Ty & Kory

Ty & Kory are re-formatting R&B to make it work for them. “You know, niggas don’t like to bang R&B going down the street with our females in the car and shit. So we wanted that shit to be hard like, ‘We’re from the hood, we be on some hood shit,’” Ty says. The solution was something Raw & Bangin that you could bump in your car and still hold your head up high to while crooning to wifey in the passenger seat. The beginning of the duo’s story revolves around a pair of chance encounters at a single Guitar Center (yes, the one right on Sunset), where a mutual friend introduced them. A few months later, once they had teamed up to form a group, their drummer introduced them to Taz Arnold of SA-RA Creative Partners at the very same location.

Ty & Kory created two mixtapes and some MP3s for use as promos—they were shopped as demos and the tracks were sent out to different DJs until one day, out of the blue, they got a call from Will.i.am. and Venus Brown of Buddah Brown entertainment. Now signed to Buddah Brown Entertainment, Ty & Kory’s first release Junior Radio is ready to hit the streets in March. They’ve been working with everyone from heavyweights like Timbaland and Will.i.am to under-the-radar producers like Waajeed, Karriem Riggins and Exile. SA-RA will have their turn behind the boards as well—Ty & Kory credit them with their G-Unit ties, as well as their style. As Ty puts it, “I didn’t start dressing crazy until I met Taz. He put me on to doing crazy shit and people just be on you and want to know what it is.” Kory adds, “That all comes from SA-RA, the master teachers.”

TY & Kory Mixtape