Featuring Ty Dolla $ign

Ty Dolla $ign's third record is named in probably the most simple way – Featuring Ty Dolla $ign. And although this may lead you to think it is some kind of compilation album of Ty's guest appearances, thankfully it isn't the case. The album has cohesion and makes sense, even if it does not carry a deeper concept. In moments, it tends to be repetitive and has some fillers, but as a whole body of work, it offers quite a lot of enjoyable, memorable tracks.

It is quite difficult to categorize Ty Dolla $ign within the musical industry. He definitely belongs to the urban R&B/Hip Hop category, however, although he is generally considered an R&B singer, he uses his sing-rap vocal technique. Some time ago, this vocal delivery would be quite unique, however, it seems like it became the most prominent technique within that musical branch. And although the production of his music is also largely hip hop-infused, it still brings a notable influence of old-school R&B and neo-soul.

I discovered Ty through his collaboration with other artists, such as Christina Aguilera or Ariana Grande. And this album was released only a week before Ariana's sixth studio record Positions, which he was featured on. The fact that "safety net" became one of my most favorite collabs, made me interested in his solo work. Featuring Ty Dolla $ign actually seemed like a compilation album of his collaborations (and it seems like even when you look at the tracklist). I made myself listen to that, though.

I expected something else in the beginning. I already knew some reviewers labeled it an R&B album. The direction I could hear at the beginning of the album was hip hop. There was a pleasant thing I noticed, though. The album is incredibly cohesive, even if it has some fillers and shorter tracks. In some moments in the first half of the album, it fell to be a bit repetitive, but as the album progressed, the sound of the album began slightly changing. The predominantly hip hop production changed to more R&B/soul sound, making the album sound much more interesting than I expected.

The album has 25 tracks including interludes. And in quite a lot of cases, albums with more tracks tend to become boring as they progress. And it was kind of the scenario I expected with this album. But not at all. The album progressively gets better and better, its final tracks such as "Powder Blue", "Slow It Down", "Your Turn" and the closing track "Ego Death" make me vibe. In the end, this album is a pleasant listen, and I would definitely give it a higher score if some tracks of its first half were left out. But even with them, it is a decent album.

DETAILED RATING:
- Status (9/10)
- Temptations (6/10)
- Spicy (7/10)
- Track 6 (6/10)
- Freak (8/10)
- Double R (7/10)
- Expensive (7/10)
- Tyrone 2021 (6/10)
- Real Life (6/10)
- Nothing Like Your Exes (6/10)
- By Yourself (7/10)
- Universe (7/10)
- Lift Me Up (8/10)
- Time Will Tell (7/10)
- Dr. Sebi (6/10)
- Powder Blue (7/10)
- Everywhere (7/10)
- Slow It Down (8/10)
- Your Turn (9/10)
- Ego Death (9/10)

TOTAL SCORE: 72 / 100 (decent)