Ty Dolla $ign: Billboard Cover Photos

You won't see Ty Dolla $ign's name in the production credits for Kendrick Lamar's “Not Like Us.” But without him, the song that this spring put an exclamation point on Lamar's beef with Drake—a joyous yet menacing Mustard-produced track built around a throbbing set of strings—may well not have existed.

Long before Mustard became the premier purveyor of Cali bounce, he was a friend and student of Ty's. Both teamed up with a crew called Pu$haz Ink that included artists from various disciplines – rappers, singers, graffiti artists, producers and even some gangsters. As part of the group's in-house production team, Ty hosted the crew at his home while making beats for them. And while he toiled away, young DJ Mustard was steadily documenting everything he saw, watching Ty's every move to see exactly how the magic happened. One night, the crew was having a house party in the Baldwin Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles when Mustard played the song “Scotty” by Atlanta snap group D4L. Ty still remembers how everyone went wild and started dancing. He was struck by the simplicity of the rhythm, which reminded him of the crazy music then growing in popularity in California.

The next morning, still inspired, Ty started making some new beats. One of his production partners, Chordz, gave him a record to sample that Ty slowed down and perfected to highlight 808s, hi-hats, a snare and a piano sound. The beat became “Toot It & Boot It,” the 2010 debut single for Ty's peer Pu$haz Ink, rapper YG — and Ty's first hit. But, more importantly, the beat laid the foundation for what became the de facto West Coast sound for the next decade, one that Mustard perfected and made his own.

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