We explore the passion for music of our June cover star, Ty Dolla $ign, which originates from his father and extends to peers like Ye, YG, and Mustard. He shares the story of how "Toot It & Boot It" was created and the subsequent success that opened various doors for him.
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00:00This is the most talented mother f***er to ever come up out of L.A.
00:03I know we got a lot of best rappers, best for the most talented mother f***er to come up out of L.A.
00:08It's your boy.
00:09It's crazy how they still got all the same stickers and s***.
00:30Yeah.
00:31I've been here so many times in life, man.
00:35It's just cool to see that the place is still here.
00:39When was this store last opened?
00:4190, 95, 96.
00:44Yeah, so I was here with him, you know, running around, little kids.
00:50It used to look like a f***ing spaceship to me.
00:53I got my start in music, I would say, from watching my dad.
00:57Just watching and learning.
00:59My dad didn't even know.
01:00He had no idea.
01:02Then one day, he goes to use the restroom.
01:05After I'm hearing him f***ing try to learn this part that he wasn't all the way clicking to,
01:10and I went right up to the keyboard and just played what he was listening to.
01:14And he was all surprised.
01:15And this was when I was four years old.
01:17Everything I learned from Pops.
01:19Learned how to play the keyboard, bass, guitar.
01:24F***ing learned how to make beats.
01:26Learned how to use pro audio.
01:28Everything about recording.
01:30Huge job. I learned from him.
01:32I always knew he had the gift from the beginning because he was always intrigued by the music.
01:38I knew he was going to be who he is today.
01:55Welcome to one of my homes.
01:57This is where it all started.
01:58I was about 24 when I first got this house.
02:02Personally, just on me.
02:04My family gave it to me.
02:06If y'all know, if y'all from LA, you've probably been here.
02:09We had the most outrageous parties and s***.
02:12This person used to complain.
02:14We used to go crazy in here.
02:16At one time, I had the studio upstairs.
02:18Another time, I had it right here, this window.
02:20Because I like to see while I create.
02:23We created Tooted & Booty here about 2009.
02:26I remember I was so not having bread at the time that
02:29one time my f***ing electricity got cut off in this motherf***er.
02:32You feel me?
02:46We're in Hollywood at the Susio headquarters.
02:50This is your home base.
02:52This is the studio you create most out of.
02:54Yes, sir.
02:55How long have you been here?
02:57I had this building for like a year and a half.
02:59What have you made here?
03:00What would the fans, if they were to come here,
03:02what are the songs that they would...
03:03A lot of the Vultures album parts were made here.
03:06And then a lot of these features that have been coming out
03:08within the last year and a half, I made here.
03:12I was watching, I think it was YG's podcast that you were on.
03:17He was talking about when you guys were coming up.
03:19Can you talk about that time when you had just met Mustard?
03:23In particular, with you and Mustard developing this new sound
03:28that would go on to define the West Coast.
03:30I was always a fan of DJ Quig, Dr. Dre,
03:35that time period as far as West Coast music.
03:38And it also goes into the shit that my dad was doing.
03:41Lakeside, that up-tempo, you know what I'm saying?
03:46And party music when it comes to LA.
03:50I remember this one time we were throwing a party
03:53at my Baldwin Hills house.
03:55Mustard threw on this song called Geeked Up by D4L,
03:59which was like popping at the time,
04:01which made the whole fucking room go, wow.
04:03That next morning, I made this song called Tooted & Booted.
04:08You know, a guy with YG, he hopped on that song,
04:10it was over, bro.
04:11That's how you get the West Coast of today's sound.
04:14The success of Tooted & Booted opened the door
04:18to all my other peers in music,
04:20to work with other producers, other artists, writers,
04:24because they saw what we could do
04:26and they wanted a piece of it.
04:28And then now we're still here today.
04:30YG, that's my brother.
04:31Working with him has always been
04:33one of my favorite collaborations
04:35because we just, we get it.
04:37At first when he came around,
04:38he already had songs that were booming on MySpace,
04:42and just throughout the city.
04:44But what they always say about me is,
04:46I kind of like taught them the formula
04:49of like making a full hit song.
04:52The workflow, as far as me being a producer,
04:54didn't come until after Ty taught me how to make beats.
04:58He's the reason that I even make beats.
05:01I've always wanted to be a producer,
05:02but Ty is the one who's like,
05:04man, you know what people want to hear.
05:06You have an ear for what you think is right.
05:10If you get that down, then you probably will be,
05:13you'll be good.
05:14And he gave me, I remember he gave me a pack of sounds,
05:17which I still use to this day.
05:19He was like, I can have all these.
05:20He was like, yeah,
05:21because you're not going to make what I'm going to make.
05:23YG and Mustard, they listened to what I had to give
05:26and they took it to a whole nother level.
05:28Those are two of my favorite little homies.
05:30That's the thing that actually caught on
05:32after a thousand other songs that I made, you know,
05:36and then I tried to like keep that going.
05:39I tried, there's really no such thing as trying
05:41dollar sign world.
05:42I actually kept it going.
05:43This is the guy that taught me how to make beats.
05:45He taught, not he didn't teach YG how to rap,
05:47but he taught him the cadence of how he rapped.
05:49He made sure I screamed on songs.
05:51Like he deserves to be exactly where he is.
05:53And that's just Ty.
05:54I've always seen him in that light.
05:56Explain to me what the past five months or so
05:59has been like for you.
06:00Ah, shit, man, amazing.
06:02Got to work with my brother, Ye.
06:04Can you talk more just about the collaborative process
06:07between the two of you?
06:09I've worked with a lot of people,
06:11but with him, it's just like that shit just flows.
06:15If there is something that I disagree on,
06:19you know, or that he disagrees on throughout,
06:23I guess, a day or two, we figure it out, you know,
06:25or even shorter time than that.
06:27I feel like Ye is like the best artist of this generation
06:30for sure, besides me.
06:32And I don't give a fuck about what people are talking about.
06:35I know my nigga is like one of the best people I ever met.
06:38The idea of, you know, you've been in this game for a while,
06:42doing it for a while.
06:43Did you think it would take this long
06:45to get a number one song and album at the same time?
06:50Nah, I didn't think that.
06:52I don't know if I was really going for that, for real.
06:56I am grateful, though.
06:57I feel like we did nothing wrong with Vultures Volume 1.
07:01I feel like it was fucking perfect.
07:03We went number one.
07:04A lot of people thought we weren't going to, you know,
07:07Vultures, maybe you don't want to work with him,
07:09Vultures, all this bullshit, everything.
07:12So I feel like it was perfect, bro.
07:14Like, what can you say wrong?
07:16Like, no complaints.
07:17You talk about being this bridge from, you know,
07:20an older generation of R&B music
07:23to a newer generation of R&B music.
07:25At that time, there weren't many that were making
07:27the type of music that you were making.
07:29Do you look at these new artists
07:31and see anything that you've done
07:33in what they're doing right now?
07:35Oh, for sure.
07:36I'm not the first, and I won't be the last.
07:38Be the best you can be.
07:40Study, you know, just try to top shit.
07:42Don't keep trying to, like, do what these other people
07:45are doing out here, because that shit gets old.
07:47You're now an executive.
07:48You're now somebody who has to, you know,
07:50oversee the career of some people.
07:53How has that transition been for you?
07:57It's been pretty easy,
08:01but a learning experience at the same time.
08:05I feel like I have the next greatest artist in the world.
08:08If not the greatest artist in the world, Leon Thomas.
08:10He does everything, bro.
08:12It's just like another me, but, like, to another level.
08:15Like, his singing ability is incredible.
08:19He plays guitar, bass, keys, everything the same.
08:22Produces, like, I'm excited for him, man.
08:25You know, I'm gearing up right now
08:28to be one of the biggest labels coming out of L.A.,
08:31coming out of the States.
08:33You know, this just sounds like more responsibility for you.
08:35I think one of the things that,
08:37I assume one of the things that you and Ye have in common
08:39is being a global star with a family
08:43that you have to, you know, be there for and take care of.
08:46Yeah.
08:47How do you balance the two of those?
08:50Jalen is in college now.
08:52She's 19.
08:54Came to me the other day and was like,
08:56I was like, Dad, I want to record.
08:59So I brought her through.
09:01She just made one song. It's hard.
09:04And she's going to keep on going.
09:06In my mind, I'm like, oh, North must have inspired you.
09:11And she's killing it, bro.
09:12I'm, like, super excited for her.
09:14Talk to a number of artists who all
09:17wish their children would not get into the music industry.
09:21I used to say that, but why not, man?
09:23In life, you got to do what you love,
09:25or else, like, you wasted your life.
09:27This is what I love to do.
09:28Everything in my life I love, and I'm having fun.
09:32All annoying things and, like, weird shit has been cut.
09:38And, like, literally every single day is, like, unbelievable.
09:43Yeah.
09:45I think Ty is just a selfless person, man.
09:47He's one of those guys that, like,
09:50he just wanted everybody to win.
09:51He's not, like, selfish.
09:53I've never seen him be selfish to anybody.
09:55If my fans could know one thing about me, I love y'all, you know?
10:02I'm in love with y'all.
10:03And thank y'all for listening and constantly
10:06supporting for all these years.
10:09We still got some more years to go.