Ty Dolla Sign

Tyrone William Griffin Jr. (born April 13, 1982), known professionally as Ty Dolla Sign (stylized as Ty Dolla $ign or Ty$), is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer.

Griffin and his writing partner Kory began working together after meeting in New York City in 2004, forming the duo Ty & Kory.

The duo also made guest appearances on studio albums by other artists such as Sa-Ra Creative Partners and Black Milk.

They also performed the song "U", which was featured on the latter's album Popular Demand (2007).

The duo signed a recording contract with Venus Brown's Buddah Brown Entertainment and subsequently released their debut mixtape, Raw & Bangin Mixtape Vol 2 (2008).

Eventually, Ty & Kory had a falling out related to these ventures.

After the dispute, Griffin began working with fellow Los Angeles-based rapper YG.

He first gained recognition for his guest appearance on fellow Los Angeles rapper YG's 2010 single "Toot It and Boot It", which entered the Billboard Hot 100 as his first minor hit.

Griffin's initial claim to fame was with the success of YG's 2010 single "Toot It and Boot It", which he co-performed and produced.

In 2011, Griffin released his first solo song, "All Star" (featuring Joe Moses; remixed featuring Kid Ink) and his debut mixtape, House on the Hill (2011).

Griffin co-founded and was a member of the production team D.R.U.G.$., alongside fellow music producers Chordz (or Chordz 3D) and G Casso, the latter of whom was murdered in 2011.

Other producers later joined D.R.U.G.$., including Nate 3D, Buddah Shampoo, Fuego, DJ Mustard, and DJ Dahi.

He signed with Atlantic Records in 2012, and Wiz Khalifa's Taylor Gang Entertainment the following year.

His follow up single, "My Cabana" (featuring Young Jeezy) was ranked on Complex's Best 50 Songs of 2012 list at number 23.

In 2012, Griffin signed a recording contract with Atlantic Records.

After signing with Atlantic, he released his first solo mixtape, titled Beach House, on October 1, 2012.

Its release was supported by his 2013 single "Paranoid" (featuring B.o.B), which marked his first entry—at number 29—on the Billboard Hot 100 as a lead artist.

Furthermore, Griffin has been credited with songwriting and production work for other artists, most notably on the singles "Loyal" (2013) by Chris Brown, "Post to Be" (2014) by Omarion, and "FourFiveSeconds" (2015) by Rihanna, Kanye West and Paul McCartney, among others.

He has received five Grammy Award nominations.

Griffin was born Tyrone William Griffin Jr. in Los Angeles, California.

He is the son of musician Tyrone Griffin, a member of the band Lakeside.

He has said that through his father's involvement in Lakeside, he met singers like Earth, Wind & Fire and Prince as a child, which led to his love and interest for soul music.

Growing up in South Central Los Angeles, Griffin was a gang member, being part of the Bloods, while his brother was in the rival gang of the Crips.

Griffin began his music career by learning how to play the bass guitar and later learned how to play drums, guitars, keyboards, and the MPC.

He followed with the mixtape's sequel, Beach House 2, on July 1, 2013.

Beach House 2 features guest appearances from Too Short, Wiz Khalifa, Juicy J, and Kirko Bangz, among others.

The following day, it was revealed that Griffin signed a deal with Khalifa's Taylor Gang Entertainment.

In mid-2013, he toured with Khalifa and ASAP Rocky, among others, on the Under the Influence of Music 2 concert tour.

On September 10, 2013, Griffin released a single, titled "Paranoid", which features a verse from Atlanta rapper B.o.B and production from DJ Mustard.

The song was later announced to be the first single off his upcoming extended play (EP).

On October 22, 2013, the Ethan Lader-directed music video for "Paranoid", premiered via Diddy's Revolt.

The single became highly popular, peaking at number 29 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and eventually being certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Griffin saw further mainstream recognition for his debut commercial extended play (EP), Beach House EP (2014).

Its 2014 follow-up, "Or Nah" (featuring Wiz Khalifa and DJ Mustard, remixed with the Weeknd) was met with continued success and received sextuple platinum certification from the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

On January 7, 2014, Griffin released his second single for his debut EP, titled "Or Nah" (featuring Wiz Khalifa and DJ Mustard).

The song's production was handled by DJ Mustard and it contains a sample of Trillville's "Some Cut".

His debut studio album, Free TC (2015) peaked at number 14 on the Billboard 200 and was supported by the platinum-certified singles "Blasé" (featuring Rae Sremmurd and Future) and "Saved" (featuring E-40).

His second album, Beach House 3 (2017) reached number 11 on the Billboard 200, while his third album, Featuring Ty Dolla Sign (2020) reached number four.

He has released the collaborative albums MihTy (2018) with Jeremih, Cheers to the Best Memories (2021) with Dvsn, and Vultures 1 (2024) with Kanye West—the latter became his first to debut atop the Billboard 200.

Along with his own career, Griffin is known his frequent guest appearances on songs by other artists; these include the Billboard Hot 100-top 40 singles "Work from Home" by Fifth Harmony, "Swalla" by Jason Derulo, "Hot Girl Summer" by Megan Thee Stallion, "Hit Different" by SZA, "WusYaName" by Tyler, the Creator, and "Psycho" by Post Malone—the latter became his first to peak the chart and received diamond certification by the RIAA.