You know, when you stand on the sidewalk and
look up at a massive skyscraper, there's this...
This expectation of what you're supposed to admire,
right? Oh, totally. You're looking at the shiny
exterior. Exactly. You see the gleaming glass,
the architectural spire, the way it catches the
sunset. Right, because it's engineered to pull
your eye. I mean, it's designed to be the absolute
center of attention, the focal point of the skyline.
Yeah, but you almost never stop to think about
the steel beams inside, you know, the unseen
scaffolding. The stuff doing the actual work.
Right. And if you pull out that steel, the glittering
tower doesn't necessarily collapse into dust
right away, but it loses its shape. It definitely
can't reach those impossible heights anymore.
No, it just becomes another ordinary building.
So today we are unpacking the unseen scaffolding
of the billboard charts. We're doing a deep dive
into the career of Tyrone William Griffin Jr.
Better known to most of you is Ty Dolla Sign.
Yes, Ty Dolla Sign. And our mission today is
to figure out how one artist becomes the ultimate,
like, secret weapon for the entire modern music
industry. Because the music business operates
exactly like that skyline you just mentioned.
Yeah. We are constantly staring at the pop stars,
you know, the front men, the people with their
names in the largest font on the festival poster.
Right, the shiny glass. Exactly. Meanwhile, we
just completely ignore the architectural steal.
holding those massive hits together and Ty Dolla
Sign is that steel. Okay let's unpack this because
I think we need to start with where he comes
from. Definitely. Because you know you might
know his voice from a catchy hook on a summer
radio hit but his background is wildly unexpected.
This is a story of just extreme duality. Yeah,
it really is. So he was born in 1982 in Los Angeles,
and his musical pedigree is basically like soul
royalty. Oh, absolutely. I mean, his father,
Tyrone Griffin, senior, was actually a musician
in the classic funk and soul band Lakeside, which
is huge. It's massive. So for a kid growing up
in the 80s, I meant Ty wasn't just sitting in
his bedroom listening to records. He was physically
occupying the same space as musical legends.
Like, who are we talking about here? We're talking
earth, wind, and fire. We're talking Prince.
Wow, literally Prince. Literally Prince. He is
absorbing this deep, fundamental love for soul
music directly from the masters of the craft.
Just right in his living room. Yeah, he's watching
how a live bass line gets laid down, how vocal
harmonies are stacked in real time. It's an incredible
foundation. But then... He walks out the front
door because he's growing up in South Central
Los Angeles and he actually becomes a member
of the Bloods gang while his own brother is in
the rival gang, the Crips. Which is just, it's
intense. Let's pause and think about that contrast
for a second. It is an absolute master class.
in duality. It's like he was learning high -level
complex music theory in the living room. And
high -stakes survival tactics on the front porch.
Exactly. What's fascinating here is how that
exact duality forged his emotional intelligence
as a musician. How so? Well, think about the
tension of those two environments, right? He
had to learn how to bridge the raw, open -hearted
vulnerability and rich harmony of classic 70s
soul with the gritty, hyper -vigilant reality
of LA hip -hop and gang culture. He really couldn't
afford to just be one or the other. No, not at
all. He had to embody the synthesis of both.
That's why his music never sounds purely like
a club record or purely like a neo soul track.
It always has the DNA of both worlds. And that
synthesis totally explains his toolkit. Oh, his
toolkit is insane. We really have to talk about
what he can actually do in a studio, because
he refuses to fit neatly into the modern industry
genre boxes. I mean, he is a self -taught multi
-instrumentalist. Right. He plays the bass guitar,
the drums, guitars, keyboards, and the Akai MPC.
All of it. He literally has an entire funk band's
worth of capability resting in his own hands.
It's a staggering amount of musical literacy.
And you see it clearly in his influences too,
which are just as eclectic as his upbringing.
Like a total mix. Yeah. He is active. blending
the hip -hop sensibilities of Tupac, Mos Def,
and J Dilla with the instrumental genius of Prince
and then the absolute vocal acrobatics of gospel
and R &B legends like Kim Rell and Brandy. Oh
wow. He's literally taking the swing of a J Dilla
beat and layering a gospel level vocal run over
it. Which leads to this incredible quote from
him from the source material he says I don't
really consider myself a rapper, I just happen
to have bars. I still sing, menace en, I'm a
singer, ya feel me. That's such a great quote
it is and I really want to push back on the industry
here Like why do we insist on doing this doing
what exactly? why do we look at black artists
who sing who produce their own tracks who play
five instruments and just happen to have rhythm
and you know bars and Aggressively categorize
them purely as rappers. Yeah, it's a huge problem
Are we limiting our understanding of their artistry
simply because of the cultural space they occupy
We absolutely are and we use this lazy cultural
shorthand to categorize artists based on how
they dress or the slang they use or the neighborhoods
they come from. Right, rather than looking at
the art. Exactly, rather than analyzing how they
actually construct their art. Pydalassine approaches
hip -hop with the mind of a composer. A composer?
Yeah, when he cites Prince as an influence, he
specifically mentions how Prince sings, produces,
and plays every instrument. Ty isn't just dropping
a vocal track over a beat someone emailed him.
No. He understands the physical architecture
of the music. He knows exactly how a live bass
line is talking to an electronic kick drum. Or
how a keyboard chord needs to create like...
emotional tension just beneath a vocal harmony.
Exactly. And here's where it gets really interesting.
Because he understood that architecture so well,
his initial success wasn't even as a solo star.
No, he was way in the background. He found his
footing by making other people sound amazing.
He was the guy behind the curtain doing all the
heavy lifting. Yeah, he was grinding it out long
before the mainstream knew his name. Back in
2004, he formed the duo Ty and Corey. Right.
They were doing guest appearances, putting out
independent mixtapes, basically learning the
mechanics of the industry. from the ground up.
Just putting in the reps. Yep. But the real seismic
shift happens when he links up with the Los Angeles
rapper YG. Ah, 2010. They drop the breakout hit,
toot it, and boot it. That song was everywhere.
Everywhere. And Ty didn't just casually feature
on it, he co -performed and produced it. He was
the rhythmic engine of that entire track. He
really was. He essentially helped define that
minimalist, pouncy, modern West Coast sound that
just took over the radio for the next five years.
And building on that momentum, he co -founded
a production team called DRUG. working alongside
heavyweights like DJ Mustard. He's not just establishing
himself as a distinct voice at this point. He's
proving he is a reliable hit maker. He is studying
and mastering the science of what makes a song
command human attention. Talk about a resume
builder. I mean, think about the trajectory of
going from an underground mixtape duo to what
has to be the ultimate behind -the -scenes flex
in the music industry. Oh, you mean the Rihanna
track? Yes. Earning a writing credit on four
or five seconds, that massive stripped down track
with Rihanna, Kanye West, and Paul McCartney.
It's wild. From the streets of South Central
LA to literally writing a song for a Beatle.
It just proves the sheer versatility of his pen
game. It really does. The underlying pop structure
required to write a massive club anthem for YG
is the exact same musical math required to write
an acoustic pop ballad for Paul McCartney. And
if we connect this to the bigger picture, it
explains exactly how he eventually transitions
into a solo powerhouse. How so? Well, he had
spent years proving to the industry's top executives
and artists that he could guarantee a hit. He
was a known, reliable variable. So he wasn't
a risk anymore. Exactly. So when he finally steps
into the solo spotlight, he already has the entire
industry's trust and backing. That makes total
sense. And that launches us into the Beach House
era. Right from 2012 to 2014. He signs with Atlantic
Records and Wiz Khalifa's Taylor Gang Entertainment.
And he starts dropping these massive culture
shifting solo hits. Just back to back bangers.
Yeah. Paranoid featuring B .O .B. hits the Billboard
Hot 100, then Or Nah featuring Wiz Khalifa, DJ
Mustard and later the weekend. drops and goes
sextuple platinum. Sextuple platinum is insane.
It became an absolute anthem. It did. And he
builds this rock solid solo foundation with critically
acclaimed albums like Free TC in 2015 and Beach
House 3 in 2017. Yeah. But the unique genius
of Ty Dolla Sign is that even as his solo star
is rising, He never unandens his role as the
ultimate collaborator. No, he really doesn't.
In fact, he leans into it harder than anyone
else in the business. He completely dominates
as a featured artist. He's like the emergency
contact you call when your song is sitting at
a B plus and needs to become an A plus cultural
moment. Exactly. He's the fixer. Yeah. He wins
an MTV Video Music Award for Best Collaboration
on Fifth Harmony's Pop Smash work from home.
Which was huge. Huge. Then he shifts gears completely
and does rock -infused tracks for the Suicide
Squad soundtrack. Talk about versatility. Right.
And then he hits number one on the Billboard
Hot 100 with Post Malone's Psycho, which by the
way is certified diamond. Diamond. That's rare
air. That means it moved over 10 million units.
Yeah. And all of this collaborative dominance
culminates in his 2020 album, which has a remarkably
telling title. It's called Featuring Ty Dolla
Sign. I love the history behind this title so
much. It's so good. He actually planned to name
that third studio album Tyrone after his birth
name. Which makes total sense for a highly personal
introspective project. Right, but he pivoted
and changed it to featuring Ty Dolla Sign as
this incredibly self -aware tongue -in -cheek
nod to his own reputation. He fully embraced
that he is the industry's favorite collaborator.
Yeah, he owned it. It's a brilliant pivot because
it highlights a modern reality. In the streaming
era, being the perfect feature is an absolute
superpower. Because of the algorithms, right?
Exactly. The music industry today is heavily
driven by algorithmic playlists that reward cross
-pollination between fanbases. When Ty Dolla
Sign features on a track, he acts as sonic glue.
Because of his deep understanding of music theory
and his ability to play multiple instruments,
he fills whatever frequency gap is missing in
a track. He just knows what it needs. Yeah. He
can adapt his vocal tone to blend with a bright
pop track by Fifth Harmony just as easily as
a moody R &B track by S .C .A. or, you know,
an aggressive rap track by Megan Lee Stallion.
He's like a musical chameleon. Right. He guarantees
a baseline level of musicality that elevates
everyone else in the room. He really is the connective
tissue of the charts. And speaking of that cross
-pollination, we can't fully grasp his collaborative
nature without looking at one of the most defining,
complex partnerships of his career. Oh, absolutely.
His symbiosis with Kanye West. Their working
relationship is a major through line in modern
hip hop. It's fascinating how they push each
other's boundaries. Yeah, they really do. For
instance, when Ty was working on his 2020 album,
he played early cuts for Kanye. And Kanye gave
him a pivotal piece of advice. What was it? He
essentially told Ty to stop trying to fit into
standard hip hop molds. He told them to add more
live bass, add more live drums to be the best
you. Wow. Kanye was pushing Ty to fully embrace
and weaponize those multi instrumentalist roots
from his lakeside childhood. It's like Kanye
gave him the final layer of permission to bring
that 70s funk Prince inspired musicality all
the way to the forefront of a modern rap album.
And that creative partnership obviously evolved
into the massive Vultures era spanning 2023 to
2024. Yeah, they formally formed the duo and
dropped Vultures 1. Which actually gave Ty his
first ever number one Billboard 200 album in
his entire career. Really well deserved too.
Definitely. Then came Vultures 2 with a third
installment and his upcoming solo album Tycoon
teased for 2025. But you know that fierce independence
and loyalty that Kanye encouraged musically actually
spilled over into Ty's real world loyalty. as
well. Right. Yeah. And just to give you listening,
the full historical picture of how intertwined
they became, and I want to be very clear here,
we are simply sharing the historical record without
taking or endorsing any political sides ourselves.
Absolutely. Just giving you the facts from our
sources. Exactly. The fact is Ty actually formally
endorsed Kanye's 2020 presidential run. Wow.
Yeah. It shows a level of personal loyalty that
goes way beyond simply sharing a studio and making
beats together. It really is a testament to how
deep those industry bonds go. But that level
of stratospheric fame and billboard success...
doesn't somehow shield him from reality, you
know? No, not at all. His biography is grounded
by a very real, very serious personal life. He
is a practicing Muslim. He is a father to a daughter
named Jalen, who was born in 2005. Yeah. And
he has faced incredibly severe real world challenges
that threaten to derail everything, like his
2018 legal scare in Atlanta. Oh, man. That was
a highly precarious moment that rarely gets talked
about when we discuss his chart success What
exactly happened? Well his car which had multiple
people in it was pulled over for a traffic stop
But because Ty was in close proximity to the
drugs found in the vehicle, he was the only individual
charged. The only one. The only one. He was suddenly
facing up to 15 years in prison for cocaine and
marijuana possession. 15 years. That isn't just
a bump in the road. That is a career -ending,
life -altering amount of time. It really is.
If those charges stick, the vultures era doesn't
happen. Featuring Ty Belassine doesn't happen.
None of it. Thankfully, all charges were ultimately
dropped after he completed a drug prevention
program, but it shows how incredibly fragile
this entire architectural structure is. Yeah,
how quickly everything he built, all that sonic
scaffolding, could have just vanished overnight.
So what does this all mean? How do we synthesize
all of this? The funk royalty background, navigating
the Bloods, the studio mastery, the chart nomination,
the near -miss with the legal system? I think
it means that Ty Dolla $ign is the ultimate adapter.
The adapter. Yeah. He survived the intense streets
of Los Angeles. He survived the shifting volatile
tides of the music industry moving from the blog
era to the streaming era. And he survived the
American legal system. That's a lot of surviving.
It is. And he navigates all of it through sheer
musical fluency. He balances the chaos of his
environment and his industry by being the one
thing everybody else desperately needs. Which
is? A master architect who knows exactly how
to build a hit song from the foundation up. Which
brings us back to you listening to this right
now. Why is unpacking all of this matter to your
everyday life? Yeah, why should you care? Because
the next time you get in your car, turn on the
radio, or let a Spotify playlist run, you are
listening to a sonic landscape that was largely
shaped by Ty Dolla Sign's ear. You really are.
Understanding his journey from watching earth,
wind and fire harmonize in his living room, to
surviving South Central, to grinding as a background
producer, to finally hitting number one on the
Billboard charts. It fundamentally changes how
you consume modern pop music. It totally does.
Knowledge is always most valuable when it shifts
your perspective on the mundane. So the next
time you hear a catchy tie doll a sign hook on
a club track. I want you to listen deeper. Listen
for the steel beams. Yes. Don't just hear the
catchy vocal melody. Listen for the live bass
line grooving underneath it. Listen to how the
hi -hats are programmed to leave space for the
snare. Yeah. Listen for the deep complex music
theory hiding just beneath the surface of a song
designed to make you dance. You're hearing decades
of musical history, gang survival, and studio
mastery compressed into a three -minute track.
It really is incredible when you peel back those
layers and look at the steel beams. And we want
to leave you with one final thought to mull over
today. Let's hear it. We started by talking about
sty scrapers and the unseen scaffolding that
holds them up. In a music industry that is obsessively
focused on frontmen, on solo egos, and on who
gets the brightest, most blinding spotlight.
Right. Could it be that the most truly powerful
people in the business aren't the ones standing
alone at the microphone? Could the real power
belong to the rare artists who know exactly how
to play well with others? It's the collaborators
who pour the concrete and build the foundation
that everyone else gets to stand on. Something
to think about the next time you check the writing
credits on your favorite song. Thanks for joining
us for the deep dive. We'll catch you next time.