Marquise Lightfoot aka Franchise TYG dropped his single “Ice On Me” Remix and has dominated the charts since release. Even though the song was released in 2019, it wasn’t until September and October of 2020 that fans started to obsessively stream and listen to the track non-stop. “Ice On Me” features former RCA Records artist, Rory Fresco and is on the verge to 1 million streams on Spotify. Franchise TYG stated, “I peaked at #19 on iTunes in the Hip-Hop/Rap genre and that’s when I really started to pay attention.” The Washington D.C. artist is currently working with Casiino Smooth, CEO of Paradym Music Group LLC to plan, develop, and create a treatment for the official music video for the hit song.
His latest big record has indie blogs diving into his personal and past life, but Franchise TYG mentioned that he only wanted to focus on the positive and less about previous court cases.
Today we had an exclusive chance to interview the artist:
ARN: What is your legal name and age?
Franchise TYG: Marquis Lightfoot, 25.
ARN: How did you come up with a stage name?
Franchise TYG: I figured Mcdonalds is a franchise, and its found everywhere, the best players are franchises… The Young God.
ARN: Where are you from?
Franchise TYG: North East DC.
ARN: Where are you now?
Franchise TYG: California.
ARN: Why did you first start making music?
Franchise TYG: I used to watch My uncles rap and they made me and my brothers rap battle. They said whoever won they would get to play the game first. Also, when he got older it was a good way to stay out of trouble.
ARN: Who would you say inspired you the most, as an artist?
Franchise TYG: My Top 3 influences would be Jay z Kanye Drake..those are 3 heads of my Mount Rushmore and Eminem is 4th. Shy Glizzy and Fat Trell are local influences.
ARN: Talk me through your creative process.
Franchise TYG: I’ll rap to it first and if I said something I thought was pretty good then I write it down. Then I keep doing that until I have 16 bars and then I’ll refine the bars to see if I can find better rhyming words.
ARN: Do you remember the first rhyme you wrote?
Franchise TYG: Don’t remember the exact first line I wrote. 13 and 14 years old was when I first started uploading music on Soundcloud, so I’m sure I got music up somewhere.
ARN: Where and how do you work best?
Franchise TYG: I work best by myself. I don’t like to record with people in the studio. I can count on 1 hand how many people seen me write and record the song. I like peace and quiet.
ARN: What tools do you find indispensable?
Franchise TYG: My vocal cords, my mind and Paradym Music Group. I need information and a good team and network.
ARN: How do you reduce overwhelm?
Franchise TYG: I try to delegate work, but still learning. I prepare early and have a good team around me who I can trust to delegate the work to when I need. Paradym Music Group and Casino Smooth have been like my un-official management team helping me on the music side of the business. If I get too overwhelmed I play video games and workout to relieve stress.
You can follow him on all social media platforms here: @FranchiseTYG. Download the single on iTunes (https://apple.co/2FHMH6l) and all online music stores.