TroyBoi performing at Red Club in Moscow on June 6, 2015. (Hurricanehank)
 
UPDATE: TroyBoi’s “Afterhours” featuring Diplo and Nina Sky is now available on DJcity.
 
TroyBoi is one of the most unique and promising producer/DJs in bass music. In just a year, the London native has gone from being an underground talent to producing high-profile tracks with Flosstradamus, Craze, and Tropkillaz. “Soundclash,” his second collab with Floss, has become a trap anthem and amassed over four million plays.
 
Showing no signs of slowing, Troy’s next move is a collab with none other than Diplo (listen to the teaser below). He’s also working closely with Timbaland’s right-hand man, Jim Beanz. The two currently produce music for the popular TV show, Empire.
 
We caught up with Troy during a break in his busy schedule to chat about his eclectic background, distinctive sound, and acclaimed collaborations.
 

Download on DJcity
 
How would you describe your sound?
The million dollar question! [laughs] I describe my sound simply as “My Style” because I take sounds and textures from multiple genres and fuse them together. I was born and raised in London but have a mixed heritage: Indian, Chinese, Nigerian, and Portuguese. As a result, I was exposed to traditional ethnic music from these countries by my parents from an early age, either from them blasting music at home or watching movies. Also, the music culture and diversity in London is vast, and I listened to a lot of house, grime, garage, reggae, hip-hop, and R&B. There are particular features from every genre that I love, so taking the best from each genre and putting them in one track, for me, is a musical dream come true. This is how “My Style” was born and it has undeniably molded the music I make today.
 
It seems like trap-influenced producers from the UK have a different vibe from their US counterparts. Why is that?
There is an element of pride in where we come from, and we portray that in the music we make. We do this by incorporating UK grime, house, or garage sounds that work well with trap. That may give us a slight edge.
 
You’ve known our UK director DJ Play for a long time. How’d you guys meet?
The legend DJ Play! I’ve known Play for over four years. We meet in Newcastle through my girlfriend who always raved about how good of a DJ he was. I went and saw him DJ for the first time four years ago on New Year’s Eve at Tiger Tiger and he absolutely killed it. Banger after banger after banger! As well as him being a dope DJ, he’s the nicest guy you could possibly meet: genuine and full of life. I’m so proud of everything that he has accomplished over the past few years. He’s a real credit to DJcity.
 
Are you into turntablism?
I think turntablism is an amazing musical skill set to have. I don’t follow the scene but whenever I see someone in action, especially Craze, it makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up! I respect the art and the DJs who keep the fire of turntablism burning strong.
 
How’d your collaboration with Craze come about?
DJ Craze is the Scratch God aka the master of “real DJing.” We got introduced by my boys Tropkillaz after we dropped our collab “Oouch,” which was released on Craze’s Slow Roast label. We started chatting online, and both popped the question about doing a collab. Soon after, he sent me the stems for a project that he started, I made some additions and “Baby Gurl” was the product! I have nothing but respect and love for him. Not only is he an extremely gifted human, but his humbleness is otherworldly. He’s an inspiration to everybody. Honestly, I still go to my SoundCloud and think, “Sh#t, I did a track with the three-time World DMC DJ Champion.”
 

Download on DJcity
 
You also work with mainstream producers like Timbaland’s right-hand man, Jim Beanz. What brought you together?
I was introduced to Jim and his manager over four years ago through my friend Romey, who was looking after Timberland in London at the time. Jim’s manager heard my music and was really impressed. She then told Jim about me, and he reached out when he came to London the following week. We met up, I played him my music, and his eyes lit up! He instantly said he wanted me to be part of his team and give me a publishing deal. You can imagine how I felt — Jim has produced some of the most groundbreaking and influential records ever made with Timbaland.
 
That’s awesome. What are you guys working on?
Right now we’re working on the second season of Empire, the number one show in the US. We also did music for the first season with my bro, Justin Bostwick. We managed to grab the number one spot on the Billboard 200 charts with the Empire Soundtrack, beating Madonna!
 

 
Tell us about your upcoming collab with Diplo.
Diplo hit me up on Twitter to congratulate me on my track with my bros Flosstradamus, “Soundclash.” The conversation soon moved on to “let’s make a track together for the summer,” and, of course, we both wanted to make it happen. I then came to Los Angeles with my boy icekream and met up with Diplo at his studio. We chatted, cracked jokes, and played each other our music. It was a really great vibe. He is so chill and down to earth. He then played me some vocals from Nina Sky that had wanted to mess around with, along with a rising bubble synth that he made that day. I took these parts back to London with me, constructed a beat, and “Afterhours” was born.
 
What’s the feedback been so far?
I’ve been playing the track at all my shows, and the response has been phenomenal every time. I’m beyond excited for the track to drop, and it will be before the end of the summer. It’s an honor to work with Diplo, and I look forward to us creating more music together.
 

 
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Related: Watch Flosstradamus Perform at a Mixmag Party