MihTy (Jeremih, Ty Dolla $ign): MIH-TY Album Review

Story posted October 31, 2018 in CommRadio, Arts & Entertainment by Zach Hall

Ty Dolla $ign and Jeremih link up to form the group MihTy with the release of MIH-TY, an album that attempts to play to both artists strengths with varying success. Both Jeremih and Ty Dolla $ign have extensive discographies that have highlighted each other's skills. This becomes MIH-TY’s biggest issue. Aside from a few catchy singles and some slick production, Jeremih and Ty Dolla $ign’s duo project is buried underneath an aesthetic that is painfully average.

The thing that works the best for MIH-TY is how well Ty Dolla $ign and Jeremih work off one another. Despite its issues, the charisma of both artists is undeniable. Ty Dolla $ign’s slick flows mixed with Jeremih’s melodic ballads make for some exciting moments.

However, once the album moves further down the track list, something becomes very clear. Each song begins to sound like a carbon copy of the one that came before it with only slight instrumental changes. The album's short 35-minute runtime makes this issue much less apparent, but despite its length, a lack of variety hurts the listenability of the project as a whole.

The same can be said for the themes. There isn’t much in the way of variety when it comes to topics on MIH-TY with both Jeremih and Ty Dolla $ign going over very similar topics with each passing song. MIH-TY’s monotony isn’t helped on the end of the features either with only two out of eleven tracks featuring French Montana, Wiz Khalifa and Chris Brown.

The remaining eight tracks begin to blend into one another, with both Jeremih and Ty Dolla $ign giving essentially the same performance from song to song. Neither artist attempted to do anything unique to try and spice things up. Songs like “Goin Thru Some Thangz” and “Ride It” sound like filler and could’ve been cut entirely, which isn’t good for a run time of just 35 minutes.

Despite all the negatives, Jeremih and Ty Dolla $ign’s chemistry makes for some catchy hooks and interesting verses throughout the project. Unfortunately, these high points aren’t enough to completely raise MIH-TY above its flaws.

Sonically, MIH-TY falls victim to the same issues plaguing the themes. A painful lack of variety. While there are moments on the project that feature solid bass lines, groovy drums and catchy melodies, they aren’t enough to make up for a majority of the songs sounding too similar.

When Jeremih and Ty Dolla $ign work the best together on MIH-TY on songs like “FYT” and “Perfect Timing,” the instrumental works well to highlight each artists strengths. Unfortunately, this can’t be said for the rest of the tracks on the album.

Ty Dolla $ign and Jeremih had a lot going for them leading up to this project. Unfortunately, neither artist is able to keep MIH-TY from being anything more than average. A few catchy hooks and groovy instrumentals isn’t enough to rise above the rest of the issues that are holding this album back from being anything more than basic rap - R&B fusion that doesn’t do anything interesting or unique.

Rating: 6/10

 

Zach Hall is a senior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email zth5043@psu.edu.