The King Is Back & Will Be Released Aug 24th

During his first post-incarceration interview southern rapper T.I.told fans that his forthcoming album, which is due out on August 24, will be reminiscent of his earlier work, and after getting a preview of some of the tracks, R&B singer The-Dream agrees.

Talking to MTV News, Dreamreiterated Tip’s statements that the album would be based on “thoughts” and said that you can feel the passion behind the Grand Hustle rapper’s work.

“Tip is in a zone, man,” said Dream. “He’s in one of those things. But me just being a lyric guy, what makes songs, I think, hits is when it comes from the heart and you really are saying something you mean. And you feel it through the passion.”

Dream, who is collaborating with T.I. for the second single on his Love King album, also said that every track that Tipplayed from him was impressive.

“Every record he played me, I was like, ‘Wow.’I could just feel it. It wasn’t about judging it. It wasn’t about, ‘Is this a single or is this that?’ It was just, ‘Wow, where have you been? Where’d you go? It was just elevated and he’s elevated. Right now, he’s rapping like he is in space. Not a place we don’t know — it’s in the same area — but his vibe is just wider now.

In his first interview since out of prison, Tip says that this album will be more aggressive than his previous works.

“This album is different in many ways. I think that Paper Trailwas a lot more about thoughts,” he said. “[But] this [forthcoming album] is more about feelings. This is significantly more aggressive, or at least at this period in production. Who knows? I can do 10 love songs tomorrow and change the direction. At this point, right now, it’s going hard. It’s going hard like classic T.I.”

T.I.’s upcoming album is expected to drop on August 24 via Grand Hustle.