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 (Real Everything No Ops) on Friday, September 27th via tastemaker label Mensch House Records.
Teez has already released the sweet first single off the album “Lit Bae,” and premiered the music video for it on July 26th. The breezy second single “Murda” drops today, and is 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 and 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.”
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.
Scene from the “Lit Bae” video
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 KILLSHIT mixtape series, hosted by the highly respected DJ Carisma.
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.
Scene from the “Lit Bae” video
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.Listen to the first singles out now “Lit Bae” and “Murda,” available now on all streaming platforms including Spotify. Because it’s safe to say: this is only the beginning for Teez.
You can follow @iam_teez on Instagram, and be sure to check out his official site iAmTeez.com.
