Exclusive: Ty Dolla $ign Talks Clinton, Trump, & Prison Reform
Through his music, videos, and his actions, Ty Dolla $ign has been an advocate for prison reform in this country. Going into Election Day, that’s weighing on the “Campaign” crooner, who spoke about it with Rap-Up at Real 92.3’s “The Real Show” on Saturday (Nov. 5).
“I’m not voting for Trump,” he said frankly. “We all know that the Clintons started mass incarceration. I will say that.
“It’s cold out here, man,” he added. “Either way we’re fucked, but fuck Trump. You know I’m gonna always keep it real.”
His criticism of the Clintons is one that the Democratic nominee has encountered throughout this race. Her husband, former President Bill Clinton, has also addressed this. “I signed a bill that made the problem worse,” Clinton said at an NAACP meeting in Philadelphia regarding the 1994 Crime Bill (per CNN). “And I want to admit it.”
This year, Hillary Clinton addressed those concerns as well. “People are crying out for criminal justice reform,” she said. “Families are being torn apart by excessive incarceration. Young people are being threatened and humiliated by racial profiling. Children are growing up in homes shattered by prison and poverty. They’re trying to tell us. We need to listen.”
As for Dolla’s anti-Trump stance, Ty doubled-down on it on Saturday, when he was joined by longtime friend YG on stage for a performance of “Fuck Donald Trump.” Others, including Jay Z and Jeezy, have also voiced their concerns with Trump’s candidacy, with Hov even hosting a star-studded rally for Clinton last week.
Dolla’s been outspoken about social issues in his own music, as well. His latest project, Campaign, features “No Justice,” a song about his brother Big TC’s incarceration and race relations. “They say that we’re all created equal,” Ty sings on the track. “But ain’t nothing about us equal / You know that there could never be justice when killing us is legal.”
Now, Dolla says fans should expect new material, though he gave no timetable. “More great music is on the way,” he said. “Working on some new shit now. Me and the homies just dropped the Taylor Gang tape and I’m just working with all the greats. I’ll leave it at that, man. You know what I do.”