Ty Dolla $ign Talks Collaboration, Creativity and Awareness

"I love music and being creative and giving people something new, something they’ve never seen. It’s not about bitches and hoes and cars and jewellery, it’s about doing something new."

You’ve recorded with Kanye West, written with Chris Brown and worked with everyone from The Weeknd to Charlie XCX. Is collaboration and merging genres and styles important to you?

I like collaborating for sure. I just want to work with other dope musicians. You always learn something new that way.

Who that you’ve worked with recently have you felt most inspired by?

Lupe Fiasco. He’s one of the hardest rappers I’ve ever seen.

And what can we expect from Free TC?

Just put it like this: I’ve spent 60,000 in string arrangements alone and brought in an orchestra to play on it. I tried to make it sound as big as possible. It sounds amazing. I can’t wait for people to hear it.

Your father’s a musician and your uncle played with the Isley Brothers. Do you think it was inevitable that you would pursue a career in music?

Growing up there were instruments around and different musicians so of course I went that way as well.

Who have been the most influential people on your career?

My pops, J Dilla, DJ Premier, Dr Dre, Kanye…

What was it like working with Kanye at the end of last year?

I was just happy to be a part of magic. I couldn’t believe it was happening until it did.

Do you still like to record alone?

Wherever I’m at, I record. Here in London I had my studio set up in my hotel room. A lot of the songs I’ve recorded have just been in hotel rooms, that’s what I do.

Your lyrics are quite explicit and arguably misogynistic. How do you reconcile that with having a young daughter and teaching her about respect? Is she allowed to listen to your music?

Kids don’t listen to grown people’s music. When I was growing up there was all types of shit with foul lyrics. I was a kid and my mom didn’t let me listen to it and that’s the same way it is now. I have respect for women. I have a daughter, I have a mother. I’m not disrespecting women.

And how do you feel that the industry has changed for the better or the worse since you started out?

I’m not a part of the music industry. I’m a real musician. There’s a lot of people in the music industry that just want to be famous and shit on other people. That’s not what I’m about. I play all these instruments and it’s all about the music. I don’t even want to be included in the music industry conversation.

"It’s not about black, it’s not about colour or even just about America. It’s important when you have power like this to do something with it and that’s the purpose of my album."

Is it important for you to be a good role model and spokesperson as a black American artist, especially with the current state of police brutality against the black community. Do you want to use your voice for good?

For sure. It’s not about black, it’s not about colour or even just about America. It’s important when you have power like this to do something with it and that’s the purpose of my album. It’s called Free TC, dedicated to my brother who’s in jail right now for something he didn’t do… From cops to judges, to the security guard in the front of the club who’s harassing you and don’t want to let you in, fuck him and fuck everybody else who’s abusing their authority. That’s the purpose of my shit. It’s to raise awareness for injustice. I’m not gonna stand for it.

Are there any artists you want to collaborate with in the future?

I want to work with Jay Z, I want to work with Beyonce. I want to work with FKA Twigs, I want to work with John Mayer. Tame Impala. I could go on for hours.

And finally after Free TC, what’s next?

I wanna put out some free music and go on tour. My new merch is about to drop and a couple of other surprises I haven’t announced it. I’m busy. I only get two hours of sleep every day!

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