On wax / Ty’s fifth album, A Work Of Heart

One of the UK’s most grounded and skilled MCs and on all our radars since 2001’s Awkward (this very blog’s name is inspired by a track name from Upwards), Ty is prepping fifth LP A Work Of Heart for release on Jazz re:freshed on 2 March 2018. Although he’s written and produced the majority of the album, there’s a great roster of guests, including Rootz (fka Durrty Goodz), Deborah Jordan, Tall Black Guy, United Vibrations‘ Wayne Francis and the legend Umar Bin Hassan of The Last Poets.

I wanted to move away from the hip hop album approach where a bunch of disparate beats by different producers and different rappers with stock rhymes are strung together.

 

With every guest, every sample, lyric and instrument I thought about whether they suit the themes and mood of the song, then decided what to include accordingly.

 

As the songwriter and producer, I created whilst thinking what the album is actually telling you. This is my life work, it’s how I feel, and it’s a catharsis.

 

I want to upgrade the view of hip hop; rappers need to view their artform as important, which is why I have lyrics like ‘every rhyme written should be in a museum’. This music should be treated with importance and a lasting high value.

 

– TY

 

Check Eyes Open ft Deborah Jordan and Rootz above, and Brixton Baby below.

Gatefold vinyl / CD / download / stream: PRE-ORDER HERE

The track list looks like this:

WorKINGTro
Eyes Open
Somehow Somewhere Someway
Brixton Baby
Work Of Heart
Marathon
No Place To Run
You Gave Me
Harpers Revenge
Folks Say People Say
World Of Flaws
Raindrops
The Raspberry
As The Smoke Clears