TyriqueOrDie Opens the Doors to the Funhouse on “This Feels Electric”

Toronto artist TyriqueOrDie operates at the intersection of rap, electronic music and alternative culture, bringing those worlds together through a sound that increasingly feels like its own lane. On “This Feels Electric,” his new EP out now via Universal Music Canada, he expands the world first introduced with Electric Red into a fuller vision of the Funhouse.

Conceived as a reboot of that earlier project, This Feels Electric takes pieces of its story and develops them into the experience Ty originally imagined. Musically, the project does not fit neatly into one existing genre. He calls his sound “Ty House,” pulling from house, tech house, drum and bass and rap without staying in one lane for long.

The story begins with Ty being invited into the Funhouse and becoming drawn to its excitement, women and nightlife. As the EP unfolds, that initial fascination begins to unravel. Ty slowly realizes that none of it is what it seems, and by the end, he is ready to leave that world behind.

Among the project’s key moments is focus track “Outside Is Nice,” which brings out a more commanding and introspective side of his rap performance. Its UK-inspired drum and bass production also provides a point of contrast within an EP built around constant movement between sounds.

Producer Jon Santana played a major role in shaping the project, working on three of its records. TyriqueOrDie also gives a shout-out to Grandbankss, Avedon, noturmood, veggi, A1 LaFlare, AOBeats and Kboi.

The connection between rap and electronic music at the heart of This Feels Electric comes directly from his relationship with rave and club culture. He wanted his own music to carry the same energy he experienced in those spaces, while Azealia Banks showed him how naturally rap and dance music could exist together.

His wider influences reach beyond sound alone. Lil Wayne taught him to create without needing to write everything down, while Kanye West shaped the way he thinks about production and curation. Travis Scott became an important reference for performance, with the artist placing him above any other rap performer when it comes to the kind of energy he wants to bring to the stage. His own sound, meanwhile, comes down to three words: fun, sexy and cool.

A major early turning point came at Long Winter in 2018, when he performed his own music from beginning to end for a crowd for the first time. Seeing hundreds of people fully immersed without looking at their phones made him feel he was on the right path. That same emphasis on shared energy remains part of his shows today. If someone is standing still, he may jokingly call them out because he wants everyone in the room to feel involved.

One of his biggest ambitions is especially personal. In 2018, he and a group of friends snuck into VELD, jumping fences and getting cut by barbed wire before eventually making it inside. Having attended the festival as a fan, returning one day as a performer would represent a full-circle moment. Coachella is another dream destination, but VELD remains the one closest to home.

Storytelling also extends beyond music. A huge movie fan who took a film studies course in college, he says the experience changed the way he watches movies and thinks about cinematography, scores and storytelling, which also influences his approach to music. He is highly competitive as well, whether it is basketball, tennis or even curling, and approaches his career with the same mentality an athlete brings to a sport.

That mentality is now feeding into a bigger focus on live performance. Looking ahead, he wants to become “one of the strongest live MCs out there” and expects to spend much more time on stage in the coming months, a space he says is where he feels most at home. His current rotation includes Ken Carson, Don Toliver, Future and Lucki, alongside his own music, while the annual “TyriqueOrDie Awards” have grown from a joke into a tradition for picking his favorite artists, albums and songs of the year. This time around, he jokes that he may already have Album of the Year locked up himself.

Ultimately, This Feels Electric was made to be revisited. He wants listeners to feel good while continuing to discover new layers and favorite moments every time they return to the project. That creative freedom connects with advice he once received from Canadian producer 40: “Nothing matters.” For him, the phrase is a reminder not to get caught up in the little things and to keep creating without fear.

And for anyone discovering TyriqueOrDie for the first time, his message is as direct as it gets: “I love you.”

This Feels Electric is out now via Universal Music Canada.