Review by David Jeffries
Ty Dolla $ign isn't done promoting his debut album Free TC. Nearly five months since its release, the L.A. Hitmaker re-ups with a deluxe version.
Often compared to Future, Los Angeles rapper, singer, and songwriter Ty Dolla $ign is more like the duo Rae Sremmurd reduced down to one, offering lean trap rhymes and hooky choruses that stick in the head long after the song is done. Both Future and Rae Sremmurd guest on Ty's debut album highlight 'Blasé,' where the lead MC spits out 'And my bitch cold, she a centerfold/Put her on a stand, and she never told' in a way that's more street than Future, and wiser than the Sremmurd crew. Speaking of wise, Ty seems like an old soul with Jagged Edge ('Straight Up') and Babyface ('Solid') on the guest list, and he's a creative one at that, giving the former a drifting, slightly off R&B number to sing while the latter superstar gets a clever, acoustic-guitar driven masterpiece that could be passed off as K'NAAN, Wyclef, or maybe even the late singer/songwriter Ted Hawkins. If it's a surprise to find a full-bodied, blues-inspired number here, it's equally as intriguing when this mush-mouthed rapper winds up a worthy Usher rival on the swaggering strip-club number 'Saved' with E-40, and still it's 'Guard Down' where the jaw drops the farthest as Diddy and Kanye West help deliver a track driven by glitchy underground electronica, plus one with lyrics that are as sincere and empowering as the Beatles' 'Hey Jude' or 2Pac's 'Keep Ya Head Up.' R. Kelly, Kendrick Lamar, Wiz Khalifa, and what seems like the rest of 2015's A list wind in and out of this busy effort with ease, and all of the genre-jumping seems like second nature for this deceptively diverse artist, acting like he's on album number six when he's really just on number one. Numerous proven mixtapes help set Ty up for an easier introduction than most, but Free TC tops all expectations, as the man conquers the club, the bedroom, and the brain with this end-to-end stunner.
Title/Composer | Performer | Time |
---|---|---|
1 | Marlon Barrow / Kendrick Duckworth / James Fauntleroy / Tyrone Griffin / Nate Howard / Dernst Emile II / Yves Bazelais Jr. / Darius Logan / Dominique Logan | 05:07 |
2 | Nick Audino / Bobby Brackins / Tyrone Griffin / Lewis Hughes / Dijon Macfarlane / Dijon McFarlane / Glenda Proby / Khaled Rohaim / Earl Stevens | 02:58 |
3 | Shereelynn Sarah Brown / Brandon Casey / Brian Casey / Ronald Colson / Bryan Cox / Bryan-Michael Cox / Jermaine Dupri / Tyrone Griffin / Glenda Proby / Patricia Rushen / Andrew Wansel / Fred Washington / Autoro Whitfield | 05:01 |
4 | Kenneth Edmonds / Tyrone Griffin / Glendy Proby / Khristopher Riddick-Tynes | 04:19 |
5 | Dave Cuncio / Larrance Dopson / Kenneth Edmonds / Tyrone Griffin / Tish Hyman | 03:06 |
6 | Joseph Allen / Tyrone Griffin / Gary Hill / Tremaine Neverson / Trey Songz / Leland Wayne | 04:52 |
7 | Marlon Barrow / Devin Cruise / Tyrone Griffin / Brandon Hamlin / Dernst Emile II / Glenda Proby / Cyshae Strachan | 06:11 |
8 | Angel Griffin / Gabreal Griffin / Tyrone Griffin / Dernst Emile II / Christopher Jones / Nate Welsh | 08:15 |
9 | Sean Combs / Tyrone Griffin / Paris Jones / Kanye West | 04:56 |
10 | Ben Ash / Noah Beresin / Tyrone Griffin / Wiz Khalifa / Benjamin Levin / Cameron Thomaz / Jazzaé De Waal | 03:26 |
11 | Tyrone Griffin / John Juliano / Brock Korsan / Ronald LaTour / Willie Maxwell | 03:37 |
12 | Aaquil Brown / Malik Brown / Tyrone Griffin / Gary Hill / Marquis Medina / Nayvadius Wilburn | 04:46 |
13 | Mikely Adam / Joseph Allen / Tyrone Griffin / Keenon Jackson / Dijon Macfarlane / Dijon McFarlane / Marquise De Angelo Newman / Marquise Newman | 03:10 |
14 | Mikkel Storleer Eriksen / Tyrone Griffin / Tor Erik Hermansen / Glenda Proby / Paolo Prudencio | 03:45 |
15 | 06:12 | |
16 | Khalil Abdul-Rahman / Taz Arnold / Sam Barsh / Stephen Bruner / Tyrone Griffin / Shafiq Husayn / Paris Jones / Om'Mas Keith | 02:53 |
17 | 04:42 | |
18 | Nicholas Audino / Tyrone Griffin / Lewis Hughes / Dijon Macfarlane / Joe Moses / Marquise Newman / Jazzaé De Waal / Te Whiti Warbrick | 03:08 |
19 | Eardrummers / Tyrone Griffin / Quavious Marshall / Leland Wayne | 03:08 |
20 | Tyrone Griffin / Alexander Izquierdo / Jodd Knight / Gamal Lewis / Kristofer Murray / Krystal Oliver | 04:04 |
blue highlight denotes track pick