Tongan rap artist Taholo Vainuku aka Teez 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 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 recently dropped a new single ‘Lit Bae,” “a bouncy upbeat single for the ladies,” according to Underground Hip Hop.
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.
Teez has since released several mixtapes on SoundCloud. In 2016, he revealed the first installment of the KILLSHIT mixtape series, hosted by the highly respected DJ Carisma.
My Thoughts on the project:
Mona Lessuh– This song goes hard and I can tell why it was chosen to start the project off.
Mood– I definitely like this song. It’s a song you can bob your head to and sing along with.
Lit Bae– This song is about a girl obviously. A rap love song so to speak. He talks about how lit his bae is.
Hustle Up– As the title suggests this song is all about Teez’s hustle and struggle. It’s his story on how he made it thus far in the game.
Drop– The beat on this track is a bit funky and challenges Teez’s ability to properly spit. I think he does it well and gets his point across.
Dog Filter– I got a kick out of the song title. The song describes how fake social media can be and how people portray themselves. Teez just doesn’t want anything to do with the bullshit and I agree with him. Everyone has a fake ass persona and you never know what’s real or fake nowadays.
Not Over– This is a heartbreaking song. It’s all about a break-up and we all know those sucks. He has a feature on this track. It doesn’t sound like either of them wants this to be over. They want to get back to where they were but is that even possible?
Buggy– The delivery on this track is different than the previous tracks and it definitely works. Teez is showing us all his skills throughout this project.
Murda– This is an upbeat track even with the underlying murda topic. I love the contradiction so much. I also caught the island vibes in the background. Just like he says in the song, everything he does he murdas. I legit can’t get over this track, it’s so fun.
Outro– Waves crash and we know we’ve reached the end of our trip with Teez. It’s a peaceful send off that slowly brings you back to this world after visiting R.E.N.O.
The project drops today so follow him and stayed tuned for more music. As always if you want to be featured on the top 100 hip hop blogs send a submission to mellystarzsubmissions@gmail.com or visit the contact form. Stay tuned for new music reviews every Friday.
Melly Starz 