"Ball" is a song by American hip hop recording artist T.I., released on October 16, 2012, as the second official

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

from his eighth studio album '' Trouble Man: Heavy Is the Head'' (2012). The song features a

guest appearance In show business, a guest appearance is the participation of an outsider performer (such as a musician or actor) in an event such as a music record or concert, show, etc., when the performer does not belong to the regular band, cast, or other p ...

from fellow American

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

Lil Wayne Dwayne Michael Carter Jr. (born September 27, 1982), known professionally as Lil Wayne, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. His career began in 1995, at the age of 12, when he was signed by rapper Birdman (rapper), ...

, as well as

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

and uncredited vocals from American

record producer A record producer is a recording project's creative and technical leader, commanding studio time and coaching artists, and in popular genres typically creates the song's very sound and structure.Virgil Moorefield"Introduction" ''The Producer as ...

Rico Love Richard Preston Butler Jr. (born December 3, 1982), better known by his stage name Rico Love, is an American record producer, songwriter, singer, and rapper. He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, but split his childhood between Milwaukee, Wiscon ...

. In 2013, the song was included on the soundtrack to the film ''

Fast & Furious 6 ''Fast & Furious 6'' (titled on-screen as ''Furious 6'') is a 2013 American action film directed by Justin Lin and written by Chris Morgan. It is the sequel to '' Fast Five'' (2011) and is the sixth installment in the ''Fast & Furious'' franc ...

''.

Background

The single, a

New Orleans bounce Bounce music is a style of New Orleans hip hop music that is said to have originated as early as the late 1980s in the city's Housing Authority of New Orleans, housing projects. Popular bounce artists have included DJ Jubilee, Partners-N-Crime, ...

record, was first announced by the song's producer Rico Love, who already had high hopes for the song, stating: "I'm not trying to be cocky, but I pretty much know that that's gonna be a

hit record A hit song, also known as a hit record, hit single or simply a hit, is a recorded song or instrumental that becomes broadly popular or well-known. Although ''hit song'' means any widely played or big-selling song, the specific term ''hit record' ...

". T.I. unveiled the single's original artwork on June 29, 2012, which was later changed on October 8, 2012, along with the announcement of the single's release date. The song was previewed in the second season of his

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...

series T.I. and Tiny: The Family Hustle on episode 5. The episode premiered on September 25, 2012, featuring the preview of it at a listening session in

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. The song was released on October 15, 2012, via T.I.'s

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel managed by

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

, and was available for purchase at

iTunes Store The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...

on October 16, 2012. Rico Love

sampled Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of so ...

"Drag Rap", as performed by The Showboys, to produce the song.

Music video

T.I. shot a video for the song at Hollygrove in

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
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, featuring cameo appearances of Rico Love,

Trae Trae is a given name. Notable people with the name "Trae" include *Trae Bell-Haynes (born 1995), Canadian basketball player *Trae Coyle (born 2001), English footballer *Trae Crowder (born 1986), American comedian *Trae Elston (born 1994), Americ ...

Mack Maine Jermaine Anthony Preyan (born July 28, 1982), better known by his stage name Mack Maine, is an American record executive, songwriter, and rapper from New Orleans, Louisiana. Mack Maine has been the president of Young Money Entertainment since 2 ...

, Birdman, T.I.'s sons as well as T.I. and Lil Wayne. The photos of it came out on September 25, 2012, via his series ''#TroubleManTuesdays''. The video of

behind the scenes In cinema, behind-the-scenes (BTS), also known as the making-of, the set, or on the set, is a type of documentary film that features the production of a film or television program. This is often referred to as the EPK (electronic press kit) vid ...

was released, on September 28, 2012, and the trailer for it came out on October 16, 2012 - same day it was released on iTunes. The music video premiered on Vh1 Right after T.I.'s show T.I. and Tiny: The Family Hustle. The video was directed by

Marc Klasfeld Marc Klasfeld is an American music video director. He has directed over two hundred music videos for artists such as Slipknot, Sum 41, Katy Perry, Jay-Z, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Britney Spears, Kid Rock, Michael Bublé, Nelly, Foo Fighters, Kelly ...

Track listing

;Digital download # "Ball" — 3:25

Credits and personnel

Production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

–

, Earl & E Music Video Director: Marc Klasfeld Production Company: Rockhard Motion Studio: Super77 Producer: Rainer Ziehm Project Coordinator: Sara Santillan Creative Director: Nate Reese, Sean Conner Animation: Nate Reese, Chris Meister, Andrew Mark, Scott Ulliman, Chavilah Bennett

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

References

External links

* {{authority control 2012 singles T.I. songs Grand Hustle Records singles Songs written by T.I. Lil Wayne songs Songs written by Lil Wayne Songs written by Rico Love Music videos directed by Marc Klasfeld Atlantic Records singles Song recordings produced by Rico Love 2012 songs Songs written by Earl Hood Songs written by Eric Goudy