Photo by Adrienne J. Romero / SOC Images.
Hudson County native Teewhy G is coming off of a high after releasing his debut album, “No Flowers In The Garden State” last month. If he had to name one goal, it’s clear to him: break down doors, rise to the top and become a pioneer for New Jersey artists to flourish.
Slice of Culture met up with artist Teewhy G in a cafe in the Jersey City Heights area, a place that has a piece of nostalgia for the rapper. While it being a cold night in December, Teewhy G talked about all things Hudson County, what he has in store for his fans and how he’ll be putting his mind and hard work into his music no matter what.
“I’m trying to be a person that is a little more open and embracing [to] younger artists or just artists in general and being able to make it easier [to break into the industry],” he said.
“… I’m gonna show y’all what leadership look like, bro. And I’m gonna show y’all how to actually do this. Once I kick in this door for myself, you’re gonna see the wave of artists that come right after me that come from here—this little area of ours [Hudson County]. So that’s my word. I promise you I’m gonna do that.”
Representing Hudson County
Teewhy being Puerto Rican and from Hudson County, where the Hispanic population is over 290,000, he noticed many different cultures in the small, but densely populated place he calls home. He appreciated the hustle and bustle he saw on a daily basis. He explained to Slice of Culture what he saw growing up in Hudson County.
“[There’s] a lot of Spanish influence and cultures, every single Spanish culture you could imagine, [but also] you get to know a little bit of a lot of different cultures,” he said.
“… Like Bergenline Avenue, [we’re] talking about busy shopping blocks, a lot of different places you could eat some nice good food and everything you could imagine [that] come out of an inner city.”
Meanwhile, in his own world growing up, Teewhy G loved creating his own musical flow taking major inspiration from artists like J Cole, Drake, Tyga, Big L, and T. Ross and Kanye West. In his songs like “The Plot,” those influences are still apparent.
Born in New York but having grown up in Union City and around Hudson County, the rapper also loved the hard work and dedication of Jersey artists before him including Treach of East Orange, Redman of Newark, Queen Latifah of Newark, Akon who has ties to Union City and Jersey City, and North Bergen artist 070 Shake.
But a huge inspiration for learning how to perfect his rap was from his older brother.
“He was a rapper before me and he kind of suggested I do it one day,” he said. “[However] one thing I never really said about him is [that] he was such a critic… I’m going over there and I’m spitting him like my best. And he’s just like, nah, trash. Like, nah, this ain’t [it].”
At first, the criticism got to Teewhy G, but eventually the need to get his brother’s approval pushed him to become a better writer and artist and, soon enough, he fell in love with the craft.
But the rapper’s passion for music and wanting to pursue it was not embraced by his parents at first. They weren’t eager to help with studio time nor equipment, and his father wanted him to have a different career path.
He still pushed through.
And though it took a lot of proving to his parents, he said that today, they’re proud. Teewhy G has tens of thousands followers on his official social media, has performed in front of hundreds at the Jersey City Puerto Rican Day Parade and even more at a show in Switzerland.
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The Need For Jersey Love
In the music industry, Jersey artists can show one of two sides to each other: love or greed. For Teewhy and Mike Zombie, they immediately clicked and have shown love to each other ever since.
Mike Zombie, of Willingboro Township, is a two-time Grammy nominated producer and is the brains behind Drake’s 2013 hit “Started From The Bottom.” Zombie has been OVO Sound’s in-house producer since 2012.
Teewhy G met Zombie through Ricky Grey, who knew Zombie, and thought they should work together—especially since they’re both from Jersey.
The Union City rapper said that he and his manager had his debut album in mind for months prior to meeting Mike Zombie. But after linking with him, Teewhy G couldn’t believe how perfect the timing was.
“… When I’m hearing [Mike Zombie’s] beats, I’m like, yes finally. Like somebody that’s nice,” he laughed.
“And I’m just going through the catalog and I’m like, yeah, I need that one. I need that one. I need that one… I always had this idea of my debut album… I want it to be timeless. Like, a lot of people follow trends, but I think when you have an authentic message and people go back and listen to it, that transcends trends. Like it’s just a moment in time. And for me, this album is timeless.”
And after two years in the making, “No Flowers In The Garden State” was born and hit all streaming platforms on Nov. 22.
There was, however, some pushback from a listener who reposted the album with a paragraph talking about Teewhy G and Zombie “painting New Jersey as if it never shows love.”
“Let me clarify that. I definitely do think Jersey shows love for sure in a lot of places, but in my personal human experience, the people I was around did not… And that was my personal human experience,” Teewhy G explained.
Artists like rapper Coi Leray, from Hackensack, also shared in previous interviews how there was not much love from the area she grew up in as well.
But despite Teewhy G never feeling much love from Jersey, he can be seen wearing “NJ” caps or other Jersey-inspired clothes during interviews and the 201 almost always gets a mention in his music. In the first song of his album, he raps:
“Ain’t no love in the city that we from but I / I never switch I always rep the 201”
Teewhy G on “No Flowers (Intro)”
As for the visuals of “No Flowers in the Garden State,” the rapper said he was involved in the design process and hired a designer for a unique look because it “actually brings the whole thing to life, is appreciated by people and it just adds a seriousness to the whole project.”
“I didn’t even mention this on the last interview, but [there’s] a checkerboard on the floor. And I look like I’m like the king sitting above this checkerboard. Like it’s all these little details… I like that you can find little Easter eggs the more you look into it [like] the microphone sitting on the thing,” he smiled.
And while his debut album has garnered the most responses, Teewhy G feels like he’s still breaking the door down.
“I feel like I’ve officially become a professional… I’ve been paid for it. I’ve toured. Just getting co-signed. Even in my battle rap days, being able to get flown across the country to do [this] and get paid for it for me for ideas that I came up with… That’s when it started to really like become real to me,” he added.
“And just seeing how people gravitated… now I feel like I’m officially like in the big league. It’s just on me to be able to really make a name or not.”
But the Hudson County native is not done. He told Slice of Culture that his sophomore album—which will be the “best one”—is already in the works and may have some influence from his Hispanic heritage.
All he asks is for support and love, especially from the Garden State.
“Your boy is not up next. I’m right now. Help me on the rise to the top. Get behind me and f—k with the music.”
