The Breakfast Club – Ty Dolla $ign Interview: New Album 'TYCOON', Signing Leon Thomas, Fatherhood, Kanye, EZMNY Records & More

Original Air Date: October 17, 2025
Hosts: DJ Envy, Jess Hilarious, Charlamagne Tha God, Angela Yee, Lauren LaRosa

Episode Overview

This engaging episode of The Breakfast Club features Ty Dolla $ign as he discusses his highly anticipated album "Tycoon," the journey of launching his label EZMNY Records (Easy Money), artist development, fatherhood, working with Kanye, handling grief, technology in music, and personal growth. The hosts dive deep beyond music to explore Ty’s business moves, inspirations, life challenges, and evolving mindset.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Defining the Ty Dolla $ign Sound & Personal Growth

• Sound & Style: Ty attributes his sound to intentional greatness and authenticity rather than trends.

  • “What defines the Ty Dolla $ign sound? Just taking your time and finding the right... The shit is greatness. There we go.” — Ty Dolla $ign (03:25)

• Growth: Ty reflects on realizing early on that music was his path. He shares a humorous Subway job story:

  • “My first job was at Subway. I didn’t come back. I went one day and that was it... I’m about to go make music and figure it out.” — Ty Dolla $ign (04:00)

2. Stepping into “Tycoon” and Business Ownership

• Why “Tycoon”? The title represents stepping into greatness—drawing from "great lord" in Japanese, and "top of your game" in English.

  • “I did the artist thing. I started the record label, Easy Money. We signed our first artist, Leon Thomas... I’m a champagne owner now... documentary on the way...” — Ty Dolla $ign (04:43–05:34)

• Entrepreneurship: Ty emphasizes assembling the right team while growing his businesses.

  • “It’s all about getting the right team... I couldn’t do it all alone, for sure.” — Ty Dolla $ign (07:00)

3. Signing Leon Thomas & Vision for His Label

• Scouting Talent: Ty describes discovering Leon Thomas and creating a supportive label environment.

  • “Leon reminded me of myself... We got the label. Would you be down? He’s like, what? Let’s go. And we figured it out.” — Ty Dolla $ign (06:36)

• Standards for Artists: He values "easy lifters"—artists with vision and work ethic.

  • “Leon has been the easiest person to work with. So now that’s my blueprint. If you ain’t got it like that, I don’t want to waste my time.” — Ty Dolla $ign (36:49)

• Artist Development: Ty’s label prefers to partner with self-motivated talents but would invest more if the passion is real.

4. Views on R&B, Creativity, and Inspiration

• R&B Evolution: Ty feels R&B is lacking lyrical variety—calls for more everyday experiences in music.

  • “What’s missing... is other subjects... It’s the same subjects... We should start just talking about other things. Like regular life. Going to do laundry.” — Ty Dolla $ign (11:04)

• Creative Drive:

  • “I push myself the hardest... I get bored with music... What can we do to make it interesting?” — Ty Dolla $ign (08:33)

• Musical Influences: Mentions Prince, D’Angelo, Jodeci, Kim Burrell, and Stevie Wonder, among others.

  • “Stevie Wonder’s my favorite male singer ever.” — Ty Dolla $ign (09:15)

5. Fatherhood & Personal Life

• Father-Daughter Relationship: Ty shares pride in his 20-year-old daughter, a Pepperdine grad student.

  • “My daughter’s 20 years old now. She’s at Pepperdine getting her masters.” — Ty Dolla $ign (05:34)

• Reflections on Time:

  • “She was nine and now she’s 20. That should be quick though... You don’t realize how fast life goes.” — Ty Dolla $ign (17:05)

6. Mental Health, Grief & Motivation

• Handling Grief: He opens up about loss, staying focused, and mental resilience:

  • “There’s gonna be many hurdles... I got tough skin... In this business, you definitely gotta have tough skin.” — Ty Dolla $ign (34:01)

• Workout Epiphany: Describes losing focus during the pandemic, then recommitting after a health scare on stage.

  • “By the second song, my back went out... That’s when I knew, yo, you got to take this serious again. So now I feel like I’m 25 again.” — Ty Dolla $ign (35:34)

7. The Kanye Relationship & “Vultures”

• Current Status: Ty gives cryptic, brief answers about Kanye, suggesting a complex relationship.
• On “Vultures 1”:
  • “I thought that was a great album. Had a lot of fun making it, too.” — Ty Dolla $ign (13:28)

8. Views on Technology, Ownership, and AI

• Music Publishing: Ty sold a portion of his publishing after building his catalog—compares it to flipping a business.

  • “You could sell it straight up or keep it and gain more wealth... like any business... The goal is build all the way up and then sell it.” — Ty Dolla $ign (30:11)

• AI in Music: Cautiously optimistic but warns of “laziness” if misused, while embracing tech that aids production.

  • “It’s gonna make people lazier, but... create new sounds... But I still respect who really know how to do it.” — Ty Dolla $ign (31:18–32:23)

• Sampling Technology: Appreciates AI in tools that make beat crafting/sampling easier.

  • “I like that part of it because I like making beats and creating sounds.” — Ty Dolla $ign (33:16)

9. Transparency, Relationships & Media

• Honesty in Personal Life: Ty values upfront communication, even about uncomfortable topics in relationships.
  • “I like transparency. I like you to know what’s up. I don’t like surprises.” — Ty Dolla $ign (22:38)
• On Interviews: Admits he’s reserved, but accepts interviews are part of the job.
  • “If you thought you was just going to do music, good luck.” — Ty Dolla $ign (15:21)

10. Notable & Lighthearted Moments

• Internet Memes: Jokes about being compared to Jar Jar Binks after a music video look.

  • “Last thing I looked at online about myself and laughed is niggas calling me Jar Jar Binks...” — Ty Dolla $ign (25:22)

• Shrooms Story: Cautions on edibles, recounts taking mushrooms and receiving tragic news mid-high, making him swear off them.

  • “It made me just like never want to fuck with that shit again.” — Ty Dolla $ign (29:02)

• Favorite Collaboration: Picks “Miracle” from Free TC featuring his siblings.

  • “I like those family [collaborations].” — Ty Dolla $ign (27:02)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• On the Ty Dolla $ign Sound:
  “What is the sound? Shit. The. The shit—fucking greatness. There we go.” — Ty Dolla $ign (03:36)

• On Industry Entrepreneurship:
  “You become a true legend when your tree bears fruit.” — Charlamagne tha God (05:05)

• On Staying Motivated Creatively:
  “What can we do to make it interesting? What’s the wow factor?” — Ty Dolla $ign (08:33)

• On R&B Lyrical Diversity:
  “We should start just talking about other things. Like regular life. Going to do laundry...” — Ty Dolla $ign (11:04)

• On Transparency:
  “I like you to know what’s up. I don’t like surprises and I don’t like playing with people.” — Ty Dolla $ign (22:38)

• On Grieving While High:
  “And it made me just like never want to fuck with that shit ever again.” — Ty Dolla $ign on mushrooms and grief (29:02)

• On Tech/Laziness:
  “What worries me is the laziness of people, right? ... It’s gonna make people lazier... but create new sounds.” — Ty Dolla $ign (31:18)

• Room Laughter:
  “Last thing I looked at online about myself and laughed is niggas calling me Jar Jar Binks.” — Ty Dolla $ign (25:22)

Important Segments & Timestamps

| Topic | Timestamp | |---------------------------------------------|:--------------:| | Ty Dolla $ign on his sound | 03:25–03:46 | | “Tycoon” as album name, entrepreneurship | 04:43–05:34 | | Leon Thomas signing and label philosophy | 05:47–07:16 | | R&B’s missing diversity | 11:04–11:39 | | Relationship with Kanye and “Vultures” | 12:43–13:32 | | On grief, mushrooms story | 29:01–29:38 | | Music publishing and business advice | 30:02–30:46 | | Thoughts on AI in music | 31:10–33:48 | | On fatherhood and daughter in grad school | 05:34, 16:45 | | Fitness/motivation and scare on stage | 35:34–35:47 | | Favorite collab: “Miracle” with his siblings| 27:02 | | Internet memes: “Jar Jar Binks” | 25:22–25:43 |

Conclusion

Ty Dolla $ign’s candid conversation with The Breakfast Club peels back the layers of superstardom to expose a thoughtful creator, pragmatic businessman, vulnerable father, and industry vet with sharp instincts. From his role as a culture-shaper in modern R&B and his championing of artist development, to wisdom on resilience, ownership, and creative integrity, Ty offers inspiration for listeners on both sides of the mic. “Tycoon” embodies his philosophy: leveling up, innovating, and bringing others along for the ride.

For full stories and more, listen to the complete episode.