Today we’d like to introduce you to Yannick “Thurz” Koffi.
Yannick, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
Hailing from Inglewood, I create “designer” music with fabric cut from the young, black Los Angeles experience, threads from Belize and the Ivory Coast, and tailor fit to move the world.
Born Yannick Koffi and better known as Thurz, I started my career as half of the rap duo U-N-I, who released three albums, received accolades from Billboard, XXL, and The Source, and were named Best LA Breakout Artist at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards. I re-introduced myself as a solo artist with a bang in 2011, releasing the politically explosive L.A. Riot, an album that paid tribute to Rodney King and the subsequent L.A. race riots of 1992.
In 2014, I partnered with Red Bull Sound Select to release the “Designer EP,” which spawned a re-emergence of funk influence in the music world with the lead record, “21.”The “Designer EP” featured production from DJ Battlecat, DJ Dahi, Rahki, Aaron Harris and more. With a lot of experience in event curation, the “Designer EP” inspired me to create a house party to literally perform my record inside of living rooms across the nation with a community of local artists and DJs in every city.
These house parties have to grow to be the phenomenon known as “Party In My Living Room,” the inspiration for a lot of forthcoming music slated to be released this year. I launched the “Party In My Living Room” event series as a hybrid live show/music curation tool. Later in 2017, I connected with the legendary Dr. Dre who was impressed with my music and movement. That relationship eventually leads to Aftermath bringing me on-board as a songwriter.
Under Dre’s tutelage, I began to work on mastering my craft, developing a new approach to music, recently earning credits on Anderson Paak’s Oxnard. In 2019, I make a grand return with production from Jake One, J. LBS and many more on the music end and more “Party In My Living Room” events across the world.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
The road has been far from smooth. There were many challenges that questioned the purpose, validation, and the level of my craft with stretches of not seeing the light at the end of the tunnel with financial strain. I know a lot of artists that deal with the same issues, as the journey is never a secure one.
The biggest struggle has been maintaining balance while having a child that depends on you. Chasing a dream vs. a 9-5 with financial security is difficult to navigate through, as overnight success does not exist, yet hunger and bills are constant.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Party In My Living Room – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
My company, Party In My Living Room LLC, was birthed out of the necessity to provide an experience for music consumption. I curate traveling parties with DJs and artists in non-traditional venues that cater to people in my city and other places like my city.
I am most proud of the reception and rapid growth. Everybody loves a good house party, and the intention behind PIMLR is what sets us apart. We simply care about music and want people to make memories to it.
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
We will be supporting more non-profits, curating youth workshops and partnering with friends to positively impact communities to give more tools to inner-city youth. We will also be expanding and looking to touch land overseas.
Contact Info:
- Address: 4712 Admiralty Way #1206, Marina del Rey, CA 90292
- Website: partyinmylivingroom.com
- Email: [email protected]
- Instagram: @partyinmylivingroom @kingthurz
- Facebook: @partyinmylivingroom
- Twitter: @Thurzday
Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.
