T.I. has announced that he will be performing live for the last time as he prepares to retire from his celebrated rap career. In an interview with Atlanta’s 96.1 The Beat, the rapper revealed that his upcoming set at the station’s Jingle Ball festival will mark his final performance as an artist.
“I appreciate y’all for offering me my last working gig. I do not need the money anymore, and I will not be performing,” T.I. said. He and his wife, Tiny, were recently awarded $71 million in damages after winning a lawsuit against doll makers OMG Girlz. The rapper continued, “I don’t want to do it anymore. I don’t want people to pay me to hop around and sweat for their entertainment.”
T.I.’s final performance will take place at the Jingle Ball on December 19 at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena. The event will also feature performances by artists such as Sexxy Red, T-Pain, and Saweetie.
The rapper has been hinting at retirement for a while. Last year, he shared that his 12th and final album would be a double-disc project titled Kill the King and Kiss the King. “It’s time to evolve beyond my career as a rapper,” he said on the We In Miami podcast. The album, which he has been teasing since 2021, has yet to receive a release date, though one single, “LLOGCLAY” featuring NBA YoungBoy, has already been released.
Outside of his music career, T.I. has been focusing on his family and other ventures. He is a grandfather to two grandchildren and recently announced that his son King is expecting a child. In an interview with Atlanta radio station Hot 107.9, he joked about his future grandchild, saying, “I’m gonna make this the greatest gangster of all time” and promising that the child would “torture [King] the way you tortured me.”
In recent years, T.I. has also expanded into acting, stand-up comedy, and business. He opened the Trap Music Museum in Atlanta, a tribute to the genre he helped define and the culture of his hometown.
As T.I. prepares to step away from the stage, fans eagerly await the release of his final album and reflect on the rapper’s decades-long influence on the industry.
