A melodic rapper, singer, and songwriter who alternates between low-profile street anthems and R&B ballads, Ty James came up through social media uploads and in 2019 achieved a breakthrough with his second commercially released single, "Splash." James, who's from Jeffersonville, Indiana, directly across the Ohio River from Louisville, Kentucky, began his career in earnest with bedroom recordings uploaded to SoundCloud. This early work caught the attention of the independent label Loyalty Records, who contacted the artist, flew him out to their New York home base, and eventually signed him. In 2019, James released his first commercial material, including "No Option," "Splash," and "Temptation." "Splash," an aspirational number produced by Unheard, made the most headway by attaining streams in the millions within weeks of its February release. ~ Andy Kellman