete with only minor arrangements to be put in place. The rapper confirms no release date has been firmly established.

“The new album’s finished! I just have to figure out when I’ll have time to actually market it and promote it and work it. Presently we’re working on Bankroll Mafia. Bankroll Mafia is a collective that includes a lot of personal and professional constituents throughout the industry, in and out of our elements. One of them being Shad da God, another one being myself and another one being Young Thug. We’re very colourful characters in this business and you should be hearing some music very soon.”

As attractive as this sounds, T.I.’s schedule seems to be hindering the album process, as he makes attempts to balance the music scene with movie roles, and of course reality TV.

“It’s difficult because, like I said, I have an album right now ready to go but I don’t have any actual time to invest in the marketing, promotions and all of the work that goes into releasing it. I’m about to start a film with Jamie Foxx in Atlanta in the next couple weeks, and that should take me somewhere into August. It’s hard, I could just drop it right now and not necessarily put any work into the release, but I don’t think that would really serve the true purpose of the release.”

“No time off. We have so much work to do, so many people to create opportunities for.”

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The King of the South has certainly been in the spotlight this month, heating up the streets with new joints and applying his attention to movie appearances. Most recently we witnessed the Grand Hustle representative dive in a new direction with Project Steps, taking his day one fans back to the flow from the hood.

It seems this was just a taste of what is to come, as Tip plans to get the Trap Back Jumpin’ with a new album, currently labelled Traps Open. We know the southern lyricist is one to switch up project titles nearer to their release date, so we await further details in the time ahead.

For now, we anticipate a quality and rich production with this upcoming LP; a follow up to Paperwork: The Motion Picture; part of a trilogy. Previously titled: ‘The Return’ it is clear why T.I. had a change of heart, reflected through his honest explanation:

“The next one is going to be unapologetic gangsta. It’s trap music and it’s called traps open.” –T.I.

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To say that K.R.I.T was in Jackson, Mississippi  just to do a show is an understatement. The truth is that when K.R.I.T. comes home, it’s a celebration. Originally from Meridian, MS, K.R.I.T’s Pay Attention Tour brought him to Hal & Mal’s bar and venue located in downtown Jackson. The cold wintry air couldn’t keep the loyal fan base from paying attention to the 3rd coast representer. The lined formed around the building in the midst of predicted bad weather, which included black ice and freezing rain. Nevertheless, the show continued and K.R.I.T. performed better than ever. His agenda began with “King Without A Crown,”as he adorned a black snapback with the word “KING.”   K.R.I.T. did something right by taking the crowd back with his underground staples “County Sh*t” from Krit Wuz Here and “Rotation” from R4. The deeply rooted lyricist performed songs from his 2nd studio album, Cadillactica,released at the end of 2014. Making sure his vibe was felt, he brought along his sub while putting his rap skills to test on “Mt. Olympus” and “King of the South.” Multi Alumni artist Big Sant made an appearance on stage to hype the crowd up a notch while  the Atlanta based DJ Dibiase held down the turn tables. K.R.I.T.’s tour served up a delicious plate of soul food for the city of Jackson just to show them that the king was home.

Check out a few photos from the show below. Photos by Robin M. Johnson.

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Big K.R.I.T. fans got a special treat last night as the new King of the South gave them an early stream of Cadillactica. Scheduled to be released on November 10th, the album features his newly released single “King Of The South,” as well as “Soul Food” featuring Raphael Saadiqq and “Pay Attention” featuring Rico Love. K.R.I.T. has also gone on tour, touching down in New Orleans, Birmingham, AL and Atlanta, GA. Stream Cadillactica via NPR.org.

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With only 10 days until the release of his sophomore album, Cadillactica, Big K.R.I.T. drops “King Of The South,” which is around 3:30 minutes of straight bars.

The beat has an intimidating, yet powerful feel that goes hand and hand with what K.R.I.T. is asserting on this track. “Mt. Olympus” proved that K.R.I.T. is regal and “King Of South” shows where he resides and why.

At one point he raps, “If you don’t think that I’m king
I done proved them wrong like twice, can’t stop my fight
I could murder your favorite rapper
And all I get is “No way a Mississippi n***a really that nice!”

Listen to the whole track below and try your best to await Cadillactica‘s release.

The post New Music: Big K.R.I.T.- “King of the South” appeared first on RESPECT. | The Photo Journal of Hip-Hop Culture.