Fly Ty

Originally hailing from Queens, New York, and now based in Atlanta, the rapper and entrepreneur Fly Ty serves as an A&R consultant for Sony/Columbia Records while also acting as executive producer of hip-hop music for the television series Empire. Born Tyshawn Johnson, he maintained ties to the Desert Storm crew that included DJ Clue? and DJ Envy, as well as artists such as Fabolous. During a fifteen-year prison term he obtained a GED and a bachelor’s degree in political science, and he contributed a track to DJ Clue?’s album The Professional 2 by recording his vocals over the phone. Once released, he redirected his energies toward helping others avoid similar paths, authoring the books A Basic Guide to Getting in the Rap Game and Road to Redemption while supporting the organizations Hip-Hop Against Gun & Gang Violence and End Black on Black Crime Project. He later launched the Room Service Lounge nightclubs in both Atlanta and Miami. Continuing to focus on music, he drew from Atlanta’s trap sound and the Queens hip-hop circles he had known earlier. Against da Grain Entertainment issued his 2014 single “Smoking Mirrors,” which featured French Montana and Mark Murrille. Two years afterward he achieved wider recognition with the 2016 release “Large Bag,” a collaboration that included Jadakiss of The Lox and Offset of Migos.