T.I. is still moving that “Dope.”
On Friday (May 13), Tip previewed the video for his Marsha Ambrosius-assisted single “Dope” through Shazam and TIDAL. Fans who follow his instructions are then directed to a snippet of a music video that features big name guests.
While André 3000, Big Sean, Travis Scott, Nelly, and Killer Mike all pop up for cameos in the clip, Tip name-checks Dr. Dre, Pharrell, Eric B. and Rakim in his rhymes. Aaliyah also gets a shout-out, which is appropriate since her song “Rock the Boat” is sampled on the track.
The Jessy Terrero-directed clip is slated to drop Monday (May 16) pre-paywall through TIDAL. From there, it will be an exclusive on the platform for four days.
Of course, “Dope” is also an early look at what fans can expect from The Dime Trap, Tip’s 10th studio album. Recently, he told “The Ed Lover Show” that the project won’t be fully exclusive to TIDAL, the company that he joined forces with in February.
“There will be some exclusive components, but this is an album that’s dedicated to my core fans,” he said. “The people who went out there the first week Trap Muzik came out, so I’m basically dedicating this album to them and making the music that I know they want to hear me make. So I know those people all of them can’t necessarily afford TIDAL. So we will have some exclusive content and exclusive components. I don’t know if the entire album will be exclusive.”
Back in February, Tip said The Dime Trap was “coming sooner than you think.” At the time, he also said a visual component would accompany the album. “There’s a film that we’re going to shoot to release in association with The Dime Trap,” he said. “It will be supported by the music…It’s an actual story that goes with it. It’s the first actual script that I’ve written. We’re about to commence filming in April.”