Ty Dolla $ign Talks ‘Campaign’ LP and Prison Reform: ‘Put Money Into Schools and Not Prisons’

Ty Dolla $ign is known for his bedroom ballads and turned-up party jams, but lately, his music is taking a different direction. The singer-songwriter is now focusing on music that will connect with his fans.

Ty Dolla is set to release Campaign, a project that features a new vision for the singer. The album is the follow-up to his Free TC project, which he dedicated to his brother, Gabriel "TC" Griffin, who is serving a life sentence for a crime Ty believes he did not commit.

In his interview with i-D, the 31-year-old singer says the new LP will address social issues deeply affecting the black community like mass incarceration and the upcoming Presidential elections. "I said at the beginning it's the soundtrack for the summer, but it's become the soundtrack to the 2016 elections," he says.

The song "Justice," which features vocals from his brother TC, is a solemn ode to the victims who have loss their lives by police.

"Speaking about injustice — how we can be thrown away and forgotten about if we don't stand up for this s---... it's here at home for me," Ty explains about the song. "There's been no justice for these situations, no convictions. But I believe by talking about it — by spreading these issues through music to my fans — we can put a stop to it. We see what's going on and I believe in us."

To help spread his message about prison reform, Ty Dolla has joined with Pusha T to perform shows at California prisons as part of the Schools Not Prisons tour.

"It's simple: put the money into schools and not prisons," he says of the trek. "We'll get way further if we educate people and not lock them up. We're going in to talk to and perform for inmates — to get them motivated to educate themselves. It's something that needs to be talked about, and I'm happy to be part of it."