Add thelocalreport.in As A Trusted Source
“It’s ‘Tycoon’ season,” declared a smiling Ty Dolla $ign.
It really is. The inventive R&B singer recently released his fifth studio album, his first full-length solo release in five years. He chose “Tycoon” for its title because the word encapsulates his current state of mind. “It’s like being at the top of your game,” he says. “It’s like, not only have I done everything you can artistically, (but) there’s still a lot left to do.”
Call it confidence or swagger or showboating: the Grammy-nominated artist has a bounty of multiplatinum records to his name from 2018 to the present, and most recently, with his controversial project Kanye West$, released two albums, “Vultures 1” and “Vultures 2”, in 2024. They debuted at numbers 1 and 2 respectively on the Billboard 200.
“Tycoon” time
“Tycoon” is classic Ty Dolla $ign. The album is what he’s made a name for himself: a collection of consistently catchy, NSFW R&B songs about lust and love (both mostly lame), loaded with A-list collaborations: Quavo, Juicy J, 2 Chainz, tyga, travis scottChloe – the list goes on.
Among them are: Rappers kodak black and Ty Dolla $ign’s longtime kindred spirit YG. (Ty Dolla $ign and YG have worked together for many years, going back to 2010’s “Toot It and Boot It,” of course.)) For their latest album, the trio teamed up for “Smile Body Pretty Face.” It was one of the last songs to make “Tycoon,” says Ty Dolla $ign, “but when we started messing around with the beat. I thought, ‘This has got to be YG.'”
There is a romantic element to the song – with some of her sexually explicit poses. The same can be said of the lead single from “Tycoon,” “All In,” where Ty Dolla $ign’s rich baritone muses on devotion to a partner. “They say love doesn’t cost a thing,” he croons in the chorus. “And if that happens, I’ll be involved.”
“I’m always liking something,” he says. “It just hasn’t quite worked out for me yet.” Love, nevertheless, is a constant source of inspiration – enriched by the song’s sample of Wayne Wonder’s 2002 reggae fusion track “No Letting Go”.
Big business and the return of R&B
For Ty Dolla $ign, this new era also means being a business “tycoon.” He’s had his fair share of industry endeavors — like launching a label, EZMNY, with Motown Records executive Shawn Barron — and experiencing immediate success with its first signing, R&B upstart Leon Thomas. Their single, “Mutt”, reached number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 1 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart.
Thomas told the AP earlier this year about working with Ty Dollacular: “I’ve been around some epic legends in the field, and I think that’s the best teacher experience.”
“My goal with EZMNY is to give real artists a chance. I, myself, couldn’t do that until I was 27 and I was always good. I was always making music,” says Ty Dolla $ign. “And I just wanted to get back to the people who are really great.”
He added, “There’s definitely going to be a return to R&B very soon.” “We’re talking specifically to Leon.”
What else will happen in the future, it still remains to be seen whether the oft-rumored “Vultures 3” will be released or not. “There was a lot of music produced. It could have been out at that time,” Ty Dolla $ign said. “I feel like we made the best music of that time. I feel like we got to No. 1, and it was a successful project, and it was fun… It was a cool experience, seeing that you can do everything on your own time.”
Can this couple reunite? “Who knows what may happen in the future?” He says. “I’m ready for anything.”
For now, “It’s ‘Tycoon’ time,” he says. Soon, Ty Dolla $ign will be touring the album. Later, their new documentary – titled “Still Free TC” – 10 years after their debut album “Free TC” – is expected to get a wider release. It premiered at this year’s Tribeca Film Festival.
According to the singer, “Still Free TC” is about his brother Big TC, who is currently serving a life sentence for murder. But it also tells Ty Dolla $ign’s story in detail. It’s about his journey to the top and the mass incarceration system that still affects his family.
“I have a lot of friends and fans who say to me, like, ‘Yeah, you never really show anyone. You never let anyone in.’ So, this is the time where I let everyone in,” he says of the film. “I just feel like people need to see it.”
And in the meantime, they’ll have “Tycoon” to dive into.
He says, “I just want people to feel inspired after listening to it. I want them to believe in themselves after listening to it.” “And trust me. I’m always going to give you the best of the best.”