Ty Dolla $ign: Airplane Mode

Ty Dolla $ign (born Tyrone Griffin, Jr.) has cultivated an aesthetic as grimy as it is sexy: His party songs feel sleazy, and his sex songs feel like they're happening in public. You could see glimpses of this direction from his beginnings as one half of the duo Ty & Kory, but it wasn’t until he went solo that he developed the persona that made him a star. He has the skill to make his woozy, grainy songs about parties and women seem so effortless that sometimes it looks like he’s not even trying, which is evident on his latest tape, Airplane Mode.

Airplane Mode feels designed as an afterthought, a placeholder to keep Ty’s buzz afloat until his major label debut, Free TC, arrives. Yet it’s cohesive and engaging even when multiple songs cut out in the middle of verses. This is a purposely unfinished project, one that doesn’t reveal much about Ty that we don’t already know: "I’m a pop a molly, pop a percocet, sippin' Actavis/ My momma mad at me, told me I spend too much money/ I’ve been buying bottles like sure, what, you only live once," he raps on "Do Thangs". He’s still caught up in a tidal wave of women, drugs, money, and never-ending parties. "Back in the City" and "Money Ruin Friendships" are satisfying records that showcase both Ty’s charming singing voice and his gift for making a DJ Mustard beat feel fresh again.

But songs like "No Fake Shit" and "All" are more intriguing, because they hint at a larger "there" with Ty Dolla $ign. "No Fake Shit" is a deeply caring love song and "All" hints at the trappings and boredom of fame. More importantly, the latter ends with a voicemail from his brother TC, who is currently serving a life sentence. The brief moment gives the EP a hint of soul and signals that Ty might have something more to say to us.

Airplane Mode isn't quite that place, though. There are two references to the EP title here, both telling: "These days gotta keep my phone on airplane mode/ To dodge these hoes," Ty croons on the title track. The second comes from TC’s message from jail. In it, TC he acknowledges that Ty’s phone probably went straight to voicemail because it’s on airplane mode, as if this is a common occurrence. Airplane mode is the setting you put your electrical device in to completely disconnect it from the network. You can’t get text messages, phone calls, or access any apps needing the Internet and, at the risk of sounding precious, it is a bit of a metaphor for Ty Dolla $ign the persona. Disconnected from the outside world, yet still functioning in it, he’s garnered a steady buzz and made plenty of great songs by projecting a disaffected cool.