TY-44, AKA Ty Hands, is an upcoming artist out of South Florida. Taking after artists like Travis Scott and Pierre Bourne, TY-44 collects the listeners attention through powerful Melodies and amazing beats. Pushing his upcoming project “No Signal”, 44 is putting his “OFF-Road” vision on display with his catchy flows. Arising close to 900,000 streams on just Spotify, 44 is looking to grow his overall fan base in efforts to break mainstream. Check out his full interview below –
Where are you from and how was life growing up? I was born and raised in West Palm Beach, Florida. I was really into school and basketball. I was valedictorian of my high school class lol and even went on to play college basketball at FSU. I always was into music, I guess I never gave it any effort. I thought no one would give me a chance. All that changed when I met my current producers in college 4 years ago.
How did the artist name come to be? The name TY-44 is a combination of my name and my basketball number. Ty + 44= TY-44. I saw this next step in my life as an evolution from the student athlete that everyone else was used to.
Where does the inspiration come from for creating music? I started making music with Rtillery. He’s one of the producers who have helped me create this sound. Through music, I was able to see myself for who I really am. It wasn’t instant, but with the more music I made, the more I found myself becoming more authentic. Almost like the recordings were helping me become more in tune with my true sense of self. I loved that aspect of music and it made me want more of it.
What artists inspired you the most and who do you currently listen to? Travis Scott was my first inspiration. Him. Playboi carti, trippie redd, Lil yatchy. I was really into that new sound that these guys were creating. Currently, I’ve been listening to Ken Carson, SoFaygo, Yeat, and Steve Lacey.
What kind of support do you get from your home town/state? I love my hometown lol I don’t think they’ve caught on to my wave yet though. The cities that give me the most support are Los Angeles, Dallas, and Phoenix. My home town is cool, but I think they will catch on to me later on in my underground career.
If you wasn’t making music, what would you be doing right now? If I wasn’t making music, I think I’d still be playing college basketball. Or maybe I would be more into the fashion world as a model. My appreciation for clothes and the way clothes attribute to your mood is something that’s really interesting to me.
What really makes you stand out and different from other artists? My music has its own sound. My team and I are building our own story with the music we release. It’s atmospheric, versatile, and authentic. Things that didn’t make sense before in our music now is becoming transparent, and that’s because of the music we’ve been putting out.
What’s your biggest goal in the music industry? My biggest goal in the industry is to establish my own record company. Give my team positions in that said label, and then expand into other lanes of creativity: fashion, media, sports, etc.
If you could collaborate with one single artist who would it be and why? Travis Scott, LaFlame, the second Rager. He’s been a huge inspiration in my music. I think of myself being the third chapter- kid cudi being the first and Travis being the second. I feel we have a lot in common outside of music.
What does the term “OFF-Road” mean? You say that term often in music and in interviews? The term “OFF-Road” comes from the analogy of driving in the road of life and realizing you have off road tires instead of regular tires. To have off road tires means to be a creative. The regular way of life doesn’t work for a creative driven by his desire to create. Growing up and coming up through the industry, it just seemed to me that life now a days is geared to holding down creatives, killing their artistry.
What advice would you give to inspiring music artists? The only advice I’d have to give is try to make yourself or your brand more than just music. The industry is more business than music, and a lot of artists grow to forget that. So when you’re trying to get the attention of these A&Rs and managers, it’s best if you’re coming to them as a full package already. The less development you need walking in the door, the better.
