The proverb “another day, another dollar” is an example of “real cultural shit” according to Sheldon – Channel Tres – Young. When making his third EP, the rapper, singer and record producer would say, “Man, that’s some real cultural shit,” whenever he touched on a topic that made him “feel something or that related to my life and things I’ve been through and where I grew up.”

The category under which he’d ascribe such life experiences is now the title of his newest EP. And as we chat down a choppy transatlantic phone line, Young is gearing up to share Real Cultural Shit with the world. The period preceding the release is a precipice he stands on with poise. For one, he can trust that a voracious appetite for dance music awaits him following recent blockbuster albums, including Beyoncé’s Renaissance – a modern-day archetype of underground club culture. Young’s invigorating amalgamation of Detroit Techno, Chicago House and West Coast rap, first showcased in 2018 debut solo single “Controller”, has been cited by some as a propellent for the wider industry’s embrace of such sounds. And, “Real Cultural Shit” sees him re-quench audiences’ thirst for more.

However, it’s an internal shift that perhaps predestines the spring in the landing and subsequent elevation to newfound echelons Young will experience when he takes the leap of releasing the opus. “This is the first time in my career where I just feel really focused and honed in on the things that I’m doing,” he says. “I think I’ll look back on [this year] like, ‘That was the year I really became the person I wanted to be.”

“10 years from now I’ll sit with Grammys and different accomplishments and I’ll just be like: ‘It happened during those times that I allowed myself to be alone, to grieve my past, to dress well, be presentable, work out, and take my vitamins.” He also completed his first year sober in 2022. Playing three milestone gigs at L.A.’s Fonda Theatre in December, Young swapped post-show hedonism for eating cake at home and watching The White Lotus. “It made me really available,” he says.

And availability – for receiving calls, at least – has served him well in the past. “Some months after “Controller” came out, my manager was just like, ‘Yo, somebody’s gonna call you tonight.’” She didn’t tell him who. “So I stayed up until about 3 A.M. and then my phone rang and Elton John was on FaceTime.” The icon would become the first of Young’s long list of co-signs, one that makes his aspirations of collaborating next with the likes of Dua Lipa seem in no way farfetched.

However, he’s disciplined in not taking things for granted. “I’m not the type of guy that feels untouchable,” he says. “I see myself as young Sheldon, like the kid who got bullied and girls wouldn’t talk to.” He’s found peace within himself rather than through external validation, adding to the essence of the enhanced Tres who appears before us today. A change illustrated incarnate in the video for jubilant recent single “6am”. Growing up around his great-grandparents, Young says he “was always taught to be dapper, to be well dressed and not to step outside if your hair ain’t cut. And I had a hard time when I got older allowing myself to do that because either I thought it was too showy or it’s not something males are supposed to do.” However, the music video marked a return to that foundational tenet of his identity. “I was just like, ‘Instead of having all these hot girls in the video, let’s just have well-dressed dudes that are dancing and having a good time.’”

The choreography to match the rekindled sartorial sensibilities serves as a symbol of the return to the dance floor Young’s making, following a pandemic-induced refrain. “I couldn’t put out a dance record because we couldn’t experience it,” he recalls, aware that the dance floor’s long been a nucleus for personal reinvention. “I think I’ll look back [on this project] and be like, ‘That’s where the rebirth happened,’” says Young. Something tells me his fans will be more than ready to join him on the floor.