Today we’d like to introduce you to Tenichi Jr.
Hi Tenichi, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My dad was an artist. He was known around the city for his artistic abilities and the way he danced. I don’t think music was really his thing. I was rapping for fun for a long time. I remember my cousin Isaiah would make beats with a pencil in class back in 4th grade and I’d just freestyle. I didn’t start taking music serious until 2019 after many people told me to stop playing around cause I got a gift. Now here I am today, telling my story through music.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
My road hasn’t been smooth at all. My dad died when I was 5 years old. Right after my dad died, my mom got consumed by drugs and went down the wrong path. I stayed with her for three years after dad died, then my God mom, Tawanna, took in and gave me some stability. I was bad as a child and I feel like that stemmed from the situation with my mom, but moving to Jamestown with Tawanna, Annie, and Dee got me right. Fast forward to 2014, me and a few other family members including my sister, Teccey, watch our grandma take her last breath in the hospital. That was the first time in years I felt pain like that. On the 4th of July in 2019, I got a call from my cousin Drea telling me our 1st cousin, Quintavious, got shot and killed. What hurt me so bad about that was the fact that he was just about to start at my job the following Monday, and I was telling him to get out of the streets and whatnot. Then he ended up falling victim to the streets. That started my depression phase. That’s when my music got very dark. I never expected his death to affect me the way it did, but it crushed me dawg. I was battling depression from that for over a year. Everything started going smooth going into 2021. I dropped ‘Gone But Never Forgotten 2’ in April of 2021, and it really made some decent noise in my opinion. It opened a lot of ears. 2 months later, on June 17, 2021, my mom died. It killed me inside. I never held how my childhood went against her cause I know if she could go back, she’d do it right. Her death tore me apart. Here it is, November of 2022 and it still doesn’t feel real. I make songs about her all the time. She’s my only muse nowadays.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I make music, customize shoes, got a clothing brand, and I do a little photography. I feel I specialize more in Music and Customs cause that’s where I get most of my engagements at. I’m pretty sure I’m known as the Rapper that customizes shoes, I just prefer Artist though. Music is art. Painting is art. I’m an artist. I’m really proud at how far I’ve come. Musically, I went from recording on garageband on my iPhone to having my own studio in my apartment. I went from not knowing anything about mixing and mastering to having a good amount of knowledge now, Shoutout to Major and PS for teaching me.
One thing I feel that will always set me apart from others is authenticity. I’m me. In my music, I’m me. I tell MY story. A lot of artists lie in their music to please the people. I don’t make music for the people, I make music for me. My music helps me clear my mind, the people just so happen to feel it and love it.
What do you like best about our city? What do you like least?
One thing I love about Covington is the location. We 25 min from Atlanta. We got a city side and a countryside. And my city growing fast too. Another thing about my city is the talent. From sports to music, It’s some talented folks out here. We got some hoopers that are NBA-bound right now. We got artists that are on the rise. Which leads me to what I don’t like. I don’t like that we can’t come together as artists to put our city on the map. Everybody wants to be the first to make it out to where they don’t support their own people. It’s crazy
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tenichi.jr/
- Other: https://linktr.ee/Tenichijr
