music
with the homies
behind the collection
This collection of songs "Music with Homies," features a curated collection of collaborations or guest appearances I've done over the past 15 years.
I have a lot of friends who make music, and I try to create a song with anyone I like, regardless of genre. I enjoy making music with people who want to collaborate with me.
Working together on music forces you to actively participate in someone else's imagination. The understated writing competition between artists brings out the best in you. It's like a few great players riffing off each other's words and deliveries, finding something that works cohesively and sonically. Collaborations bring out different versions of your mind.
There's also something special about just kicking it in the studio, listening to beats, and talking about life. Then, bam, the conversation inspires a song, and we create it. I never force collaborations; if it happens, it happens. If not, it's all love.
I think people are still often surprised by how musically inclined I actually am.
This collection features some of my favorite collaborations over the years—at least at this moment. There are so many, but I definitely think these are all pretty dope.
I'm sure I'll do another collection like this one in the future.
Adventure Awaits…
with love + imagination
-MR. TOMONOSHi!
music notes.
Dragonfly Jones
Produced by Like, who was my neighbor when I lived in Los Angeles. I used to walk over to his house, talk life, listen to music, and just be friends. One day, we started freestyling, which led to us making music together for fun. We made a few dozen songs, but "Dragonfly Jones" is probably my favorite of them. Maybe.
TED TALK
This song is nuts to me. My little brother Shaud is my favorite person to collaborate with; we have hundreds of songs together, most of them from 2009-2012. "TED TALK" is the most recent song we've done together. Shaud and I work well together creatively and sonically—our energies are yin and yang, which adds a lot of texture to our work.
The Greatest
Featuring The-Dream, this song was recorded in a 2-hour session. I was doing a TV show I created called "Mostly Football," and part of the show involved doing stuff with people. I asked The-Dream to do a song, and he said yes, so we hit the studio and made "The Greatest." I didn't really like it at first because of my part, not his, but over the years, it's grown on me.
All This Money
Recorded by Mick and me the first night we ever met in person. I think this track is crazy. We talked about possibly collaborating more, but nothing ever came to fruition.
Trophies
I wrote this right after we won the Super Bowl. Keith, Tief, and I were talking about the game and being champions, and the next day we recorded this in a small house in Los Angeles. Keith and I have collaborated quite a bit over the years and will be working on an album together.
Telling The Truth
Features my other brother Michael. This song is smooth, yacht music—it feels like luxury. It was great pushing Mike to sing. Haha, boy sounds good. Hahaha.
Wingdings
Recorded during quarantine at Like's house. I actually don't know how I met Frak—maybe through social media, commenting on his battle raps. He be killing dudes. Lol. I remember standing 6 feet away from each other when we first met in person. Hahaha, wild times. I like how playful Frak is when rapping; our sessions feel like recess or school cafeteria freestyle sessions.
Bloom
A beautiful song I was working on. I was looking for someone to sing on it because I didn't like my voice, so I asked Twitter, and Navi sent me some stuff in response. We ended up collaborating on it. At least I think that's how it happened—that was 2015, I believe.
Whole Foods
Started off as a joke about being able to afford Whole Foods, but as Tony and I started writing, the theme lent itself to many other metaphors. I find it to be a very clever song.