When you hear ‘Dollar Sign’ you just know. It was just like when you hear ‘Mustard on the beat’. So what was the turning point to lay the foundations for the next step in Ty’s career? “The turning point for me was one I called named myself Ty Dolla $ign and I put that dollar sign on it. “I’m comfortable but I’m always trying to get better and grow and do something bigger than I did the last time,” he reflects, clearly eager to strive for greater success. While Ty Dolla $ign may be one of the early pioneers of the new West Coast, his own brand of music is constantly evolving and it’s become clear that he is going to keep on pushing his own sound to new levels. That shit is crazy to see something spread like that.”
I don’t know what is going to happen tonight but last night in Paris they knew every fucking word. You will hear a DJ play one Mustard song and then he has got to play all of them. “When I went to New York, it was popping in New York too. So how did this LA identity get to the point of global success? “Everybody that was making music in LA is trying to re-do it and make our sound, or sound like me or Mustard or whatever”, he continues, revealing how their trademark is spreading throughout the states. It’s an honour to have come up with some shit that people fuck with.” It’s this West Coast sound – think 808s, claps and DJ Mustard production – that may have started in Los Angeles, but is now being echoed around the world. “And it’s spread and now everybody else is hopping on our sound. “It’s the sound of the city,” says Griffin, reflecting on that ‘ratchet’ sound (although, he’d rather just call it “incredible”). Over in the West Coast of the United States, there’s a thriving scene that’s starting to make an impact on the global scale - with Ty$ set to go down as one of the scene’s forefathers. Yet while you may be tempted to describe Ty Dolla $ign’s lyrics with words like ‘hedonistic’ (you’d struggle to find a review that doesn’t include the adjective), there’s a lot more to the music than tales of promiscuity.
It’s also worth noting that these themes aren’t just on-record bravado: mid way during his London show, Ty invites ten girls back to his hotel for an after party. The Weeknd, Wiz Khalifa & DJ Mustard, for example). So people fuck with it,” explains Griffin, when I ask how he gets away with some of his more promiscuous lyrics (see: “Or Nah” feat. Everybody is going through the situations that I’m going through, or has gone through it, or wants to be that guy.
Playing a snippet of the track back to me as he tries to get the hotel window open (for smoking purposes only), it becomes clear that Griffin has found himself as one of the go-to artists for any track that needs to be elevated from setting the mood to, well, what happens after you’ve set the mood…