The Memphis artists who shaped Tay Keith’s sound
The Memphis, Tennessee hip-hop community is in mourning, following the untimely death of local producer Tay Keith, maker of hit songs for the likes of Drake and Travis Scott. He was only 29.
Keith was born and raised in South Memphis, where he soaked up all the music that the area had to offer. Speaking to The Fader in 2018 about the local artists he admired and learned from as a kid, he noted that his home “had Three 6 Mafia, and Playa Fly, and 8Ball & MJG.”
While none of his family members were musicians, they were nonetheless music enthusiasts and his childhood was soundtracked by these artists. While Keith noted that life had been “hard” growing up, he “always knew” that music was going to be his “outlet.” He “just didn’t know when, or how it was gonna happen.”
But with the likes of Memphis acts Three 6 Mafia, and Playa Fly, and 8Ball & MJG always being played by his family, he started to learn about how things worked. He listened “to the beat of songs” and learned “more about music.” He was on the way towards a fruitful career.
As a young teenager, Keith was using some rudimentary equipment to make his own music. Playing around with controllers and mics from the Rock Band videogame series, he began to produce his own sounds, which he uploaded to YouTube and other platforms.
Some of his YouTube music eventually started to generate revenue, so he knew he was onto something. He continued to produce beats and began to build up a more sophisticated home studio, with better equipment.
Keith started to make contact with other Memphis producers, who helped him out along the way. While he noted that he was “mostly self-taught,” he shouted out local producers such as Drumma Boy, Memphis Track Boy and Lil Lody for giving him good advice as he sought to develop his skills.
As he matured as a producer, Keith’s sound came to take on a distinctly dark tone. He acknowledged that this was inspired by Southern rap stars in general. From Georgia he spoke of Ludacris and 2 Chainz as big influences, but from Memphis specifically he mentioned Yo Gotti, Three 6 Mafia, DJ Parlor and DJ Squeaky.
“They had a big influence on the whole Memphis sound, Juicy J and them,” he insisted. “So I just bumped the wave back up of the old Memphis music.” In doing so, he became a legend of the scene in his own right.