Ty Dolla Sign

Early life

Ty Dolla Sign was born Tyrone William Griffin, Jr. on April 13, 1985, in Los Angeles, California. Growing up in South Central Los Angeles, Ty Dolla Sign was a gang member, representing the Bloods, while his brother was a Crip. About his childhood Ty Dolla Sign revealed, that through his father's involvement in the band Lakeside, he got to hang around and meet bands like Earth Wind & Fire and Prince as a kid, which incited his love and interest for soul music.

2007–11: Career beginnings

Ty Dolla Sign is the son of musician Tyrone Griffin, a member of the band Lakeside. Ty Dolla Sign began his music career by learning how to play the bass guitar and later learned how to play drums, guitars, keyboards, and the MPC. Ty Dolla Sign and his partner Kory were signed a record deal with Venus Brown and Buddah Brown Entertainment, subsequently releasing a mixtape, titled Raw & Bangin Mixtape Vol 2. The duo also made guest appearances on studio albums by other artists such as Sa-Ra Creative Partners and Black Milk. They also sang on songs such as "U", which was featured on the latter 2007's recording Popular Demand. Eventually, however, the partners had a falling out related to these ventures.

After the dispute, Ty Dolla Sign would go on to collaborate with Los Angeles-based rapper YG. Ty Dolla Sign's initial claim to fame was through the success of YG's single "Toot It and Boot It", a song he both wrote and produced with YG. He then became affiliated with YG's group Pu$haz Ink. In 2011, Ty Dolla Sign released his first solo song, titled "All Star" featuring Joe Moses, and produced by Fuego. Ty Dolla Sign then released "My Cabana", featuring Young Jeezy, which was ranked on Complex's Best 50 Songs of 2012 list at number 23. Ty Dolla Sign co-founded the production team D.R.U.G.S. alongside longtime friends and fellow music producers Chordz 3D and G Casso, the latter of which was later murdered. Other producers later joined D.R.U.G.S., including Nate 3D, Buddah Shampoo, Fuego, DJ Mustard and DJ Dahi.

2012–14: Beach House mixtapes

In 2012, Ty Dolla Sign signed a recording contract with Atlantic Records. After signing with Atlantic Records, he released his first solo mixtape, titled Beach House, on October 1, 2012. He followed with the mixtape's sequel, Beach House 2, on July 1, 2013. Beach House 2 features guest appearances from Too $hort, Wiz Khalifa, Juicy J and Kirko Bangz, among others. The following day, it was revealed that Ty Dolla Sign signed a deal with Wiz Khalifa's Taylor Gang Records. In mid-2013, he toured with Khalifa and A$AP Rocky, among others, on the "Under the Influence of Music 2" concert tour.

On September 10, 2013, Ty Dolla Sign released a single, titled "Paranoid", which features a verse from Atlanta rapper B.o.B and production from DJ Mustard. The song was later announced to be the first single off his upcoming extended play (EP). On October 22, 2013, the Ethan Lader-directed music video for "Paranoid", premiered via Diddy's Revolt. The single became highly popular, peaking at number 29 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and eventually being certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

On January 7, 2014, Ty Dolla Sign released his second single for his debut EP, titled "Or Nah", featuring Wiz Khalifa and DJ Mustard. The song's production was handled by DJ Mustard and it contains a sample of Trillville's "Some Cut". The music video was filmed during January 2014. The single was remixed featuring vocals from Canadian singer The Weeknd and was later certified tripple platinum by the RIAA.

On January 21, 2014, Ty Dolla Sign released his major label debut project, Beach House EP. The EP features guest appearances from Casey Veggies, Wiz Khalifa, Twista, Jay Rock, Trey Songz, French Montana, Travi$ Scott and Fredo Santana, while the production was primarily handled by Ty Dolla Sign himself, along with DJ Mustard, Cardo and Young Chop, among others. He stated that the EP would feature a new sound from him, and that it would be on a whole other level compared to his mixtapes. Ty Dolla Sign described the EP as being a preview for his debut studio album, at the time due to be released during 2014. The remix to "Paranoid", featuring Trey Songz, French Montana, and DJ Mustard, was also included on the EP.

2014–2016: Free TC and Campaign

On February 23, 2014, Ty Dolla Sign revealed that his debut studio album would be titled Free TC, and would be released during the third quarter of 2014. He told Revolt, that he had already completed eight songs for the album and that he would be going on tour, namely Under the Influence 3, with Wiz Khalifa during 2014. He was chosen for the 2014's XXL freshman class. In May 2014, Ty Dolla Sign told The Fader, that he would release a mixtape, titled Sign Language, sometime during the next few months, which would then be followed by Free TC. In August 2014, TyDolla Sign revealed that Jeremih, Wiz Khalifa, YG, Yo Gotti and Jay 305, will be appearing on Sign Language. On August 24, 2014, which happens to be the same day he released his mixtape Sign Language, Ty Dolla Sign told HotNewHipHop, that he has worked with Rihanna on a track from her upcoming album.

While working on his debut album, Ty Dolla Sign appeared on Chris Brown and Tyga's Fan of a Fan: The Album, on the second track "Nothin' Like Me", as well as Big Sean's song "Play No Games" off of Dark Sky Paradise. On May 26, 2015, Ty Dolla Sign released the first single from Free TC, titled "Only Right", which features TeeCee4800, Joe Moses and YG and was produced by DJ Mustard. On June 26, 2015, he released the album's second single, titled "Blasé", featuring Future and Rae Sremmurd. "Blasé" would go on to be certified platinum by the RIAA. Ty Dolla Sign's album pre-order as well as the instant grat "When I See Ya", featuring Fetty Wap, became available on September 11, 2015. The album's third single, "Saved", featuring E-40, went on to be certified gold by the RIAA.

Ty Dolla Sign revealed that on October 13, 2015, exactly one month before his album came out, he would release a new mixtape Airplane Mode. Ty Dolla Sign's debut album, Free TC, was released on November 13, 2015, via Taylor Gang Records and Atlantic Records. The album debuted at number 14 on the Billboard 200, with 31,000 equivalent album units and first-week sales of 22,000 copies in the United States. In February 2016, Fifth Harmony released the single "Work from Home" featuring Ty Dolla Sign, which has gone on to peak at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. In June 2016, Ty Dolla Sign, Lil Wayne, Wiz Khalifa, Imagine Dragons, Logic and X Ambassadors released the collaboration single "Sucker for Pain" for the motion picture soundtrack for Suicide Squad. In August 2016, Ty and singer Nick Jonas performed the song "Bacon" at the MTV Video Music Awards, where Ty also won Best Collaboration for "Work from Home" with Fifth Harmony. On September 23, 2016, Ty released a commercial mixtape titled Campaign, which peaked at number 28 on the Billboard 200.

2016-present: Beach House 3

On June 19, 2016, Ty announced that his next project following Campaign would be Beach House 3 and that this installment would be an album rather than a mixtape. It will be released in 2017. The lead single "Love U Better" featuring Lil Wayne and The-Dream was released July 10, 2017. The second single "So Am I" was released September 1, 2017. On September 20, 2017 Ty revealed the album's released date along with 2 promotional singles and made "Beach House 3" available for pre-order. The album will be released October 27, 2017.

Musical style

Ty Dolla Sign sings and raps, combining elements of hip hop music and contemporary R&B. When asked if he was a rapper, he stated, "People would call it rap, but I really don’t feel like I rap. There’s so many great rappers, like if we had to battle or some shit, they would just cream me. I don’t really consider myself a rapper, I just happen to have bars, or something like that. I still sing man, I’m a singer, ya feel me?"

Influences

When asked about his influences, Ty Dolla Sign responded, "2Pac is my favorite artist of all time. I liked Slum Village a lot back then, like J Dilla, he’s one of my favorite producers and artists. I’m like a hip-hop head type of dude. Mos Def, Talib Kweli, that whole Rawkus Records scene, that’s my type of shit." He continued, "I also like cats like Prince. Just like his production, he's kind of like the same thing as me. He sings, he produces, he plays all types of instruments. That’s what I’m after. I wouldn’t wear that type of clothes or wear my hair like that. [Laughs.] But as far as artistry, that’s the same type of dude I am." In an interview he revealed that Kim Burrell was his absolute favorite vocalist, and that Brandy was right there with her.

Personal life

Ty Dolla Sign has a 12 year old daughter named Jailynn.

Discography