Yesterday (May 2), successful music artist and producer Ty Dolla $ign took his official first step into his journey as a music executive. Motown Records has announced a joint venture with his blossoming label EZMNY Records. Within the announcement, Ty Dolla also revealed his first artist he signed to the label is none other than Leon Thomas.

“Leon’s talent was just a higher level from every other singer or producer that I was hearing, and the fact that he was doing everything himself from playing bass to working Logic and Pro Tools [was amazing],” Ty Dolla $ign tells Billboard. “From the first song I heard, I knew he was one of them ones.”

“As a prolific songwriter, producer, and all-around creative, Ty is a craftsman who continues to showcase new depths of his artistry. We’re looking forward to this partnership with EZMNY Records and presenting their first artist Leon Thomas,” said Motown CEO/chairwoman Ethiopia Habtemariam.

Motown Records VP of A&R Shawn Barron also chimed in, saying he is happy to work with Ty Dolla $ign as not only just a business partner, but also a real friend: “Cementing this partnership with my longtime friend Ty is a dream come true. We’ve created so many huge moments together and are on the verge of even more with Leon and his incredible talent.”

Leon Thomas will surely continue to be a name to look out for. In 2017, Thomas appeared in the Kathryn Bigelow-directed film Detroit. The artist earned a GRAMMY nomination for Best Rap Song nomination at the 62nd Annual GRAMMY Awards for co-writing the song “Gold Roses” alongside Rick Ross. Also recently, he landed on Drake’s Certified Lover Boy, with writing and production credits on “Pipe Down,” “Love All” featuring Jay-Z, and “In the Bible” featuring Lil Durk and Givēon.

In terms of what Ty Dolla $ign has been up to outside of this move, he dropped off his last body of work back in 2021 titled Cheers to the Best Memories, which was a joint project with fellow R&B favorites, dvsn.