Posted by The world is a bit of a crazy place at the minute. In the midst of a global pandemic and countries being locked down left, right and centre, people are forced to spend their time more wisely. Whether that’s learning a new instrument or skill, we’ve all been discovering just how precious the time we have on this planet is.
For MadeInTYO, the lockdown in Los Angeles came along at an almost perfect time. “The whole lockdown came at a good time, with me trying to finish my album” he states, “I can only go out for essentials, so I’m stuck in and around my house”.
But he maintains that his work ethic stays the same no matter what the global situation may be. “In terms of being creative, it’s gonna come out eventually so whether we were in lockdown or not, I would be creative regardless”.
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It’s been a little over four years since TYO kicked down the doors to the music industry with his super-catchy anthem ‘Uber Everywhere’. The song was one of the first ever ‘viral’ hits, with clips of people dancing and singing to it being shared all over social media. Alongside a remix with Travis Scott, the song entered the Billboard Hot 100 and has gone on to become two-times platinum, and had artists such as Tory Lanez and Trey Songz remixing it themselves. It made sure TYO was one of the leaders of the new school of rap music, that had been bubbling under the surface for quite some time.
“I feel like when ‘Uber Everywhere’ dropped, there was the thrill of this underground sound that was pushing through” he offers. “It’s definitely in the top five records of that wave that were breaking through back then. That’s the vibe I’m heading back to, where the beats were bouncy and happy. That kinda music is easy for me to make, and so easy for me to perform. It doesn’t need to be complicated or complex”.
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TYO’s upbringing can be looked towards as to how he became such a unique artist. A ‘military brat’, TYO and his family moved across several countries with his father, who’s military service required him to move to wherever he was needed. “My whole high school career, from ninth grade, I was living in Japan”. No matter where his family were stationed however, TYO found a way to make friends. “Every location I’ve lived in, I’ve found other people with the same interests, so I kinda created a little home at every new place I moved to. Obviously it was different, it wasn’t the States, but regardless of where I was I would be inspired by what’s around me”.
The inspirations he picked up from his travels have led to TYO taking a keen interest in fashion, leading up to him attending his first ever Paris Fashion Week in 2020. “The crazy thing is, I’ve always been into fashion!” he explains. “A lot of my inspiration for fashion came from moving around with my dad’s military deployments. I really like old military style, like the boots he wore, camo, flight jackets”.
These stationed stops allowed his dad to bring him whatever he really wanted. “They would go to different ports like Korea, and my dad would bring things back home all different kinds of clothes. You could ask for a certain type of polo and they would ask you to come back in a few hours and they would have it made”.
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Perhaps the biggest inspiration for TYO’s style came from a hobby he took up at a very young age, and one he continues with to this day; skateboarding. “I was always skateboarding and when I lived in Cali it was all I ever saw, everyone was riding a board,” he remarks.
A young TYO looked up to many skaters, at a time where the Tony Hawk Pro Skater games were some of the biggest on the planet. However, it was one particular Liverpudlian that caught his eye the most. “I really liked Geoff Rowley growing up, and I’ve gotten to meet him too which was dope,” he exclaims. “You wouldn’t expect to have a conversation with your heroes, so it was amazing”.
One of the Hawaii born artists biggest tracks is titled in homage to another black king who’s love of skateboarding influenced his whole aesthetic, Pharrell Williams a.k.a Skateboard P. “Pharrell was someone who loved Skate culture and the style, and made it more encouraging to wear those kind of clothes. I was the black kid wearing the studded belt and the long socks with the Vans ‘cos it’s cool”.
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TYO isn’t just stuck on reminiscing about the skaters he admired growing up, he keeps his eyes on the new kids making waves too. “I’m really inspired by the new wave of skaters coming through, I think every generation gets better”.
The LA-based rapper believes the internet has a huge part to play in the way people get inspired to do things nowadays. “Kids have found out how to get better at something, to make things pop off more,” he divulges. “It’s the internet for you, there’s a lot of information on there that can inspire. They can see someone jump a set of stairs on social media and be like ‘oh I wanna be like that guy’. Back in the day, there wasn’t really camera phones to capture moments. Nowadays if something happens, it gets filmed and everyone can see it within a split second.”
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As TYO has been inspired by those before him, he feels that it’s important to give people the motivation to go out and chase their dreams. “If you’re excited or you’re motivated, things will start to work out for you. Whether it’s designing clothes, or wanting to be the next pro skateboarder, you can do whatever you put your mind to. There were times when I was first pushing my music, I was spamming people with my links cos I thought that’s what I was supposed to do. It got to a point where some people even blocked me” he laughs “but eventually someone heard it, liked it and shared it. The rest is history, so just keep going”.
The way the year has gone so far, we could all use a little bit of this motivation to keep us pushing forward.
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Words: Mike Wood
Photography: Vicky Grout
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