Birthed by the biggest little city, nurtured in the shadows of the Sierra Mountains, is a Tongan rap artist (Taholo Vainuku), who in honor of his people, goes by the stage name of Teez. He is set to release his powerful debut album R.E.N.O on Friday, September 27th via tastemaker labelMensch House Records! The breezy first single off the album "Lit Bae" is available now on all streaming platforms. Listen below!
Through childhood in a Reno project, music served as a safe haven for Teez, allowing him to ride into an escape on the beats and lyrics, often of the legends, Tupac and Bob Marley. It wasn't until the age of 14 that he realized just how musically inclined he was, through his ability to write lyrics.
Since then, Teez has dived into the core of the rap and hip-hop genre, mentally cultivating his lyrical style, and ambitiously, yet quietly, focusing on the development of his craft: a craft to set him apart from the crowd. Teez has since released several mixtape songs on SoundCloud. In 2016, he revealed the first installment of the KILLs mixtape series, hosted by the highly respectedDJ Carisma.
Teez's upcoming album R.E.N.O was recorded in Reno, NV in February 2018, after building a studio in his garage. "After about half a year of teaching myself how to use pro tools and reading about certain studio equipments that can give me a professional studio sound, I began to work on turning my garage into a studio," says Teez.
Lister here:
The album features hard hitting tracks like Lit Bae, a bouncy song that will get listeners' hips moving to the beat. Not Over features the smooth songstressMolia on the hypnotizing hook, a love song about making up after breaking up. The breezy track Murda, a positive song perfect for driving down the highway along the beach. Teez says,"Murda was mostly a freestyle record, my first verse took me on a feel like riding around with someone solid by your side. Bonnie and Clyde was too cliche so I compared the song to Nipsey Hussle & Lauren London. Then just vibed off my first verse for the second and third verse, kept it creative and made a story out of it. This song would be one of the highlighted records for me. We took an island feel, fused it with reggae, trap drums and a hip hop beat. It meshed together real well for me."
Teez's talent for songwriting, paired with a voice incomparable to other rappers makes Teez not only one to look out for, but one to vibe with for years to come. As he continues, Teez wishes to humbly use his platform to uplift his people, change the conversation, and above all, exemplify through actions, the necessity and significance of remaining true to yourself in all circumstances - the necessity and significance of keeping it real.
Look out for Teez's upcoming album R.E.N.O (Real Everything No Ops), out September 27th via tastemaker label Mensch House Records! And listen to the first single "Lit Bae," available now on all streaming platforms. Because it's safe to say: this is only the beginning for Teez.
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