Ty Dolla Sign

Tyrone William Griffin, Jr. (born April 13, 1985), better known by his stage name Ty Dolla Sign (stylized as Ty Dolla $ign or Ty$), is an American hip hop and R&B recording artist from Los Angeles, California. He first gained major recognition in 2010, through his appearance on YG's "Toot It and Boot It," which Ty Dolla Sign wrote and produced for Def Jam Recordings. In the summer of 2013, he signed a record deal with Wiz Khalifa's Taylor Gang Records and subsequently released the successful Beach House 2 mixtape. He originates from Inglewood, California.

Musical career

2007–11: Career beginnings

The son of musician Tyrone Griffin, a member of Lakeside, Ty Dolla Sign began his music career by learning how to play the bass guitar. Since then, he also learned to play drums, guitar, keyboards and the MPC. Later, he and his partner Kory, signed a record deal with Venus Brown and Buddah Brown Ent, and released a mixtape, titled Raw & Bangin Mixtape Vol 2. The duo also made guest appearances on albums by other artists such as Sa-Ra Creative Partners and Black Milk, where they sang on the song "U" on the latter's 2007 recording Popular Demand. However, that deal began to fall through, causing Dolla Sign and Kory to call it quits with each other.

With U

"With U" is a song recorded by American singer Janet Jackson for her ninth studio album, 20 Y.O. (2006). It was written by Johnta Austin, Jackson, Jermaine Dupri, Manuel Seal, Jr., James Harris III, and Terry Lewis, with production handled by the latter five. It was released exclusively to selected urban radio formats on December 11, 2006 as the fourth overall single from the album by Virgin Records.

"With U" was considered a follow-up to Jackson's single "Let's Wait Awhile" (1986), in which two characters postpone intimacy. However, "With U" takes place after the act, resulting in "romantic confusion". The song received positive reviews from most music critics, called a "smooth and lushly" ballad. The song reached number 65 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs.

Background and composition

Following Jackson's eighth album released in 2004, Jackson began recording a new album project the next year. Her then-fiancé, record producer Jermaine Dupri. was eventually commissioned to executive produce the project. Producer Jimmy Jam revealed Jackson became more confident with her writing ability during recording, doing the bulk of the album's writing. He commented, "We're all kind of back in there doing it again together, which I really enjoy." It's the physical nature of sitting in the same room and really hashing it out. It's like, 'You're not going to leave until we have a lyric,' so it's fun." Jackson further commented about working with Dupri, Lewis and Terry, saying:

Kid Ink

Brian Todd Collins (born April 1, 1986), better known by his stage name Kid Ink, is an American hip hop and R&B recording artist. He is signed to RCA Records. He released the independent album Up & Away, an EP titled Almost Home, and his second studio album My Own Lane. The latter spawned the singles "Show Me", "Iz U Down", and "Main Chick". On February 3, 2015, he released his third studio album Full Speed, which spawned the singles "Body Language", "Hotel", and "Be Real".

Career

2005–09: Career beginnings and record production

As a teenager, Kid Ink started his music career by doing some of the after-school music programs, making beats and producing some songs. He was inspired by record producers, such as Timbaland, Pharrell Williams and Swizz Beatz. He said: "These were artists and producers who were writing for other people in all types of genres. It just gave me an open ear for all different types of music and that's how I approached it." Following years of working as a record producer, Ink then began pursuing his career, as a rapper full-time at the age of 22.