Ty Dolla $ign - “Solid” (Feat. Babyface) Video

I can’t remember the last time a tracklist announcement had me more excited than the one for Ty Dolla $ign’s forthcoming official debut LP Free TC. This album will, of course, come with plenty of appearances from Ty$’s present-day rap and R&B peers, and we’ve already posted songs like “When I See Ya,” with Fetty Wap, and “Blasé,” with Future and Rae Sremmurd. But the album will also feature a whole lot of ’90s R&B stars: Brandy! Jagged Edge! Obvious enormous influence R. Kelly! And then there’s “Solid,” which pairs Ty$ up with Babyface, maybe his single most unlikely collaborator. In the ’90s, on his own and as a behind-the-scenes type, Babyface really defined the sound of silky, sweeping mainstream R&B. He’s still working today — he and Toni Braxton released the shockingly great grown-folks relationship album Love, Marriage & Divorce last year — but the present-day sound of R&B is pretty far removed from what Babyface was doing. So it’s weirdly awesome to see him and Ty$ sitting on a beach, both strumming acoustic guitars, in the video for their new collab “Solid.” Even better: The song is incredible. Babyface doesn’t appear to sing on it, but his touch is all over it, from the wispy and minimally buttery early moments to the transcendent point where the strings come in. It’s all just so good that I’m almost mad. Watch director Jerome D’s video.