MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Dripping with sweat as he exited the stage for a quick wardrobe change, Middle Tennessee State University alumnus and hip-hop artist Tyrone “Tyke T” Stroble found himself being ushered back on stage by friend and MTSU College of Media and Entertainment Dean Beverly Keel during his recent concert at the Orpheum Theatre in Memphis.

Keel had told him in advance that “something’s going to happen” at the concert, but the Jones College of Business graduate wasn’t expecting such an honor from his alma mater — with photos from the moment showing a smiling Stroble in awe of the framed honorary professorship certificate freshly clutched in his hands after Keel presented it before the roaring crowd.

The Smyrna, Tennessee, native and independent Memphis-based artist held a special Sept. 17 concert at the Orpheum celebrating the 10th anniversary of his groundbreaking debut album, “The Overlooked.” The live show was titled “Ten Years of Driven,” a reference to his record label and brand, DrivenByMusic.

“What I’m about to give you cannot be bought,” Keel said during the onstage presentation, noting that a few years ago it was another Memphis-based artist, Grammy-nominated producer Tay Keith, who also received the honor. “Memphis is strong at MTSU and Memphis makes MTSU strong. You make us strong and we’re going to learn more and more from you now that you’re an honorary professor.”

“I’m still in shock. I really don’t know how to accept it,” Stroble shared by phone days later. “I was the first person on my mom’s side to get an undergraduate degree (B.B.A. with a marketing concentration). I was the only person in my family at the time to get a master’s degree from MTSU (an MBA also with a marketing concentration). It just wasn’t the path, like nobody was going to college. 

“And so for me now to be an honorary professor. … I’m just thankful (Keel) saw something in me to make this happen.”

You can watch a short video of the presentation courtesy of Stroble: https://youtube.com/shorts/oB9Sr3TN778

Before the concert, Stroble invited area youth and high school students and Keel to sit in on his sound check for a behind-the-scenes look that many youth from that area may never see again. Keel said that in addition to his industry success, Stroble’s dedication to music education and giving back to his community makes him such a worthy recipient. 

“In fact, he spends time with students from Memphis’ Crosstown High who are studying songwriting, production and music business, and he is dedicated to building his career in Memphis, as opposed to moving to New York or L.A., and making things easier for the next generation,” she said.

Stroble’s career includes landing in the Top 50 of four Billboard charts with his sophomore EP, 2017’s “The Prelude.” His main influences were ’90s R&B and New Jack Swing by the likes of Jodeci, Bobby Brown, and Bell Biv Devoe, as well as rap from Master P, Kanye West, Drake, 8Ball & MJG, UGK, and Outkast. 

According to his biography, his early work appeared on various television shows, and he was a Top 10 finalist on VH1’s “Make a Band Famous.” He made a name for himself in the underground Memphis hip-hop circuit, then expanded his local base by becoming the first rap artist to appear on a local televised showcase for up-and-coming artists and also by winning a local Memphis radio station’s “Next Big Thing” contest. In addition, he’s opened for both B.o.B and Boosie Badazz.

MTSU education helps him ‘every day’

Stroble said he was thrilled to have the College of Media and Entertainment sign on as a sponsor of the Orpheum concert as well as host a reception at the nearby Arcade restaurant in his honor where he and Keel could interact with local youth and young adults and share insights about the music and entertainment industry and attending MTSU to get an advance education.

During the dinner reception at the Arcade, Keel surprised students by introducing MTSU student K.J. Davis, who is known by his songwriting/production moniker, KJ Let the Beat Knock. He is already a successful songwriter, having written with Megan Thee Stallion, Drake and many others. The students screamed when they realized who was speaking to them. A Memphis native, he told them why he was determined to finish his degree and discussed the importance of education.

“When you get out here to Memphis and you realize, man, it’s different,” Stroble said. “These people, some of them don’t have opportunities to do anything outside their neighborhood. So for (Keel) to actually come all the way up here to speak to some of these kids?

“Literally, they might not ever leave their neighborhood, but the fact that they could actually have the opportunity to speak to her, to understand what it’s gonna take to get to come to Murfreesboro, something that could change their entire family’s lives … This is great.”

Stroble takes pride in being a “completely independent” artist, but notes that being so means he’s had to embrace the grind of a “9-to-5” full-time job in retail marketing to help support his wife and 2-year-old son. Thus, he is “by no means rich.”

“And I don’t run away from telling people that. I want people to know that about my story, and literally the reason that I am able to do music the way that I am able to do it is because I have income,” he said. “You need money in the music industry. It allows you to leverage yourself if you’ve got income.”

That’s where having two MTSU degrees in business and landing professional employment has benefitted him in his musical pursuits. Stroble said he went to the Grammy Awards this year as part of the Memphis Grammys chapter and was able to afford the hotel, wardrobe and other expenses because of his full-time job. 

“I take that money (from his full-time job) and I put it into my (music) business, and I wouldn’t have the ability to do that if I did not go to MTSU and get an undergraduate degree or MBA. Because what this allows me to do is, I don’t have to run after every single deal, and I don’t have to beg to play on a Tuesday night,” he said. “If it doesn’t make sense with my brand, then I’m not doing it.”

Of course, there are drawbacks to walking the independent path without the support of a huge, established record label or the accompanying industry connections that can lead to the most sought-after projects.

“I’m not gonna lie, there are times where I wish I was in L.A. recording with Drake,” he said matter-of-factly, “but that’s not my path though. God has a path for everybody. My path is this. And the thing about it is, there are a lot more people that are in this ecosystem of musicianship that are in the situation I am, than are in the top tier. 

“There are more Tyke T’s than there are everybody else, so if that’s the story that God wants me to tell everybody, then so be it.”

Staying connected to his alma mater

Stroble said he and Keel connected several years ago at MTSU’s alumni event in New York at the Grammys and have stayed in touch ever since, whether it be occasional phone calls or social media shout outs.

“It means the world to stay connected to a place that literally has given me everything, because without that university I would not be the Tyke T that I am today. And the university has done so much for me, anything I can do to give back I’ll always be willing to do it,” he said.

Stroble still has strong ties to Middle Tennessee and visits often, with his mom living in Murfreesboro and his grandmother just up the road in Smyrna. In expressing how formative his years were on the Blue Raider campus, he joked that “every single person in his wedding was from MTSU.” 

“Those years in college are where you become who you are cultivating yourself to be,” he said. “I’m from Smyrna and that was a person, but then when you get to college, you’re becoming, you’re forging, you’re learning. You’re testing out this new personality. You’re building and gaining relationships that will last forever.”

Stroble reiterated that his MTSU experience “has done wonders for me.”

“It has allowed me to sustain myself, to self-sustain where I don’t have to beg or be on Music Row asking anybody for a deal. … If it wasn’t for MTSU, I wouldn’t be here, I really wouldn’t.”

— Jimmy Hart (Jimmy.Hart@mtsu.edu)