Nigerian born and Hackney raised rap journeyman Teef has morphed through many left-field iterations in his time, associating with musical outfits like the Jumpoff, Itch FM and Mike Skinner’s Tonga Balloon Gang, as well as producing content across a wide spectrum of genres.
He cites some of his influences to people like multi instrumentalists Omar Rodriguez Lopez and Fela Kuti, guitarist Ben Weinman, MF Doom and comedians Vernon Chatman and Chris Morris but remains steadfast that his music is just a by-product of his everyday existence
Teef’s recent release ‘Hurry up and die please‘ makes no apologies or explanations for itself and forges a musical dissonance that will appease any avid rap nerd. Entirely produced by The Last Skeptik, this three track unconventional gem is dressed in that cocky silk that flows from Teef so effortlessly. Although short, it’s an entertaining rapid display from this seasoned craftsman.
Sometimes it looks and feels like being a Hip Hop artist might be secondary to Teef, compared to him just being an overly bizarre personality and party host. This can be seen in Alex Zane’s ‘Rude Tube Web Stars‘ when he featured in episode “Guy Throws a House Party in IKEA”, see how the hilarity ensues below.
As well as his antics on TV you may know (or have heard) of Teef primarily as an event host, bringing high energy in and out of the audience, pouring drinks everywhere, crowd surfing and stage diving into the floor using only his face. Regardless of his shenanigans, there is no doubting his mastery when it comes to putting together something special, his music, videos and rap style is unorthodox but has earned him a place in UK hip hop that can not be reckoned with.
Not much of his previous back catalogue can be found online. Rumour has it that there still exist copies of Honour Amongst Teef Volume 3 in his mum’s loft but that still remains to be seen.
“Hurry up and die please” is available now on Bandcamp, Spotify and all streaming services as well as his latest single “Bathe in Flames” so for a rap dose of the irregular, buy yours now!
Words by Theo Specone