Hookah Blog

With decades of experience and a career spanning across international recording studios, features of household names like Alicia Keys, and even an Emmy under his belt, THE Musicman (@musicmanty) is a shining example of the drive that goes into the music industry. We had a chance to sit down with him and talk about his passions, one of which is bringing Shisha Everywhere. Check out our interview with the Musicman himself, get to know his favorite Fumari flavors, and even a mix you can make when you remix your next session.

NAME: Musicman Ty LOCATION: New York OCCUPATION: Music Producer/Musician

FAVORITE QUOTE? “Shisha Everywhere”

FIRST HOOKAH EXPERIENCE? Horus Café on A. One of my friends smoked hookah and we would go over there to go and eat. It would be really late at night; we were always up doing the music thing. No place was open past 2 am and he knew of this place that would be open until 4 am for the right people, so this was my introduction to shisha. I tried it and started choking (laughs). He taught me how to smoke it, hookah is different than most things it’s a fine smoke and you need to enjoy it like a cigar. I’m not sure what flavor it is was my first time but I know it was good!

HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN SMOKING HOOKAH? Since 2005.

FAVORITE FUMARI FLAVOR OR MIX? Banana Custard is my number one. Caribbean Colada with White Peach is my mix though!

HOW DID YOU BECOME THE MUSICMAN? WHAT ARE SOME OF THE ACHIEVEMENTS YOU LOOK BACK ON AND SMILE ABOUT? I’ve always been the Musicman (laughs). The name actually came from Swizz Beats. I would be playing all the different instruments around the studio, and he was like:

“Oh, the Musicman over here!” “Musicman Ty!”

At that point, I didn’t have a producer name, and I thought oh this is dope, this is what I’m going with.

Some achievements I always keep with me are winning the Emmy for Godfather of Harlem, being in the studio with Snoop, and working on the Off-Broadway play with Alicia Keys.

WHO HAS BEEN ONE OF YOUR FAVORITE ARTISTS TO WORK WITH? DO YOU HAVE A DREAM ARTIST, NETWORK, OR SHOW TO COLLABORATE WITH? Alicia is my favorite, man. I mean she is a super vocalist but she’s a super musician and producer on top of it. Her talent level is so crazy. We can have those deep music conversations across all of it. She’s an artist but a passionate musician too which is hard to find. That’s why she’s, my favorite.

Stevie Wonder is on the top of my list to collaborate with.

CAN YOU EXPLAIN MORE ABOUT “SHISHAEVERYWHERE” AND HOW YOU GOT STARTED WITH THAT? Basically, I was working with Swizz and doing a lot of traveling. We would be out of the country and always looking to smoke hookah during the trips, wherever we were going I would do a huge search on where the shisha is and map it out. I was finding lounges or places to smoke everywhere where we were going was the thing, Africa, London, France, you name it.

It was always my mission, if it’s out there I’m going to find it (laughs). That evolved into me bringing my own hookah everywhere and having people join me. #ShishaEverywhere is an inspiration of good times with good people that I’m trying to pass on worldwide.

WHERE HAS BEEN YOUR FAVORITE PLACE TO SMOKE ACROSS THE WORLD? IS THERE A BUCKET LIST OF PLACES YOU’D LIKE TO ENJOY A HOOKAH AT? Thailand is my first place. I was staying in my own villa high up on the coast, I start to get my session going and look over the ocean as I’m relaxing, it was just surreal and peaceful. My second place is a place in London. It looked like a cave that was carved out on the side of a mountain, but you could walk into it, and you turn the corner and it’s this huge shisha place. The vibe was right, and the hookahs were amazing.

Fuji has always been on my list! Recently, my friend showed me the salt flats in Bolivia and that is a place I’d love to smoke at too, it looks wild.

ADVICE FOR ANYONE JUST GETTING STARTED (IN THE INDUSTRY) NOW? The best advice that I could give is from Kanye “You need to stop looking for managers and start looking for CEOS; you are the brand”.

It’s been like this for years; artists are selling themselves short and taking whatever manager or deal comes their way. You are selling YOUR brand and need to be YOUR own CEO. Know your worth.

WHAT DO YOU LOVE THE MOST ABOUT HOOKAH SMOKING? I love the smoke of course (laughs). The main thing I love about shisha is the relaxing environment and the peaceful element to it.