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Shallow Nation

February 15th, 2009 at 7:12 am

T.I. ‘Dead and Gone’ Video, Photos

T.I. and Justin Timberlake on the set of Dead and Gone music video

Here is the official music video for the T.I. single “Dead and Gone” featuring Justin Timberlake. Watch the video and see set photos and lyrics here. It is the fourth single from T.I.’s sixth studio album, Paper Trail, in stores now. Peaking at No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100, “Dead and Gone” is the fourth consecutive top 10 hit from the album.

***Updated on February 17, 2009 with official music video below.****

The music video was directed by Chris Robinson and shot during the first week of February 2009.

The emotionally intense, autobiographical track tells the story of the death of T.I.’s lifelong friend and personal assistant Philant Johnson who was killed on May 3, 2006, when T.I.’s entourage was caught up in a shooting after a show in Cincinnati, Ohio. The shooting incident also left three injured. T.I. co-wrote the track with Justin Timberlake who, along with Rob Knox is the producer.

The song marks the first collaboration between the two music stars since the single “My Love” from Justin Timberlake’s 2006 album, FutureSex/LoveSounds. They won the 2007 Grammy for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration.

T.I. and Justin Timberlake on the set of Dead and Gone music video

T.I. and Justin Timberlake performed the song live on February 8, 2009 at the 2009 Grammy Awards. (Video of their performance is below.) In an interview with MTV News, T.I. spoke about their collaboration.

“I learned how to cater to a different audience,” he told MTV News on Wednesday about working with JT. “To stay on a different demographic’s mind. What Justin do, I don’t do the same way as him, but I can accomplish the same things using a different approach. He showed me that I can do just that on ‘My Love.’ If I did ‘My Love’ over a DJ Toomp beat, it would have probably been ‘Get Loose’ [an album cut from Urban Legend]. But you put Justin on a track, and it’s Grammy Award-winning ‘My Love.’ So it taught me if you take the same thing you have right here and [add] a few more different elements that you can definitely appeal to a different crowd.”

T.I. and Justin Timberlake on the set of Dead and Gone music video

He also talked about “Dead and Gone” and the death of his friend.

“It just seems like as long as I can remember, he was there,” he said. “As long as I can remember, his mama and my mama were partners. His cousin and my uncle were partners. His auntie and my grandmama stayed up the street from one another. And we just always knew each other, and it was cool.”

T.I. testified in the case before a jury convicted Hosea Thomas for the murder and a judge sentenced him to 66 years in prison.

“We were born in the same year, so we grew up together,” T.I. said during examination. “[He] was my oldest living friend. We knew each other since [we were] 2 years old, at least. … He had a role in my life, personally as my best friend, a role in my organization … as my assistant.”

Source: T.I. Talks Grammy Duet With Justin Timberlake

Photo source: Young, Black, and Fabulous

The official music video premiered on February 17, 2009.