Childhood & Early Life
Tyrone William Griffin Jr. was born on April 13, 1985, in Los Angeles, California. He has two siblings, brother Big TC and sister Angel Gold. He completed high school through homeschooling. As a teenager, he became a gang member of the Bloods.
He developed interest in music when he was a kid, and got the opportunity to meet bands like Earth, Wind & Fire and Prince, as his father, Tyrone Griffin, was a member of the band Lakeside. Dolla started off by learning to play the bass guitar, drums, keyboards, and MPC.
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Career
Ty Dolla Sign and his partner Kory signed a record deal with Venus Brown and Buddah Brown Entertainment, and got the opportunity to release a mixtape, ‘Raw & Bangin Mixtape Vol 2’ in 2007. The duo also sang songs like ‘U’, and was featured on albums by other artists like ‘Sa-Ra Creative Partners’.
After the duo parted ways, Dolla collaborated with rapper YG in 2010. He shot to fame after he was featured in YG's hit song, ‘Toot It and Boot It’ from his second mixtape ‘The Real 4Fingaz’in 2010. The same year, Dolla also started becoming busy with varied tasks like productions, co-writing credits, and guest appearances.
He then joined YG's group ‘Pu$haz Ink’, and released his first solo ‘All Star’ in 2011, followed by the singles ‘My Cabana’, ‘Irie’, and ‘Paranoid’. He also co-founded the production team D.R.U.G.S. with music producers Chordz 3D and G Casso.
He has also worked with Pac Div, Joe Moses, and Young Maestro. He released his first mixtape, ‘House on the Hill’ in 2011.
In 2012, he signed a contract with Atlantic Records, and released his first solo mixtape, ‘Beach House’, followed by the ‘Beach House 2’, on July 1, 2013, which have guest appearances from Wiz Khalifa, Too $hort, Juicy J and Kirko Bangz, among many others.
In 2012, Ty Dolla Sign also signed a deal with Wiz Khalifa's Taylor Gang Records. In 2013, he accompanied Khalifa and A$AP Rocky for the ‘Under the Influence of Music 2’ concert tour.
In September 2013, Dolla released a single ‘Paranoid’, which later became the first single of his debut EP. In January 2014, his second single ‘Or Nah’ was released, which was also included in his debut EP. In January 2014, the debut EP, ‘Beach House EP’ was released, whose production was handled by Dolla in collaboration with others.
In August 2014, he released his mixtape ‘Sign Language’, and appeared on the track ‘Nothin' Like Me’ and ‘Play No Games’ in Tyga and Chris Brown’s ‘Fan of a Fan: The Album’ the same year.
In May 2015, his first single ‘Only Right’ from his debut album ‘Free TC,’ was launched. It features Joe Moses, TeeCee4800, and YG, and was produced by DJ Mustard. In June, the album's second single ‘Blasé,’ featuring rapper Future and hip-hop duo Rae Sremmurd, was released. In November 2015, Taylor Gang Records and Atlantic Records released his debut album, ‘Free TC’.
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In February 2016, Fifth Harmony released their single ‘Work from Home’ which featured Ty Dolla Sign. In June, Ty featured in a collaborative single ‘Sucker for Pain’ that was released for the soundtrack of the motion picture ‘Suicide Squad’. In September, he released a commercial mixtape ‘Campaign’.
Major Works
Ty Dolla Sign is best known for his hit singles ‘Paranoid’, ‘Or Nah’, and ‘Blasé’. While ‘My Cabana’ ranked on Complex's Best 50 Songs of 2012, ‘Paranoid’ became highly popular and peaked at number 29 on the US Billboard Hot 100 in 2013. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) certified it platinum. The singles ‘Blasé’ and ‘Saved’ were certified platinum and gold, respectively, by RIAA.
In 2015, his debut album ‘Free TC’ peaked at No.14 on the Billboard 200, and sold over 22,000 copies in the US in the first week.
In 2016, his collaborative single ‘Work from Home’ peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. His mixtape ‘Campaign’ peaked at No. 28 on the Billboard 200 the same year.
