Ty Dolla $ign
Free TC
(Atlantic Records)

Professionally I am a singer/songwriter, but I am a die-hard hip hop fan. I knew of  Ty Dolla $ign, but not enough to explain what he actually did. I heard one song he had released and it had so many features, his style was still unclear to me. I was still very curious and jumped at the opportunity to review his album. I was so happy I made the choice. I love his unique take on hip hop and R&B, his concepts and approach are different in such a good way. He doesn’t compromise R&B nor hip hop, which is a hard scale to balance. “Horses in the Stable” is a rare perspective of a man who openly admits to being a womanizer. Raw truth is the best material, from my perspective.  “LA,” featuring Kendrick Lamar, is an amazing depiction of living in Los Angeles in the ghetto with the hardships and trials from a singer’s perspective making it special. He has a special ability to make you dance and on “Saved,” featuring E40, the legendary rapper shows he must have some equity in this industry. The song is club-ready. Occasionally I find an artist whose vision is clear to me, his ability to balance hip hop tracks with smooth R&B melodies and edgy lyrics is a fine line.  There’s a respect given to each element and you can hear it implied. “Credit” is probably one of my favorites. It’s a man’s perspective on relationships and on trying to put his best foot forward. It’s still masculine, but vulnerable and the breakdown shows his musical knowledge. I can’t help but reiterate his oxymoron mirage of musical influences and conceptual abilities. I haven’t been entertained in awhile, (excuse my enthusiasm), but if any of these songs I’ve written about spark an interest, you’ll want to purchase this album. I’m still listening as we speak, which speaks volumes in itself!