More than ready to take centre stage as a solo artist, the past year has seen the multi-instrumentalist also release the infectious DJ Mustard produced ‘Paranoid’ and ‘Or Nah’ Ft. Wiz Khalifa and The Weeknd – to whom he’s constantly compared. In fact, it’s quickly obvious Ty has little in common with his more subdued Canadian counterpart; playing at a sold out XOYO in London recently, he prowled onstage with balaclava, Jagermeister and blunt stuck to his lips. The following morning – promo day – the self-proclaimed lothario wasn’t in the best of moods. Regardless, we struggled on, determined to discover what makes this Wiz Khalifa endorsed producer, songwriter and singer tick…
You cancelled your promo yesterday to instead head to the studio. What were you working on?
It was a new song I did with The Weeknd and then I was working on my first single. I’ve got to make it clean because it has a lot of vulgarities in it.
Are you a workaholic?
I don’t like to just chill and do nothing. I like to be doing something productive, so I went to the lab and finished up some more work. There were a whole bunch of girls around but it’s like, ‘No, let’s work’. The girls can come later when I’m 30 and 40 and I’m chilling on a boat. Then I can have a whole bunch of girls and we can get turnt and even then I might even have a fucking keyboard or a laptop set up and a mic.
You played London’s XOYO last night. The crowd were going crazy…
Yeah, that might be a London thing, I dunno. Sometimes n***as just be ready to turn up with their own homies instead of the girls. Maybe there weren’t enough bad boys in there.
Your music and accompanying lifestyle celebrates debauchery in all its greatness. When was your most recent depraved night out?
Last night – fuck! They [points to entourage] said I threw up in my hair. I don’t remember any of that shit. There was a couple of girls that were knocking at my hotel room ready to get down and I was just so out of it. After XOYO, we went to this other club [Raffles] where I had the afterparty and got even moredrunk; like two bottles of Bombay, I had my first bottle of Jagermeister on the stage, I had my second bottle at the club and I went crazy on that shit. I don’t remember anything that happened. I thought that I got home safe and I just went in the bed. They said I threw up…
The best nights are always the ones you can’t remember. What aspects of fame have you struggled with so far?
There’s nothing bad about fame except for when I’m chilling with Jailynn, my daughter. We did this big-ass birthday party and all the family is there and then all the fans mob you when I’m just trying to celebrate my daughter’s birthday. She’s like ‘Dad, no more fucking pictures’ – she didn’t say fucking – but people just need to respect when you’re with your family. I used to always hear artists complain about that shit when I was young watching TV, wanting to do this shit like, ‘How are they complaining, that’s the best shit in the world’, but now I get it.
Have you ever been star struck?
I met Kris Kross and I went crazy but I got in trouble for it. Ever since then I don’t get star struck.
When was the last time you were rejected by someone?
All the time! It was some girl yesterday here, shit. I saw this beautiful girl walking down the street and I’m like, ‘Hey come here’. She looked at me, smiled, and just kept on walking. That’s rejection; she wasn’t fucking with the kid.
Who would you like to get in the studio with next?
I wanna do a song with Drake, we’ve been talking about it, Beyoncé I just wrote a song for her recently and she said she likes some of my other shit, so that’s gonna be cool. Jay Z of course, the best of the best, Prince, John Mayer, FKA Twigs.
You just dropped your new single Stand For. What’s next?
My album, it’s called Free TC and it’s gonna be a movie. It’s dedicated to my little brother, who’s locked up and I’m gonna get him out and bring awareness to everyone that gets injustice.
Did you ever have a Plan B?
I was just gonna buy a whole bunch of property and give people places to live and places to put their business, and just be a cool dad. That’s all.
What’s the best thing about being Ty Dolla $ign?
Just being different and not afraid to be myself. To do my own thing and have people fuck with it, that’s cool to me.
Credits
Text Nardene Scott
Photography Jory Lee