Teezee: Man Of Many Talents 

If you are a young adult in the city of Lagos or among the artistically liberated young creative crowd, the name Teezee shouldn’t be foreign to you. The Fresh Prince of Lasgidi as he is fondly called is a major player in the entertainment scene in his rights — from curating remarkable events with Nike, Metallica, Jameson, and many other youth-centric brands to being credited for founding the sub-genre known as “Alté” with his musical group DRB which also consists of Boj and Fresh L. 

Teezee formally known as Teniola Zacchaeus sits down with The Guardian Life to talk about the journey so far, fatherhood, and his new project “Arrested Bu Love”. 

How did the journey start/how did it all begin? 

Honestly, I’ll credit it all to destiny. The real meaning of destiny really hit me in 2020 during the pandemic and that’s when it really sunk in. Because of my parents and the nature of their work, I was exposed to the lifestyle a little earlier because they led interesting lives — my dad ran a nightclub and had a fashion store back in the day so from young I saw my folks doing their thing. 

What was your childhood like? 

Growing up was kind of hard, coming from Naija and not necessarily being from the street then having to explain that you want to do music [entertainment] to family and friends wasn’t the easiest thing. 

What cemented the bond and caused DRB to chase the music hustle full time? Those are my blood brothers, they’re as close to brothers as anyone can get. For us, we’ve always been ambitious and we did it very freely in the beginning. We were very concerned with how to do things differently for everyone else’s benefit. 

We were the first ones doing shows for unknown artists but we were still bringing top acts like Davido, Naeto C, or Ice Prince to the same stages and that extends to our involvement in Nativeland to bring in the likes of J Hus, Skepta, Yxng Bane, Dave and Not3s among others.

We’ve been chipping at this since the beginning and even though the entire picture wasn’t always crystal clear we’ve been wanting to bring superstars to connect with the next-gen. That brotherhood means everything to me, till this day. We’re each other’s biggest fans and it’s real love. 

You, Boj & Fresh L are credited with birthing the alternative sound, how did that happen? I think it was very natural to us, specifically Boj and me because we were always different from our peers right from time and we had our own personal style. 

I love what “alté” represents but I don’t want to take the entire credit for the creation of the lifestyle because it was more like a movement of people but as time went on some of us evolved to take that position at the forefront because DRB did a lot of firsts. But as far as the word “alté” is concerned, it was definitely me and Boj that coined it because we’re masters or nicknames. 

What are some of your personal milestones that the public might not be aware of? I feel like playing my part in the Super Eagles Nike campaign is a personal milestone. I didn’t design the jersey but I was a creative consultant on the project and I worked alongside my girl Grace. 

Recently I’ve also been recognized by a number of international publications like Vogue, Clash Magazine, and NME as an artiste to watch out for. I appreciate that my hard work is being recognized and all the work is paying off even if it’s taking some time. 

If it wasn’t music, what would you have refocused on? 

For me, plan b has always been sports. Music and sports have always been my thing. I actually wanted to be a footballer more than anything. I went to soccer school, Manchester United football school, I played for my county when I played in England and many other things. 

What are some of your professional setbacks as an artiste and entertainment entrepreneur 

I think when I moved back to Nigeria would be a time to reflect on because it was such a difficult time. I came up with the likes of Burna, David, Flowsick, and a few others and by the time I had come back they had taken off and it seemed like our alternative sound wasn’t clicking. We had to trust the process and let things happen in their own time.

Who are your influences? 

The guys I look up to are the moguls, the ones that know how to make an intersection between music and business. People like Dre, Pharrell, Puff Daddy, Don Jazzy. But the people that influence my sound are Dre, 50 Cent, Kid Cudi, and Andre 3000. 

Tell us about your latest project ‘Arrested By Love’ 

This is a brand new Teezee solo project, the first one in a long time and the most vulnerable music I’ve ever made. Visually it’s going to blow people away and really make a statement because through this they’re going to understand that this isn’t a joke and I’m serious about this music. Love is in the theme and title so you know it’s something very important to me and I hold my loved ones dearly. 

What can fans expect from you in the near future? 

They can expect to fully enter my world through music and this project Arrested By Love is going to do that.