Just days before he releases his major-label debut album, Ty Dolla $ign is ecstatic. "It's amazing!" the singer-rapper born Tyrone Griffin Jr. tells GQ as he cruises around his native Los Angeles. The day we chat, he's just released his latest single, the soulful '90s R&B-inflected cut "LA," featuring guest spots from Kendrick Lamar, Brandy, and James Fauntleroy. The local hip-hop radio, REAL 92.3, Ty says, has been playing the song every hour. "I'm like, goddamn!" he exclaims. "They've never done that with a joint of mine. We must have done something this time!"
Ty's excitement is hardly surprising: The singer, whose breakout came with the DJ Mustard-produced single "Paranoid" off last year's stellar Beach House EP (and whose velvety-smooth voice has drawn frequent comparisons to R. Kelly), spent the past decade hustling to get his music heard. And he's been through some stuff: shady business partnerships, overspending, regional hits like YG's "Toot It and Boot It," which he wrote and produced, that he figured would take him to the next level. Now, on Free TC—titled as such in honor of his incarcerated brother, whom Ty insists is innocent—the 30-year-old musician collaborates with Kanye West, Diddy, Babyface, and R. Kelly, as well as some of today's hottest urban artists including Future, Fetty Wap, and Rae Sremmurd. "I love my life," Ty says in a conversation that touches on the singer taking chances with his new album, L.A.'s major musical moment, and why he fashions himself as something resembling Kurt Cobain. "Hard work pays off."
GQ** : L.A. looms large over your new album. How large a role has the city playing in shaping you both as a musician and man?**
Ty Dolla $ign: It's important to let people know that L.A. is in this motherfucker; let people know that I'm from L.A., I was raised in L.A., and my music is L.A.. With L.A. it's like, yeah, there's Death Row and whatever. But I always wanted to know what those artists were sampling. It's how I fell in love with music. Like, "Where is Dr. Dre getting his shit from?" That's how I found out about Parliament. And they're not even from L.A. They're from fucking Ohio.
L.A. is having a real musical moment right now, what with you, Kendrick Lamar, DJ Mustard, YG and many others getting their shine.
We definitely are having our run. It comes around in seasons. Everybody's gonna get their run. There's food out here for everybody to eat. So people shouldn't start hating or be jealous; we've all been starving for a long time and now we getting it. It feels good and I'm glad to be a part of it.
And I hear there's a billboard of you now in L.A.
[Laughs] Yeah, man! That's on Highland and Franklin. It's for [streetwear brand] Popular Demand. It's definitely wild. It feels good.
Let's talk about Free TC** : it's quite varied in its stylistic choices.**
We mix all types of different styles. Like, I listen to EDM so I put that shit on there. My song 'Saved': that's EDM-vibes with some L.A. vibes. But I also listen to R&B. Of course growing up I was listening to Babyface who was the hottest fucking producer of all-time in the Eighties and Nineties. And now I got him on my record! I'm doing something acoustic [with the Babyface collaboration 'Solid']; you can also reach homes where they only listen to country with that song. I'm just all-around. That's what this album shows off.
It was a deliberate choice then to diversify this go-round?Before I was just giving away what I know people like: club music. But this time I'm like, "Fuck that! Let's just do music." Now that people know who we are, let's give them something that's worth their money.
You could take more chances.
Hell yeah, man! I just did what I wanted. With "LA," and then this visual for it, I'm gonna be showing people that I'm doing whatever the fuck I wanna do. We're not trying to sound like nobody else. We're not trying to be the next Drake or the next whoever-is-hot-at-the-time. We're trying to do something new and just give people something that they want to hear. We're not trying to make the last No. 1; we're trying to make a new No. 1.
Free TC honors your brother who is imprisoned on a murder conviction.
I was definitely arguing with some of the people involved with the album about the title. It was all negative talk. I'm like, "Nah, fuck that. It's 'Free TC.'" What it represents is more than just my brother. It's about shit that's been going on since before I was even born. People have died in jail that have been innocent. We've gotta put a stop to that shit.
The good thing about the Internet and social media is that now people know what's really going on out here. This whole mass incarceration injustice of my people and the cops just fucking with people for no reason, it's gotta stop. Fuck that!
How did your brother respond when you told him the album title?
I told him before I even made the album. He was super happy about it. He's just glad that even though I've got all this shit going on I'm not gonna forget him. The fucked-up part about my whole life is that even though we've got money, bitches, cars, clothes, all that shit that any man would want, the main person I want to do all this shit with, I can't do it with. And it's for no fucking reason. That's what makes my life boring. I'm more like a fucking Kurt Cobain artist: I can't even get happy. I can't even enjoy this shit. Who knows what the fuck I'm gonna do?
It had to make you happy though to see all the big-time artists who lined up to be on the album. Who was most satisfying to work with?
Of course Babyface! That's the guy I didn't meet on my own. My A&R hooked that up. I told him as soon as I got my deal that Babyface was one of the people I always wanted to work with. He's just one of the best musicians in life. When I found out he was actually down and I had a session with him [for the track "Solid"], I fucking flipped out. I was like "I love my life!" People love that song and I'm happy about that.
Another one of course is Kanye; I hooked up with him awhile back. We put some shit out and everybody knows what it is. When he gave me a song for my album I was like, "Whoa! Shit! What the fuck is going on right now?" [laughs]
And you landed R. Kelly. For an R&B obsessive that must have been massive.
That's another one I love. Like, c'mon now! When I found out he was down or had even heard about my music I was like "Wow!" That's one person I remember watching on the Box, that old TV network where they used to play music. My mom would always be like, "You should work with R. Kelly." And I ended up working with him. We made some shit for his album, made some shit for my album.
With all your recent success, do you feel as if you've officially arrived?
I mean, I'm settled with money. But I'm just trying to get to the next level. That journey doesn't stop.
Lastly, some people may have first heard you on urban radio, but you've always been a favorite at strip clubs.
I didn't even know that! You're like the first person to bring that to my attention. You know I love the strippers though [laughs]. That's wonderful! If the strippers can relate to my music, that's great. Shout out to the people running the strip clubs. Hopefully you'll see me in a strip club near you.