TT The Artist
Baltimore, MD | Established. Jan 01, 2008 | SELF
Music
Press
TT The Artist is part of Oxygen’s digital series In Progress 52. In 2016, Oxygen's Very Real digital hub is featuring 52 of these outstanding women: that's one woman a week, for 52 weeks. Check out the series here!
For some, club music is what you hear while turning up. For others, club music is a lifestyle -- an entire culture and community of shared enthusiasm and unexpected positivity. One of the loudest female voices in the world of club music, specifically Baltimore Club music, is TT The Artist. This pioneer's hard hitting dance jams have subtly influenced the sounds of hip hop and rap for almost a decade. Known for her notoriously raunchy lyrics and aggressive dance tracks, TT just dropped her debut LP, Queen Of The Beat, last week. We took some time to chat with the underground legend about everything from the challenges of the indie music world, to the LGBT rap game, to the politics of the business. Check out our interview, below! - Oxygen Network
Growing up in a strict household in the suburbs of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., Tedra Wilson could only wear dresses that fell below her knee. Never pants.
Secular music was limited to Disney soundtracks, at most. Nearly every day, she and her three siblings spent hours praying at the local Pentecostal church with their mother and father.
But Wilson couldn't be monitored every moment, and when she had one to herself, she sat by her radio, studying the music her church could never support: rap.
"I remember tape-recording one of Foxy Brown's songs, and I would write it word for word," Wilson, 31, said seated inside a Station North cafe recently. "I would memorize those raps. Eventually, when I got to high school, I started doing my own." - Baltimore Sun
Upstairs in an innocuous looking two-story house south Baltimore, is a small room, painted teal green and plastered with flyers and press clippings featuring producer and DJ Mighty Mark and spitfire rapper Tt The Artist. There’s a couple of laptops, a bunch of synths, and a tiny closet padded out with foam, illuminated by a single bulb. Mighty Mark calls this the headquarters of Zoo on Mars Entertainment and it’s in these cramped environs where Tt—that’s Tedra Wilson—lay down vocals for Diplo and Swick’s “Dat a Freak.” It’s also where she busted out arguably the best ode to cunnilingus, “Pussy Ate” (above).
“Right here, this is where we get it on and poppin, you feel me,” says Tt. “We got this special light, you can’t get this anywhere. Boom!” - Noisey
Baltimore’s newest club queen drops her solo debut.
Jill-of-all-trades TT the Artist has been on the Baltimore club scene for a few years now, but somehow is just getting around to dropping her debut solo EP, Art Royalty.
The EP is worth the wait: with production from longtime collaborator Mighty Mark, Thunderbird Juicebox, Gianni Lee, Big Dope P and more, plus an appearance by Blaqstarr, Art Royalty is an all-killer-no-filler set of anthems that fuse Baltimore club with elements of Nola bounce, trap-EDM and even Jock Jam house.
TT’s self-directed ‘Thug It Out’ video finds her taking her music to the streets — watch it above and purchase Art Royalty on iTunes. - Fact Magazine
Hailing from northeast Baltimore, Tate Kobang’s beats are fast and furious, reflective of the city’s turmoil — or, perhaps in some way, they counteract it. If nostalgia-infused jam “Going Back” is any indication of what he plans for the future, he’s not gonna stop making music anytime soon. Self-appointed Club Queen TT the Artist is also stirring the Baltimore scene, celebrating girl power with a mix of frisky, unapologetic verses and jumpy beats. Hosting big artists and catapulting upcoming ones is one of the city’s most eclectic venues, Baltimore Soundstage, located in the Inner Harbor. - Buzzfeed
Don't call me a bitch, you can call me a queen, TT The Artist magnificently asserts on the third track of her debut album Queen Of The Beat. Premiering on The FADER below, the LP has 22 songs, each capturing a different facet of the Fort Lauderdale-raised, Baltimore-based artist's creative persona. The beats themselves range from Baltimore club to upbeat hip-hop, and bounce to EDM, and the production credits include longtime collaborator Mighty Mark, Schwarz, and Shiftee. Such powerful backing tracks allow TT to showcase her vocal flexibility. Songs like "Zodiac Lover" and "Touch Myself" underscore her sweet croon, and others, such as "Bass Drop Bigger" and "Stop Drop & Roll," emphasize her playfully energetic flow. Queen Of The Beat is a colorful amalgamation of pop, hip-hop, and everything in between, with distinct style and skill to spare. TT The Artist is truly the queen of the beat. - Fader
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Bio
TT The Artist creates a well-blended sound of Baltimore club, hip-hop and electronic dance music.
At the peak of 2013, Grammy award winning dj and producer Diplo caught wave of TT’s sound and featured her on his single Dat A Freak. The collaboration would later lead to being sampled by pop icon J-Lo for her single"Booty." During the summer of 2015, Red Bull Music Academy took notice of TT’s musical talents and selected her as 1 of 20 artists to be a part of the Bonnaroo music bass camp. TT’s influences of Miami bass, Baltimore club and dance music has some of the most influential dance music djs across the globe tuning in and spinning her records. She has been featured in Fader, VICE, Fact Magazine, and most recently in the Oxygen Network's digital series in Progress featuring 52 of outstanding women as well as listed on Oxygen's top 10 female rappers to look out for.
With 3 independent tours and performances at the 2016 SXSW music festival, Made In America 2016 with Anna Lunoe and her Coachella 2016 debut alongside Baauer, under her belt, Tt’s vibrant , party starting , cross between melodies and provocative raps paint a new spectrum of colors to the music scene.
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