"Dope" is a song recorded by American singer Lady Gaga for her third studio album, ARTPOP (2013). It was released on November 4, 2013, by Interscope Records as the second promotional single from the record, following "Venus". It was written by Gaga, Paul "DJ White Shadow" Blair, Dino Zisis, and Nick Monson and produced by Gaga and Rick Rubin.
Following her hip surgery and cancellation of the Born This Way Ball tour, Gaga became addicted to drugs, which helped her get relief from the pain of surgery and also to cope with her sabbatical. "Dope" was written about this addiction and evolved from a song she had previously composed for her fans, about her confessions. It was added to ARTPOP because Gaga felt the album needed something more autobiographical.
Background
The song was confirmed on October 9th, 2013, by Gaga's photo description of an Instagram photo. On October 10th, Bobby Campbell confirmed that "Dope" was the new title of "I Wanna Be With You", a song dedicated to Lady Gaga's fans after the cancellation of the Born This Way Ball in 2013, which she performed at the iTunes Festival. Lady Gaga later further confirmed on her Twitter[1] that the song (which was presented at the iTunes Festival as "I Wanna Be With You") was renamed "Dope". Gaga originally revealed the song on Twitter: "I would rather be poor and happy than rich and alone" in February of 2013.
In the track-by-track ARTPOP commentary on Sirius XM, Lady Gaga said that "Dope" represents the sad part of the journey that is the album. Her marijuana addiction served as the initial inspiration to writing the song. She wanted to talk honestly about that period of her life adding she used to smoke 15-20 joints a day to recover from the pain after the operation which made her paranoid and even feel worse comparing to the moment she first started consuming it. She felt like people did not want to talk to her because of that and it made her feel less articulate, not really 'there'. She concluded saying that Dope is a "I'm sorry" to all the people in her life she really cares about, her fans, boyfriend and family.
| “ | So, then you sort of get to the sad, end part of that story; which is that I became really addicted to marijuana. I know that sounds kind of crazy, because people think you can’t be addicted to it, but I guess I wanted to, kind of be honest about it because, I think a lot of people think you can’t be, and I started to use it as a coping mechanism for my anxiety and I’d smoke like fifteen to twenty joints a day — just numbing numbing numbing my body, my spirit - everything; and, eventually it makes you even more paranoid and sweaty, and kind of, worse than you were before you started smoking; and, I lived high for like a whole year, doing that — maybe a little longer. And, it was really hard for people around me to see me in kind of a withdrawn state all the time — even if I was creating, and I was happy making music and doing what I did — it was hard for them to talk to me, and y’know I’m usually like, a really articulate person, and I wasn’t so articulate anymore, and I was just kind of — not really *there* all the time. So, I wrote this song as an, “I’m sorry,” to all the people in my life that I really love — is that I’m sorry to my fans, to my boyfriend, to my parents, and I sing at the end, “that I need you more than dope” — and that’s the truth. So, here’s “Dope,” from ARTPOP. | ” |
Before the performance of "Dope" at artRave on November 10th, 2013, Lady Gaga expressed her hope that she would be able to write new songs without consuming drugs and alcohol which served as her inspiration for writing this song:
| “ | One of the hardest things that I ever had to give up was drugs and alcohol. And I still have a real hard time with it. But I wanted to say something about it tonight because I've watched too many great artists and too many friends go, because of those two things... And I want tonight so badly to be a change. I do not have to be high to be creative. I do not have to be drunk to have a good idea. I can sit with my thoughts and not feel crazy. I can do it. I can do it without the dope. | ” |
In an exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly on June 7th, 2021, when asked how and why did it go from performing "I Wanna Be With You" publicly to it changing into a different song called "Dope" for the ARTPOP release, DJ White Shadow responded:
| “ | When we did the iTunes Festival, we hadn't gotten to the point where we were sitting in the studio finishing things completely. So, she wanted to make changes! At the end of the day, it's her art. If we're talking about a car, she comes up with the concept, she goes in and draws it, and I come in with a screwdriver and some wrenches and try and put the car together. Sometimes you have to take the car apart to put it back together the way she wants it, and that's all that is. That's a song that we had a version of, she liked it, and she wanted to do something different. It's not up to me to say no. I would never say no. Let's get this thing out the way she wants to get it together! At the end of the day, "Dope" was the song she wanted on the record, and it just started as something else. I see that happen 500 times, and you guys get to see it once. That's a microcosm of how albums work. You build one idea as A, and you don't go to Z, you go to AAA to five As to five Zs. I'm sure there were 12 iterations between "I Wanna Be With You" and "Dope" that we did. | ” |
—DJ White Shadow for "Entertainment Weekly" | ||
Release
"Dope" was released as the second promotional single off of ARTPOP, and the final song to be released prior to the album release. The song was available to download on iTunes on November 4th, 2013, before the album release seven days later.
Artwork
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Gaga tweeted the cover artwork for "Dope" on November 1st, 2013. The cover was shot by Inez and Vinoodh during their promotional shoot for ARTPOP. The artwork features the same "white canvas" look as the previous single covers from ARTPOP but with a slightly altered border layout. The photo features Gaga wearing a cropped long sleeved jacket, black panties and a navy blue floppy hat. She is wearing a grillz bracelet in her mouth and has a dark veil over her eyes. Gaga has worn the grillz on many occasions following the release of the single cover, including her performance at the YouTube Music Awards. The cover also features an explicit warning square on the top right corner. The text was handwritten by either Inez or Vinoodh, reflecting on the same style as the "Applause" single cover. In selected countries, a clean version of the cover was used in which Gaga is wearing a pair of tight dark colored jeans and her stomach is covered in black. |
 Official single cover artwork  Censored cover
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Performances
| Dates | Location | City | 
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|---|
| 2013 | |||
| Sep 1 | iTunes Festival1 | London | 
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| Nov 10 | artRave | Brooklyn, NY | 
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| Dec 6 | Annabel's | London |
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| 2014 | |||
| Mar 13 | South by Southwest (SXSW) | Austin, TX |
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| 1. Gaga performed as "I Wanna Be With You". |
| Dates | Location | Channel |
|
|---|
| 2013 | |||
| Dec 6 | Alan Carr: Chatty Man | Channel 4 |
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| 2014 | |||
| April 2 | Late Show with David Letterman | CBS |
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| Tour | Dates | Performances |
|---|
| Lady Gaga Live at Roseland Ballroom | March 28—April 7, 2014 | 7 |
| artRAVE: The ARTPOP Ball | July 30, 2014 - September 10, 2014 | 16 |
| Total of performances | 23 |
Lyrics
- Album version
Cork's off, it’s on
The party’s just begun
I promise this
Drink is my last one
I know I fucked up again
'Cause I lost my only friend
God forgive my sins
Don't leave me, I
Oh, I'd hate myself until I die
My heart would break without you
Might not awake without you
Been hurting low from living high for so long
I'm sorry and I love you
Stay with me, bell bottom blue
I'll keep on searching for an answer 'cause I need you more than Dope
I need you more than Dope
I need you more than Dope
I need you more than Dope
I need you more than Dope
Toast one last puff
And two last regrets
Three spirits and
Twelve lonely steps
Up heaven's stairway to gold
Mine myself like coal
A mountain of his soul
Each day I cry
Oh, I feel so low from living high
My heart would break without you
Might not awake without you
Been hurting low from living high for so long
I'm sorry and I love you
Stay with me, bell bottom blue
I'll keep on searching for an answer 'cause I need you more than Dope
I need you more than Dope
I need you more than Dope
I need you more than Dope
I need you more than Dope
I need you more
Need you more
I need you more than Dope
- I Wanna Be With U (Live)
It’s off, it’s on
The party’s just begun
Take off, and run
Let’s celebrate the fun of being young
I don’t wanna grow up
I don’t wanna grow up
But when the lights come on
You lift me up, and I feel strong
I won’t be right without you
And I might break without you
I’d rather be poor and happy than rich and alone
I’ll write hit songs about you
No matter how we’ll get through
I’ll keep on singing for a living, but I wanna be in love
And I wanna be with you
I wanna be with you…
Lights off, lights on
The music has begun
More light, you run, and get the bad guy’s gun
I love the songs that you play
And I don’t care what they say
Cause I was born this way
When I hear you scream, I hit the top of the stage and
Close my eyes, I know exactly who I am
I won’t be right without you
And I might break without you
I’d rather be poor and happy than rich and alone
I’ll write hit songs about you
No matter how we’ll get through
I’ll keep on singing for a living, but I wanna be in love
And I wanna be with you
I wanna be with you…
I won’t be right without you
And I might break without you
I’d rather be poor and happy than rich and alone
I’ll write hit songs about you
No matter how we’ll get through
I’ll keep on singing for a living, but I wanna be in love
And I wanna be with you
Wanna be with you, wanna be with you
Wanna be with you, wanna be …
No matter what breaks me, I wanna be, with you
Credits
| Writers | Lady Gaga, DJ White Shadow, Nick Monson and Dino Zisis |
| Producers | Rick Rubin and Lady Gaga |
| Recording by | Jason Lader, Ryan Hewitt and Sean Oakley at Shangri La, Malibu, CA
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| Assistant recording | Eric Lynn, Joshua Smith, Dave “Squirrel” Covell |
| Additional recording by | Bill Malina at CRC Studios, Chicago, IL
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| Assistant recording | Steve Faye |
| Digital editing | Jason Lader |
| Keyboards by | Adam MacDougall and Jason Lader |
| Piano by | Lady Gaga |
| Union contract administrator | Ivy Skoff |
| Mixed by | Manny Marroquin at Larrabee North Studios, Universal City, CA
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| Assistant mixers | Chris Galland and Delhert Bowers at Larrabee Studios |
| Additional mixing by | Andrew Scheps at Punkerpad Mobile, Los Angeles, CA
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| Mastering | Gene Grimaldi at Oasis Mastering, Burbank, CA
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| Published by |
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References
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