Teezo Touchdown is one of the most interesting artists on the scene right now, and it is for far more than just his eccentric outfits. You may have thought Teezo was a budding up and comer, but he actually is a 31 year old man who has already taken a stab at a career in music before settling on his current moniker. Today I want to share with you the story behind the man working with your favorite artists that you thought you already knew everything about.

I first heard of Teezo when someone put me onto his single I’m Just A Fan, and although I wasn’t sure how to feel about the sound of it, I couldn’t stop listening. Admittedly, that’s how I’ve felt for the majority of his music – but I always tell myself that nobody has ever done something special when everybody loved it right away.

‍

‍

The next time I heard about him was when out of nowhere he was listed as an opener for Tyler, The Creator’s 2022 ‘Call Me If You Get Lost’ Tour. And while I regret not seeing that stacked lineup every single day of my life, it still turned me on to the fact that Teezo was someone that the most inspiring people in the industry respect.

Time came and went over the past few years, and now all of a sudden Teezo is one of the hottest commodities in the industry. His album 'How Do You Sleep At Night?' was one of the most talked about projects of the entire year, and he lended a hand in production and vocals on two of the biggest projects of the year with Travis Scott’s 'UTOPIA' and Drake's 'For All The Dawgs.'

But the reason I’m telling you all of this is because of something that happened to me a few weeks ago. During one of my early listens to the album I went on a ride with my good friend Noah, and as he was giving me his take on why I should love the album – he casually slid in the fact that Teezo is actually 31 years old and has had multiple unsuccessful music projects prior to what we know him as today.

Information on this subject is rather scarce when you search the web about it, but I took a deep dive into it so you didn’t have to.

To go back to the beginning, Teezo’s real name is Aaron Lashane Thomas, and he was born in Beaumont, Texas to a father who was a DJ. Growing up in a household of music turned him onto learning about the art of DJing for himself, and he would later go on to use his dad’s equipment to learn how to produce on his own tracks.

In highschool he first started uploading music under the name AyeTee and eventually Teezo Suave that garnered limited success. Over the years that followed he would continue to release music on Soundcloud and collaborate with music collective CVKE Supply, and that was until he hit his (first) big break on the single ‘100 Drums’ where he rapped over ‘I Write Sins, Not Tragedies’ by Panic! At the Disco. The song was covered by NME and Pitchfork, and due to a mixture of both write-up’s and organic buzz, Teezo began to usher in a string of notable collaborations.

‍

‍

There were a few moments where he could be described as ‘making it,’ but the most notable for me are when he featured on my personal favorite song off of 'Call Me If You Get Lost,' "RUNITUP," and when he was a guest on Kenny Beats series The Cave.

‍

‍

This led to a direct feature with Kenny Beats on Handyman, an unlisted feature on Lil Yachty’s genre bending alternative project ‘Let’s Start Here’, a star role in Cole Bennett of Lyrical Lemonade’s first ever short film, all the way to the highly anticipated release of his debut studio album, 'How Do You Sleep at Night?' that enlists features from Janelle Monae, Fousheé, and Isaiah Rusk which is an impressive feat on its own.

Now to most people Teezo Touchdown may seem like an overnight success, but it is clear that his journey to the forefront of music took years upon years to perfect. In an age where all we see is the finished product of an artist's work, Teezo should serve as an inspiration to us all in committing to trusting the process.

Maybe it’s his activism for causes that matter most to him that helps people relate to his music, but in my eyes, we have just witnessed the rise of a new people’s champion that has shown us working with the music industry’s elite is possible if we just continue to keep at our craft.

‍