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1979-1985
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Underground Years:
1990-1995
The Renaissance:
1995- 2000
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Artists and Discographies index
Ty :: Profile
Ty - Upwards LP
Tracklist:
01. Ha Ha
02. Mpoh's Lament (skit)
03. Wait A Minute
04. I Want 2
05. Awkward Boy (skit)
06. Do You Want More?
07. Rain
08. The Willing
09. Look For Me
10. Groovement
11. Dreams
12. Hot Spice
13. Music To Fly To
14. Hidden Track
Yes, Ty's brand new album, "Upwards" is in the shops as of last month. A fantastic achievement, it's even had the likes of Mica Paris declaring it the best Black British album she's heard since Soul II Soul came out... Really raising the bar in terms of production and lyrics, TY deserves all the plaudits he's getting. 

It's over a year since Ty released his debut album "Awkward" (Big Dada label) to critical acclaim, he has grown from underground mc to an artist who is developing an international reputation. In between working on the all important second album Ty is taking time to collaborate with a variety of musicians, he has recently completed tracks with Fela Kuti's drummer Tony Allen for his album which is due out in September which includes Ty and Damon Albarn on a track, Ty will join Tony on tour which takes in Glastonbury as well shows around Europe this summer. Ty has been touring Scandinavia with Norwegian band Mojo & He Man, their single "I Am Somebody" featuring Ty is due out soon. Ty is also featured on a forthcoming album which is being released by French production set up "African Conscience", also features, Dead Prez, Sizzla and Tony B among a host of others. TY's family moved to the UK from Nigeria , although their son was born here in London . But, "in the early 70s when a lot of Nigerian people were settling here it was hard - to the point that you had to work all day and maybe all night and if you had children you couldn't look after them. So a lot of Nigerian children went through the fostering thing. Or part time fostering. And I was part of that. I was getting on two buses at the age of four, five. I had the responsibility of my little sister from quite an early age." 

Although Ty was back with his parents full time by the age of six, the sense of being an outsider, of not belonging, remained. Then came hip hop: "It was in primary school, one of those parents night. I was playing my xylopohone - I thought I was hip. Then these guys came in and started doing body popping to "ETs Boogie" and I was like "WHAT. IS. THIS?" Xylophones meant nothing. To this day I still wanna be them. They had me." 

But the outsider status remained. Ty was a "secret hip hop listener" as his mother didn't approve. As a result he missed out on the whole Covent Garden scene', joining up later, more as a dancer than an MC. The decade that followed is what the album is grounded in - great times and great disappointments. Its culmination can be found in the music he produces. 

Making Awkward was a healing process. It came at a point where I was very depressed. I kinda lost my momentum. And that's why its not necessarily gonna be a straight hip hop album, a clichéd, independent, Primo-copying style of album. I tried to find emotion in most of the songs." Ty has moved through this period and is now ready to show other angles of himself. 

Although Ty is eager to state that he is not a poet, he has long been involved in the spoken word/poetry scene, as well as running workshops in schools and beyond since his pivotal involvement in the mid-90s Ghetto Grammar organisation. He has taken lessons from this experience which set him apart from the norm. The most important of these was the injunction to "just be yourself".

The result is a record which shines with emotion (as well as sometimes being very funny). That’s why it’s as much a soul album (in the traditional sense) as a hip hop record. The "five year repeat college dropout" felt liberated by the chance to see a project through and finish it, to the extent that, "I feel like a Stevie Wonder. I feel like Hubert Laws right now. I’ll walk into the studio and the engineer will be saying, ‘What are you gonna do today?’ and I don’t know. You just go into the studio and create." 

But with this sense of freedom also comes a sense of duty. "There’s a lot of responsibility not being taken for the music that’s out there. People can say, ‘Oh it doesn’t make people kill people’. Fine. But when Marvin Gaye made a record he made a record to inspire people. People are not making music to inspire people or giving people the best of themselves." 

And in a sense this is what makes TY's music - he allows his complexities and contradictions to shine through, allows us to see him as a multifaceted, awkward, non-boxable individual. It’s an approach backed up by a fierce some technique, one which makes the complex look simple.

Upwards then is the soulful and funky return that will have even those previously dubios about Ty's talents proclaming him now. With a super slinky delivery Ty's velvety tones touch upon real topics that update and re-invigorate classics like Gil Scott Heron. Poignant observations about our lives and society such as fast food and Big Brother give you food for thought. There is also a so called 'hidden track'. It is simply the 14th track, but it has no id or acknowledgement on the cover. Let track 13 play on for about a minute until 5 mins in and then the swinging Bossa Nova track kicks in. There is no raping on this, there is singing all the way trough, but it is yet another buttery cut that you wouldn't have wanted to miss.

Overall then Ty has spent his time wisely and has produced a classic second LP. A very tough thing to do, but he has done it with style and panache and has further marked out his territory and style. At the present time he is the most soulful and easy listening act out there. His decision to hook up with Drew to help him out on the beats was a wise decision as they both seem to be on a level and have brought back a great deal of soul and funk, elements which have been diminishing in commercial Hip Hop for some time. Undoubtedly Ty will have his knockers, some might say he is over bland, but I would argue with them and say that, yes, while he is mild mannered and doesn't need to shout to get his point across, Ty is crystal clear ad his carefully crafted words are concise and to the point. The same argument could be leveled at the music, but to me this is sublime, complex and possibly something people might dismiss. Immediately to me this whole record is a hit, and for others I'm sure it'll be a grower.

Groovement / Ha Ha Review

Ty Discography
Visit Ty on the web: www.tymusic.org
Visit Big Dada on the web: www.ninjatune.net/bigdada

Ty Music
Intro Early Doors:
1979-1985
False Dawn:
1985-1990
Underground Years:
1990-1995
The Renaissance:
1995- 2000
The Future:
2000 & Beyond
Artists &
Discographies

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