After performing at Kendrick Lamar’s victory lap arena show last night, today Ty Dolla $ign is the subject of a new Billboard cover story exploring the R&B singer-songwriter-producer’s pivotal role in developing the sound of the West Coast. The article also touches on his close working relationship with Kanye West.

In February, Ye and Ty$ released the joint album Vultures 1, which topped the Billboard 200 and spun off the Hot 100 #1 hit “Carnival.” Those stats indicate that a lot of people were engaging with the project, but some people naturally raised their eyebrows at Ty Dolla, a longtime Kanye collaborator, increasing his involvement with Ye after his descent into antisemitism. (The antisemitic rhetoric is why Ozzy Osbourne refused to license a Black Sabbath sample for “Carnival.”)

When asked about why he chose to release an album with Kanye at this time, Ty$ told Billboard, “Ye is the best artist of this generation, besides me, and I don’t give a f–k about what people were talking about. I know my n****. He’s one of the best people I’ve ever met.” He also says he never feared the album would flop due to Ye’s public persona: “Just with my analysis of how it goes with him, he goes all the way to the top. And something may happen and he’ll say [something people find offensive] — and then people [get] right back, you know. Because this shit is undeniable.”

Relatedly, the abrasive underground rap cult figure JPEGMAFIA — who just released the lead single from a new album, and who famously cozied up to Ye over the winter — recently went on Twitter/X to remind people he is still tight with Mr. West. First he wrote, “just a reminder i work w ye and i love it, he is a genius and i learned so much from him for this new album. i really look forward to people judging my music based on who i associate with now and not what it sounds like.” Then, in response to someone bringing up Ye’s antisemitism, Peggy replied, “if you were really worried about anti semitism you would do more than just tweet me. maybe mind your own business and grow up.”