The King is returning to claim his throne. Less than a month after entering a halfway house, T.I. is back at work recording a new album.

Jim Jonsin, who helped take Tip to No. 1 with “Whatever You Like,” will once again be involved with the project. Jonsin recently spoke with the rapper upon his release to an Atlanta correctional facility after serving seven months behind bars on weapons charges.

According to the producer, the King of the South hasn’t let lockdown dampen his spirits. “It doesn’t seem like he missed a beat,” he exclusively tells staging-rapup.kinsta.cloud. “He was so upbeat, his spirits were up, and he’s excited to be out and working. He hasn’t changed, he sounded exactly like he did when I talked to him months before he went in.”

T.I. hit the ground running and is already in the studio crafting the follow-up to 2008’s multi-platinum Paper Trail. “He’s back in the studio. I sent him some music via email,” Jonsin reveals. “He can work during the week and not on the weekend, I believe. He’s definitely working on an album for this year right now.”

The project’s direction is still up in the air. “That’s really going to be determined by him. We’re supposed to get together or talk more about it soon,” Jonsin shares. “But his last album was great and his sound already does really well, so I wouldn’t see him changing too much.”

–Reporting by Arianna Davis