Okay, lets get to the bottom of this debate and choose the king of the South once and for all.

Alot of people would give it to Lil Flip because he has made a name for his self on the underground mixtape circuit. He has released several screwed CD’s that have been a hit down south and a hit across black campuses in the south. When Flip entered the mainstream, he blew up immediately dropping “This is the way we ball.” After making his name on his first single, Flip blazed the track titled “Like a pimp” with the help of David Banner.

On his solo album he dropped “Game Over,” which was an instant club anthem and was played heavily on radio stations nationwide. Then came the hit “Sunshine” featuring Lea. It showed the sensitive side of Flip and won the hearts of many females everywhere. To top things off his album has sold over 2 million copies to date.

On the other hand there is TI. A young Atlanta rapper who has made a name for his self by giving listeners a taste of the street life. TI hit the scene early, but did not have a lot of success due to bad promotional deals and he lack of publicity. TI responded withan album entitled “Trap Muzic,” which was set off by the club anthem “24’s.”

He followed up after dropping his first single and came hard with “Rubberband man.” This song was a hit everywhere and hit rado stations nationwide and was played heavily on BET and MTV. Then came the single “Let’s Get Away” produced by Jazze Pha. This single showed the sensitive side of the young ATL rapper, but at the same time TI still kept it “street” with his lucrative lyrics.

On Tuesday, Nov. 30, TI dropped his “Urban Legend” album which features the newest club anthem “Bring Em Out,” which uses a sample from one of TI’s favorite rappers legendeary Jay-Z. The album also includes street anthems as well. “You don’t know Me” and “Stand Up” which features Trick Daddy and Lil Wayne. On this album there are also appearences from Nelly and Mannie Fresh.

Honestly, I have to go with TI as the King of the south. Not only is he a lyricist, he is an an enterpreneur that will soon release a movie as well. He also has an endorsment deal with Reebok through the S. Carter shoe line.

TI has won the hearts of all of his fans down in the ATL. This comes a shocker due to the fact that Ludacris is from Atlanta and has sold enormous amounts of records. Not only did TI win the battle between Lil Flip and his self, he also dissed Ludacris several times on mixtapes.

After listening to “Urban Legend” the latest CD from TI, it is evident who the king of the south is and he hails from the ATL not Houston.

• Commentary By Julius Mckinley