Ty Dolla Sign is back in album mode and dropped off the first single from his upcoming album on the latest episode of Zane Lowe’s Beats 1 Radio show today. It’s called “Purple Emoji” and it features J. Cole, who is also gearing up for the release of new music this year. “Purple Emoji” is Zane Lowe’s World Record for the day. Check it out above.
“Purple Emoji” is the first-ever collaboration between J. Cole and Ty, which is as surprising as it makes perfect sense. Although Ty is well-known for his hook work on numerous other rappers’ hit singles, J. Cole has been notoriously reserved about doing features, so much so that his recent spate of guest verses for 21 Savage, 6lack, Jay Rock, and more was considered a huge, carefully-considered career move for him, as he felt he needed to get out of his comfort zone.
Meanwhile, Ty’s collaborative gifts were actually utilized to their full potential in 2018 when he and Jeremiah formed the group MihTy to release a collaborative project that found the two gifted songwriters bouncing off each others’ styles perfectly. While it’s been two years since his last solo release, Beach House 3, he’s kept himself in the limelight with appearances on other artists’ hit singles including last year’s breakout hit, “OTW,” with 6lack and Khalid. Earlier this year, Ty contributed to Kehlani’s While We Wait EP on the upbeat single “Nights Like This.”
