WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.020 You know, when you stand on the sidewalk and 00:00:02.020 --> 00:00:05.759 look up at a massive skyscraper, there's this... 00:00:06.000 --> 00:00:08.820 This expectation of what you're supposed to admire, 00:00:09.080 --> 00:00:10.660 right? Oh, totally. You're looking at the shiny 00:00:10.660 --> 00:00:13.460 exterior. Exactly. You see the gleaming glass, 00:00:13.539 --> 00:00:16.219 the architectural spire, the way it catches the 00:00:16.219 --> 00:00:18.920 sunset. Right, because it's engineered to pull 00:00:18.920 --> 00:00:21.559 your eye. I mean, it's designed to be the absolute 00:00:21.559 --> 00:00:23.920 center of attention, the focal point of the skyline. 00:00:23.960 --> 00:00:26.179 Yeah, but you almost never stop to think about 00:00:26.179 --> 00:00:29.140 the steel beams inside, you know, the unseen 00:00:29.140 --> 00:00:31.160 scaffolding. The stuff doing the actual work. 00:00:31.280 --> 00:00:34.600 Right. And if you pull out that steel, the glittering 00:00:34.600 --> 00:00:36.549 tower doesn't necessarily collapse into dust 00:00:36.549 --> 00:00:39.689 right away, but it loses its shape. It definitely 00:00:39.689 --> 00:00:41.549 can't reach those impossible heights anymore. 00:00:41.689 --> 00:00:43.630 No, it just becomes another ordinary building. 00:00:44.250 --> 00:00:46.530 So today we are unpacking the unseen scaffolding 00:00:46.530 --> 00:00:48.869 of the billboard charts. We're doing a deep dive 00:00:48.869 --> 00:00:51.450 into the career of Tyrone William Griffin Jr. 00:00:51.770 --> 00:00:53.710 Better known to most of you is Ty Dolla Sign. 00:00:53.820 --> 00:00:57.079 Yes, Ty Dolla Sign. And our mission today is 00:00:57.079 --> 00:01:01.039 to figure out how one artist becomes the ultimate, 00:01:01.039 --> 00:01:04.219 like, secret weapon for the entire modern music 00:01:04.219 --> 00:01:06.560 industry. Because the music business operates 00:01:06.560 --> 00:01:08.799 exactly like that skyline you just mentioned. 00:01:09.040 --> 00:01:12.579 Yeah. We are constantly staring at the pop stars, 00:01:13.000 --> 00:01:15.040 you know, the front men, the people with their 00:01:15.040 --> 00:01:17.459 names in the largest font on the festival poster. 00:01:17.659 --> 00:01:21.099 Right, the shiny glass. Exactly. Meanwhile, we 00:01:21.099 --> 00:01:23.560 just completely ignore the architectural steal. 00:01:24.099 --> 00:01:27.000 holding those massive hits together and Ty Dolla 00:01:27.000 --> 00:01:30.500 Sign is that steel. Okay let's unpack this because 00:01:30.500 --> 00:01:32.140 I think we need to start with where he comes 00:01:32.140 --> 00:01:35.000 from. Definitely. Because you know you might 00:01:35.000 --> 00:01:36.939 know his voice from a catchy hook on a summer 00:01:36.939 --> 00:01:39.680 radio hit but his background is wildly unexpected. 00:01:40.099 --> 00:01:43.200 This is a story of just extreme duality. Yeah, 00:01:43.200 --> 00:01:46.400 it really is. So he was born in 1982 in Los Angeles, 00:01:46.480 --> 00:01:49.939 and his musical pedigree is basically like soul 00:01:49.939 --> 00:01:52.659 royalty. Oh, absolutely. I mean, his father, 00:01:53.060 --> 00:01:55.099 Tyrone Griffin, senior, was actually a musician 00:01:55.099 --> 00:01:58.299 in the classic funk and soul band Lakeside, which 00:01:58.299 --> 00:02:00.760 is huge. It's massive. So for a kid growing up 00:02:00.760 --> 00:02:02.760 in the 80s, I meant Ty wasn't just sitting in 00:02:02.760 --> 00:02:05.519 his bedroom listening to records. He was physically 00:02:05.519 --> 00:02:07.859 occupying the same space as musical legends. 00:02:08.039 --> 00:02:10.310 Like, who are we talking about here? We're talking 00:02:10.310 --> 00:02:12.289 earth, wind, and fire. We're talking Prince. 00:02:12.509 --> 00:02:15.789 Wow, literally Prince. Literally Prince. He is 00:02:15.789 --> 00:02:20.210 absorbing this deep, fundamental love for soul 00:02:20.210 --> 00:02:22.229 music directly from the masters of the craft. 00:02:22.289 --> 00:02:24.409 Just right in his living room. Yeah, he's watching 00:02:24.409 --> 00:02:27.090 how a live bass line gets laid down, how vocal 00:02:27.090 --> 00:02:29.330 harmonies are stacked in real time. It's an incredible 00:02:29.330 --> 00:02:32.020 foundation. But then... He walks out the front 00:02:32.020 --> 00:02:34.460 door because he's growing up in South Central 00:02:34.460 --> 00:02:37.639 Los Angeles and he actually becomes a member 00:02:37.639 --> 00:02:40.960 of the Bloods gang while his own brother is in 00:02:40.960 --> 00:02:44.139 the rival gang, the Crips. Which is just, it's 00:02:44.139 --> 00:02:45.860 intense. Let's pause and think about that contrast 00:02:45.860 --> 00:02:48.300 for a second. It is an absolute master class. 00:02:48.620 --> 00:02:51.900 in duality. It's like he was learning high -level 00:02:51.900 --> 00:02:54.539 complex music theory in the living room. And 00:02:54.539 --> 00:02:56.419 high -stakes survival tactics on the front porch. 00:02:57.080 --> 00:02:58.819 Exactly. What's fascinating here is how that 00:02:58.819 --> 00:03:02.240 exact duality forged his emotional intelligence 00:03:02.240 --> 00:03:04.879 as a musician. How so? Well, think about the 00:03:04.879 --> 00:03:07.240 tension of those two environments, right? He 00:03:07.240 --> 00:03:10.199 had to learn how to bridge the raw, open -hearted 00:03:10.199 --> 00:03:13.900 vulnerability and rich harmony of classic 70s 00:03:13.900 --> 00:03:16.659 soul with the gritty, hyper -vigilant reality 00:03:16.659 --> 00:03:19.860 of LA hip -hop and gang culture. He really couldn't 00:03:19.860 --> 00:03:21.979 afford to just be one or the other. No, not at 00:03:21.979 --> 00:03:24.580 all. He had to embody the synthesis of both. 00:03:24.960 --> 00:03:26.879 That's why his music never sounds purely like 00:03:26.879 --> 00:03:30.120 a club record or purely like a neo soul track. 00:03:30.400 --> 00:03:32.840 It always has the DNA of both worlds. And that 00:03:32.840 --> 00:03:35.740 synthesis totally explains his toolkit. Oh, his 00:03:35.740 --> 00:03:38.280 toolkit is insane. We really have to talk about 00:03:38.280 --> 00:03:40.400 what he can actually do in a studio, because 00:03:40.400 --> 00:03:43.120 he refuses to fit neatly into the modern industry 00:03:43.120 --> 00:03:46.479 genre boxes. I mean, he is a self -taught multi 00:03:46.479 --> 00:03:48.740 -instrumentalist. Right. He plays the bass guitar, 00:03:48.860 --> 00:03:52.280 the drums, guitars, keyboards, and the Akai MPC. 00:03:52.479 --> 00:03:55.639 All of it. He literally has an entire funk band's 00:03:55.639 --> 00:03:57.759 worth of capability resting in his own hands. 00:03:57.800 --> 00:04:00.139 It's a staggering amount of musical literacy. 00:04:00.259 --> 00:04:02.180 And you see it clearly in his influences too, 00:04:02.240 --> 00:04:04.120 which are just as eclectic as his upbringing. 00:04:04.219 --> 00:04:07.000 Like a total mix. Yeah. He is active. blending 00:04:07.000 --> 00:04:09.780 the hip -hop sensibilities of Tupac, Mos Def, 00:04:09.919 --> 00:04:13.539 and J Dilla with the instrumental genius of Prince 00:04:13.539 --> 00:04:16.279 and then the absolute vocal acrobatics of gospel 00:04:16.279 --> 00:04:20.319 and R &B legends like Kim Rell and Brandy. Oh 00:04:20.319 --> 00:04:23.920 wow. He's literally taking the swing of a J Dilla 00:04:23.920 --> 00:04:26.920 beat and layering a gospel level vocal run over 00:04:26.920 --> 00:04:28.860 it. Which leads to this incredible quote from 00:04:28.860 --> 00:04:31.850 him from the source material he says I don't 00:04:31.850 --> 00:04:33.889 really consider myself a rapper, I just happen 00:04:33.889 --> 00:04:38.009 to have bars. I still sing, menace en, I'm a 00:04:38.009 --> 00:04:41.019 singer, ya feel me. That's such a great quote 00:04:41.019 --> 00:04:43.519 it is and I really want to push back on the industry 00:04:43.519 --> 00:04:46.339 here Like why do we insist on doing this doing 00:04:46.339 --> 00:04:48.819 what exactly? why do we look at black artists 00:04:48.819 --> 00:04:51.279 who sing who produce their own tracks who play 00:04:51.279 --> 00:04:53.180 five instruments and just happen to have rhythm 00:04:53.180 --> 00:04:56.540 and you know bars and Aggressively categorize 00:04:56.540 --> 00:04:59.279 them purely as rappers. Yeah, it's a huge problem 00:04:59.279 --> 00:05:01.779 Are we limiting our understanding of their artistry 00:05:01.779 --> 00:05:04.439 simply because of the cultural space they occupy 00:05:04.439 --> 00:05:07.439 We absolutely are and we use this lazy cultural 00:05:07.439 --> 00:05:10.420 shorthand to categorize artists based on how 00:05:10.420 --> 00:05:13.040 they dress or the slang they use or the neighborhoods 00:05:13.040 --> 00:05:15.040 they come from. Right, rather than looking at 00:05:15.040 --> 00:05:17.680 the art. Exactly, rather than analyzing how they 00:05:17.680 --> 00:05:20.500 actually construct their art. Pydalassine approaches 00:05:20.500 --> 00:05:22.720 hip -hop with the mind of a composer. A composer? 00:05:22.879 --> 00:05:25.540 Yeah, when he cites Prince as an influence, he 00:05:25.540 --> 00:05:28.480 specifically mentions how Prince sings, produces, 00:05:28.939 --> 00:05:32.149 and plays every instrument. Ty isn't just dropping 00:05:32.149 --> 00:05:34.410 a vocal track over a beat someone emailed him. 00:05:34.449 --> 00:05:36.870 No. He understands the physical architecture 00:05:36.870 --> 00:05:40.209 of the music. He knows exactly how a live bass 00:05:40.209 --> 00:05:42.490 line is talking to an electronic kick drum. Or 00:05:42.490 --> 00:05:46.410 how a keyboard chord needs to create like... 00:05:46.220 --> 00:05:49.240 emotional tension just beneath a vocal harmony. 00:05:49.800 --> 00:05:51.879 Exactly. And here's where it gets really interesting. 00:05:52.120 --> 00:05:54.120 Because he understood that architecture so well, 00:05:54.220 --> 00:05:56.420 his initial success wasn't even as a solo star. 00:05:56.620 --> 00:05:58.720 No, he was way in the background. He found his 00:05:58.720 --> 00:06:00.699 footing by making other people sound amazing. 00:06:00.800 --> 00:06:02.819 He was the guy behind the curtain doing all the 00:06:02.819 --> 00:06:05.060 heavy lifting. Yeah, he was grinding it out long 00:06:05.060 --> 00:06:07.899 before the mainstream knew his name. Back in 00:06:07.899 --> 00:06:10.500 2004, he formed the duo Ty and Corey. Right. 00:06:10.779 --> 00:06:12.339 They were doing guest appearances, putting out 00:06:12.339 --> 00:06:14.500 independent mixtapes, basically learning the 00:06:14.500 --> 00:06:16.189 mechanics of the industry. from the ground up. 00:06:16.250 --> 00:06:19.189 Just putting in the reps. Yep. But the real seismic 00:06:19.189 --> 00:06:21.709 shift happens when he links up with the Los Angeles 00:06:21.709 --> 00:06:25.670 rapper YG. Ah, 2010. They drop the breakout hit, 00:06:25.769 --> 00:06:28.019 toot it, and boot it. That song was everywhere. 00:06:28.360 --> 00:06:30.759 Everywhere. And Ty didn't just casually feature 00:06:30.759 --> 00:06:33.459 on it, he co -performed and produced it. He was 00:06:33.459 --> 00:06:36.480 the rhythmic engine of that entire track. He 00:06:36.480 --> 00:06:39.839 really was. He essentially helped define that 00:06:39.839 --> 00:06:43.259 minimalist, pouncy, modern West Coast sound that 00:06:43.259 --> 00:06:45.379 just took over the radio for the next five years. 00:06:45.720 --> 00:06:48.139 And building on that momentum, he co -founded 00:06:48.139 --> 00:06:52.629 a production team called DRUG. working alongside 00:06:52.629 --> 00:06:55.589 heavyweights like DJ Mustard. He's not just establishing 00:06:55.589 --> 00:06:58.250 himself as a distinct voice at this point. He's 00:06:58.250 --> 00:07:01.829 proving he is a reliable hit maker. He is studying 00:07:01.829 --> 00:07:04.629 and mastering the science of what makes a song 00:07:04.629 --> 00:07:06.930 command human attention. Talk about a resume 00:07:06.930 --> 00:07:09.209 builder. I mean, think about the trajectory of 00:07:09.209 --> 00:07:12.610 going from an underground mixtape duo to what 00:07:12.610 --> 00:07:15.110 has to be the ultimate behind -the -scenes flex 00:07:15.110 --> 00:07:17.250 in the music industry. Oh, you mean the Rihanna 00:07:17.250 --> 00:07:19.730 track? Yes. Earning a writing credit on four 00:07:19.730 --> 00:07:21.949 or five seconds, that massive stripped down track 00:07:21.949 --> 00:07:24.389 with Rihanna, Kanye West, and Paul McCartney. 00:07:24.410 --> 00:07:26.589 It's wild. From the streets of South Central 00:07:26.589 --> 00:07:29.750 LA to literally writing a song for a Beatle. 00:07:29.970 --> 00:07:32.569 It just proves the sheer versatility of his pen 00:07:32.569 --> 00:07:35.519 game. It really does. The underlying pop structure 00:07:35.519 --> 00:07:38.660 required to write a massive club anthem for YG 00:07:38.660 --> 00:07:41.899 is the exact same musical math required to write 00:07:41.899 --> 00:07:44.579 an acoustic pop ballad for Paul McCartney. And 00:07:44.579 --> 00:07:47.360 if we connect this to the bigger picture, it 00:07:47.360 --> 00:07:50.079 explains exactly how he eventually transitions 00:07:50.079 --> 00:07:52.800 into a solo powerhouse. How so? Well, he had 00:07:52.800 --> 00:07:55.660 spent years proving to the industry's top executives 00:07:55.660 --> 00:07:58.680 and artists that he could guarantee a hit. He 00:07:58.680 --> 00:08:01.060 was a known, reliable variable. So he wasn't 00:08:01.060 --> 00:08:04.209 a risk anymore. Exactly. So when he finally steps 00:08:04.209 --> 00:08:07.209 into the solo spotlight, he already has the entire 00:08:07.209 --> 00:08:10.230 industry's trust and backing. That makes total 00:08:10.230 --> 00:08:12.589 sense. And that launches us into the Beach House 00:08:12.589 --> 00:08:15.870 era. Right from 2012 to 2014. He signs with Atlantic 00:08:15.870 --> 00:08:18.230 Records and Wiz Khalifa's Taylor Gang Entertainment. 00:08:18.250 --> 00:08:20.949 And he starts dropping these massive culture 00:08:20.949 --> 00:08:23.529 shifting solo hits. Just back to back bangers. 00:08:23.550 --> 00:08:26.069 Yeah. Paranoid featuring B .O .B. hits the Billboard 00:08:26.069 --> 00:08:29.490 Hot 100, then Or Nah featuring Wiz Khalifa, DJ 00:08:29.490 --> 00:08:31.709 Mustard and later the weekend. drops and goes 00:08:31.709 --> 00:08:34.210 sextuple platinum. Sextuple platinum is insane. 00:08:34.350 --> 00:08:37.049 It became an absolute anthem. It did. And he 00:08:37.049 --> 00:08:40.409 builds this rock solid solo foundation with critically 00:08:40.409 --> 00:08:43.830 acclaimed albums like Free TC in 2015 and Beach 00:08:43.830 --> 00:08:47.789 House 3 in 2017. Yeah. But the unique genius 00:08:47.789 --> 00:08:51.289 of Ty Dolla Sign is that even as his solo star 00:08:51.289 --> 00:08:54.480 is rising, He never unandens his role as the 00:08:54.480 --> 00:08:56.940 ultimate collaborator. No, he really doesn't. 00:08:57.039 --> 00:08:58.799 In fact, he leans into it harder than anyone 00:08:58.799 --> 00:09:01.539 else in the business. He completely dominates 00:09:01.539 --> 00:09:03.460 as a featured artist. He's like the emergency 00:09:03.460 --> 00:09:05.500 contact you call when your song is sitting at 00:09:05.500 --> 00:09:08.000 a B plus and needs to become an A plus cultural 00:09:08.000 --> 00:09:11.039 moment. Exactly. He's the fixer. Yeah. He wins 00:09:11.039 --> 00:09:13.759 an MTV Video Music Award for Best Collaboration 00:09:13.759 --> 00:09:15.840 on Fifth Harmony's Pop Smash work from home. 00:09:15.940 --> 00:09:19.379 Which was huge. Huge. Then he shifts gears completely 00:09:19.379 --> 00:09:21.919 and does rock -infused tracks for the Suicide 00:09:21.919 --> 00:09:24.440 Squad soundtrack. Talk about versatility. Right. 00:09:24.860 --> 00:09:26.799 And then he hits number one on the Billboard 00:09:26.799 --> 00:09:29.580 Hot 100 with Post Malone's Psycho, which by the 00:09:29.580 --> 00:09:32.539 way is certified diamond. Diamond. That's rare 00:09:32.539 --> 00:09:35.000 air. That means it moved over 10 million units. 00:09:35.159 --> 00:09:37.259 Yeah. And all of this collaborative dominance 00:09:37.259 --> 00:09:41.059 culminates in his 2020 album, which has a remarkably 00:09:41.059 --> 00:09:43.700 telling title. It's called Featuring Ty Dolla 00:09:43.700 --> 00:09:46.029 Sign. I love the history behind this title so 00:09:46.029 --> 00:09:48.190 much. It's so good. He actually planned to name 00:09:48.190 --> 00:09:51.289 that third studio album Tyrone after his birth 00:09:51.289 --> 00:09:53.750 name. Which makes total sense for a highly personal 00:09:53.750 --> 00:09:56.330 introspective project. Right, but he pivoted 00:09:56.330 --> 00:09:59.289 and changed it to featuring Ty Dolla Sign as 00:09:59.289 --> 00:10:01.649 this incredibly self -aware tongue -in -cheek 00:10:01.649 --> 00:10:04.610 nod to his own reputation. He fully embraced 00:10:04.610 --> 00:10:06.649 that he is the industry's favorite collaborator. 00:10:06.789 --> 00:10:09.690 Yeah, he owned it. It's a brilliant pivot because 00:10:09.690 --> 00:10:12.909 it highlights a modern reality. In the streaming 00:10:12.909 --> 00:10:16.389 era, being the perfect feature is an absolute 00:10:16.389 --> 00:10:18.309 superpower. Because of the algorithms, right? 00:10:18.350 --> 00:10:20.769 Exactly. The music industry today is heavily 00:10:20.769 --> 00:10:23.789 driven by algorithmic playlists that reward cross 00:10:23.789 --> 00:10:27.509 -pollination between fanbases. When Ty Dolla 00:10:27.509 --> 00:10:30.629 Sign features on a track, he acts as sonic glue. 00:10:31.750 --> 00:10:33.830 Because of his deep understanding of music theory 00:10:33.830 --> 00:10:35.629 and his ability to play multiple instruments, 00:10:36.049 --> 00:10:38.409 he fills whatever frequency gap is missing in 00:10:38.409 --> 00:10:41.080 a track. He just knows what it needs. Yeah. He 00:10:41.080 --> 00:10:43.279 can adapt his vocal tone to blend with a bright 00:10:43.279 --> 00:10:46.220 pop track by Fifth Harmony just as easily as 00:10:46.220 --> 00:10:49.059 a moody R &B track by S .C .A. or, you know, 00:10:49.139 --> 00:10:51.279 an aggressive rap track by Megan Lee Stallion. 00:10:51.740 --> 00:10:53.879 He's like a musical chameleon. Right. He guarantees 00:10:53.879 --> 00:10:56.379 a baseline level of musicality that elevates 00:10:56.379 --> 00:10:58.960 everyone else in the room. He really is the connective 00:10:58.960 --> 00:11:01.730 tissue of the charts. And speaking of that cross 00:11:01.730 --> 00:11:04.690 -pollination, we can't fully grasp his collaborative 00:11:04.690 --> 00:11:07.389 nature without looking at one of the most defining, 00:11:07.509 --> 00:11:10.070 complex partnerships of his career. Oh, absolutely. 00:11:10.149 --> 00:11:13.070 His symbiosis with Kanye West. Their working 00:11:13.070 --> 00:11:15.690 relationship is a major through line in modern 00:11:15.690 --> 00:11:18.029 hip hop. It's fascinating how they push each 00:11:18.029 --> 00:11:20.370 other's boundaries. Yeah, they really do. For 00:11:20.370 --> 00:11:23.529 instance, when Ty was working on his 2020 album, 00:11:24.090 --> 00:11:27.769 he played early cuts for Kanye. And Kanye gave 00:11:27.769 --> 00:11:30.799 him a pivotal piece of advice. What was it? He 00:11:30.799 --> 00:11:33.519 essentially told Ty to stop trying to fit into 00:11:33.519 --> 00:11:36.139 standard hip hop molds. He told them to add more 00:11:36.139 --> 00:11:39.279 live bass, add more live drums to be the best 00:11:39.279 --> 00:11:42.799 you. Wow. Kanye was pushing Ty to fully embrace 00:11:42.799 --> 00:11:45.440 and weaponize those multi instrumentalist roots 00:11:45.440 --> 00:11:47.460 from his lakeside childhood. It's like Kanye 00:11:47.460 --> 00:11:49.919 gave him the final layer of permission to bring 00:11:49.919 --> 00:11:53.659 that 70s funk Prince inspired musicality all 00:11:53.659 --> 00:11:55.779 the way to the forefront of a modern rap album. 00:11:55.980 --> 00:11:59.399 And that creative partnership obviously evolved 00:11:59.399 --> 00:12:02.700 into the massive Vultures era spanning 2023 to 00:12:02.700 --> 00:12:05.299 2024. Yeah, they formally formed the duo and 00:12:05.299 --> 00:12:08.000 dropped Vultures 1. Which actually gave Ty his 00:12:08.000 --> 00:12:11.080 first ever number one Billboard 200 album in 00:12:11.080 --> 00:12:13.100 his entire career. Really well deserved too. 00:12:13.259 --> 00:12:16.460 Definitely. Then came Vultures 2 with a third 00:12:16.460 --> 00:12:19.600 installment and his upcoming solo album Tycoon 00:12:19.600 --> 00:12:23.320 teased for 2025. But you know that fierce independence 00:12:23.320 --> 00:12:26.139 and loyalty that Kanye encouraged musically actually 00:12:26.139 --> 00:12:28.649 spilled over into Ty's real world loyalty. as 00:12:28.649 --> 00:12:31.190 well. Right. Yeah. And just to give you listening, 00:12:31.929 --> 00:12:34.809 the full historical picture of how intertwined 00:12:34.809 --> 00:12:36.570 they became, and I want to be very clear here, 00:12:36.889 --> 00:12:39.350 we are simply sharing the historical record without 00:12:39.350 --> 00:12:41.730 taking or endorsing any political sides ourselves. 00:12:41.950 --> 00:12:43.610 Absolutely. Just giving you the facts from our 00:12:43.610 --> 00:12:46.230 sources. Exactly. The fact is Ty actually formally 00:12:46.230 --> 00:12:49.490 endorsed Kanye's 2020 presidential run. Wow. 00:12:49.730 --> 00:12:52.149 Yeah. It shows a level of personal loyalty that 00:12:52.149 --> 00:12:54.470 goes way beyond simply sharing a studio and making 00:12:54.470 --> 00:12:57.090 beats together. It really is a testament to how 00:12:57.090 --> 00:13:00.190 deep those industry bonds go. But that level 00:13:00.190 --> 00:13:03.250 of stratospheric fame and billboard success... 00:13:03.259 --> 00:13:05.720 doesn't somehow shield him from reality, you 00:13:05.720 --> 00:13:08.360 know? No, not at all. His biography is grounded 00:13:08.360 --> 00:13:11.279 by a very real, very serious personal life. He 00:13:11.279 --> 00:13:14.259 is a practicing Muslim. He is a father to a daughter 00:13:14.259 --> 00:13:17.240 named Jalen, who was born in 2005. Yeah. And 00:13:17.240 --> 00:13:20.320 he has faced incredibly severe real world challenges 00:13:20.320 --> 00:13:22.720 that threaten to derail everything, like his 00:13:22.720 --> 00:13:27.360 2018 legal scare in Atlanta. Oh, man. That was 00:13:27.360 --> 00:13:29.899 a highly precarious moment that rarely gets talked 00:13:29.899 --> 00:13:31.820 about when we discuss his chart success What 00:13:31.820 --> 00:13:34.639 exactly happened? Well his car which had multiple 00:13:34.639 --> 00:13:36.860 people in it was pulled over for a traffic stop 00:13:36.970 --> 00:13:39.590 But because Ty was in close proximity to the 00:13:39.590 --> 00:13:42.250 drugs found in the vehicle, he was the only individual 00:13:42.250 --> 00:13:44.710 charged. The only one. The only one. He was suddenly 00:13:44.710 --> 00:13:47.350 facing up to 15 years in prison for cocaine and 00:13:47.350 --> 00:13:50.210 marijuana possession. 15 years. That isn't just 00:13:50.210 --> 00:13:52.590 a bump in the road. That is a career -ending, 00:13:53.009 --> 00:13:54.830 life -altering amount of time. It really is. 00:13:55.009 --> 00:13:57.470 If those charges stick, the vultures era doesn't 00:13:57.470 --> 00:14:00.289 happen. Featuring Ty Belassine doesn't happen. 00:14:00.429 --> 00:14:02.850 None of it. Thankfully, all charges were ultimately 00:14:02.850 --> 00:14:04.889 dropped after he completed a drug prevention 00:14:04.889 --> 00:14:07.629 program, but it shows how incredibly fragile 00:14:07.629 --> 00:14:10.070 this entire architectural structure is. Yeah, 00:14:10.169 --> 00:14:12.370 how quickly everything he built, all that sonic 00:14:12.370 --> 00:14:15.190 scaffolding, could have just vanished overnight. 00:14:15.419 --> 00:14:18.299 So what does this all mean? How do we synthesize 00:14:18.299 --> 00:14:21.519 all of this? The funk royalty background, navigating 00:14:21.519 --> 00:14:25.460 the Bloods, the studio mastery, the chart nomination, 00:14:25.820 --> 00:14:28.000 the near -miss with the legal system? I think 00:14:28.000 --> 00:14:30.120 it means that Ty Dolla $ign is the ultimate adapter. 00:14:30.279 --> 00:14:32.720 The adapter. Yeah. He survived the intense streets 00:14:32.720 --> 00:14:36.620 of Los Angeles. He survived the shifting volatile 00:14:36.620 --> 00:14:39.019 tides of the music industry moving from the blog 00:14:39.019 --> 00:14:41.860 era to the streaming era. And he survived the 00:14:41.860 --> 00:14:43.960 American legal system. That's a lot of surviving. 00:14:44.159 --> 00:14:47.120 It is. And he navigates all of it through sheer 00:14:47.120 --> 00:14:50.419 musical fluency. He balances the chaos of his 00:14:50.419 --> 00:14:53.080 environment and his industry by being the one 00:14:53.080 --> 00:14:55.279 thing everybody else desperately needs. Which 00:14:55.279 --> 00:14:58.059 is? A master architect who knows exactly how 00:14:58.059 --> 00:15:00.240 to build a hit song from the foundation up. Which 00:15:00.240 --> 00:15:02.340 brings us back to you listening to this right 00:15:02.340 --> 00:15:05.000 now. Why is unpacking all of this matter to your 00:15:05.000 --> 00:15:07.340 everyday life? Yeah, why should you care? Because 00:15:07.340 --> 00:15:09.279 the next time you get in your car, turn on the 00:15:09.279 --> 00:15:12.100 radio, or let a Spotify playlist run, you are 00:15:12.100 --> 00:15:14.600 listening to a sonic landscape that was largely 00:15:14.600 --> 00:15:17.659 shaped by Ty Dolla Sign's ear. You really are. 00:15:18.120 --> 00:15:20.779 Understanding his journey from watching earth, 00:15:20.940 --> 00:15:23.460 wind and fire harmonize in his living room, to 00:15:23.460 --> 00:15:26.620 surviving South Central, to grinding as a background 00:15:26.620 --> 00:15:29.259 producer, to finally hitting number one on the 00:15:29.259 --> 00:15:31.519 Billboard charts. It fundamentally changes how 00:15:31.519 --> 00:15:34.500 you consume modern pop music. It totally does. 00:15:34.659 --> 00:15:37.340 Knowledge is always most valuable when it shifts 00:15:37.340 --> 00:15:40.039 your perspective on the mundane. So the next 00:15:40.039 --> 00:15:42.220 time you hear a catchy tie doll a sign hook on 00:15:42.220 --> 00:15:45.149 a club track. I want you to listen deeper. Listen 00:15:45.149 --> 00:15:48.049 for the steel beams. Yes. Don't just hear the 00:15:48.049 --> 00:15:51.029 catchy vocal melody. Listen for the live bass 00:15:51.029 --> 00:15:53.509 line grooving underneath it. Listen to how the 00:15:53.509 --> 00:15:55.750 hi -hats are programmed to leave space for the 00:15:55.750 --> 00:15:58.990 snare. Yeah. Listen for the deep complex music 00:15:58.990 --> 00:16:01.289 theory hiding just beneath the surface of a song 00:16:01.289 --> 00:16:04.149 designed to make you dance. You're hearing decades 00:16:04.149 --> 00:16:06.789 of musical history, gang survival, and studio 00:16:06.789 --> 00:16:09.049 mastery compressed into a three -minute track. 00:16:09.210 --> 00:16:11.830 It really is incredible when you peel back those 00:16:11.830 --> 00:16:14.850 layers and look at the steel beams. And we want 00:16:14.850 --> 00:16:17.470 to leave you with one final thought to mull over 00:16:17.470 --> 00:16:20.009 today. Let's hear it. We started by talking about 00:16:20.009 --> 00:16:22.610 sty scrapers and the unseen scaffolding that 00:16:22.610 --> 00:16:26.120 holds them up. In a music industry that is obsessively 00:16:26.120 --> 00:16:29.580 focused on frontmen, on solo egos, and on who 00:16:29.580 --> 00:16:31.860 gets the brightest, most blinding spotlight. 00:16:32.019 --> 00:16:34.519 Right. Could it be that the most truly powerful 00:16:34.519 --> 00:16:36.580 people in the business aren't the ones standing 00:16:36.580 --> 00:16:39.200 alone at the microphone? Could the real power 00:16:39.200 --> 00:16:41.820 belong to the rare artists who know exactly how 00:16:41.820 --> 00:16:43.940 to play well with others? It's the collaborators 00:16:43.940 --> 00:16:46.240 who pour the concrete and build the foundation 00:16:46.240 --> 00:16:48.820 that everyone else gets to stand on. Something 00:16:48.820 --> 00:16:50.820 to think about the next time you check the writing 00:16:50.820 --> 00:16:53.889 credits on your favorite song. Thanks for joining 00:16:53.889 --> 00:16:56.149 us for the deep dive. We'll catch you next time.