When you think of Tyga, you probably think of his rap career and the hits that made him famous. That's why he created an alter ego and embraced a completely different sound on his new project, $TARFACE.

“I just feel like there’s no rules anymore,” Tyga tells People. “You don’t have to put yourself in a box on what things have to be creatively. I’ve been in the game for 15 years-plus. So, after a while, you just got to try different stuff.”

He says the project represents a fresh start.

“This is the first project that people are seeing that’s completely different than other things that I’ve done,” he says. “This character, $TARFACE, is a completely separate artist, completely separate aesthetic and everything.”

The album's '80s-inspired sound also serves as a tribute to his late mother, who loved the decade.

“This was her era, and this is something that always felt like we shared a close bond with the ’80s. Just ’80s music mostly, but really ’80s films and just the whole culture of the ’80s," Tyga says.

Rather than simply borrowing from the era, Tyga wanted the album to sound as if it were released then. So, he recorded with vintage equipment and studied Purple Rain, Off the Wall and Scarface.

“I wanted it to be a story,” he says. “I think that’s what people are invested in: the story in music. I don’t think there’s a lot of stories in music anymore. ... I want to tell Scarface and Elvira’s love story but do it my own way.”

Tyga knows the change won't satisfy everyone, but he's OK with that.

“When you take the risk of knowing that you’re going a different route, obviously, you can’t please everybody,” he says. “But I felt really good and really connected to the music. I know there’s people out there that’s going to feel exactly the same way.”

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