When the pandemic hit last March, hip hop artist (and native Austinite) , like many performers, suddenly found himself unable to connect with his audience the way he used to. 鈥淚鈥檓 a performer. Like, I love being on stage,鈥� Teeta says. 鈥淸The pandemic] just completely took that part of my life out. I鈥檝e probably done over鈥� 250 shows since 2016, so for that to be just completely stripped away 鈥� not even taking into account the financial aspect of it 鈥� that really did affect me heavily. I just tried to connect more through the music, you know what I mean? Just go back to the basics and make music.鈥�
Unable to see his fans in person, Teeta found himself spending more time writing and recording new material. 鈥淚 attacked the pandemic head on, man,鈥� he says. 鈥淚 had just had a child and everything, and I was like, 鈥榠f I slow down right now, then I don鈥檛 know what the process is going to be like, coming back and trying to climb that hill again.鈥欌��
Teeta ended up releasing three projects in 2020 (The Quarantine, The Stimulus, and The Seventh Seal, a collaboration with Willo), so it鈥檚 safe to say he didn鈥檛 really slow down very much.
And 2021 looks to be another pretty busy year for The Teeta; he鈥檚 ready to release another new project, 24, named for the northeast Austin zip code he grew up in. 24 won鈥檛 just be an album; it鈥檚 also the inspiration for the new visual art exhibit 鈥楾he Teeta World鈥� at Cloud Tree Studios.
He鈥檚 partnering with Moe Jane and Keyheira Keys to curate the exhibit. 鈥淚 really thought it was a really good project and I started just thinking about it from a curator perspective,鈥� Keys says. 鈥淎nd the concepts that he talked about 鈥� he talked a lot about setting intentions and manifestations, and鈥� mindset and mindfulness. I was like鈥� 鈥榣et鈥檚 turn these statements, these ideas, into real things. Let鈥檚 show people that, you know, Black art is important. That our concepts are important. That our lives are important.鈥欌��
Mindfulness, intention-setting, and finding balance are recurring themes for The Teeta (he got a degree in psychology from Huston-Tillotson University), and those themes are a big part of 鈥楾he Teeta World鈥� exhibit. It鈥檚 also very much about being a Black artist in Austin at this point in time. 鈥淵ou know, us being from Austin, we do hear a lot of people a lot of time say 鈥榳here are the Black people in Austin?鈥欌�� says Jane. 鈥淎nd so having this exhibit is going to be [a way of] letting people know they鈥檙e here, they鈥檙e alive and they鈥檙e well. And they deserve to have the same platform that anybody else does.鈥�
鈥淩ight, we鈥檝e been here, you know what I mean?鈥� agrees Teeta. 鈥淲e鈥檝e been pushing the creative aspect of the city, the culture of the city, forward the whole time. We may have just been being overlooked at times.鈥�
The exhibit will be on display from April 24 through May 1 (by appointment and with masks required), with an opening reception on the 24th featuring Teeta鈥檚 first performance for a live audience in well over a year. It's been a while since he's performed, but don't expect the time off to adversely affect The Teeta. "I've been practicing," he says with a laugh. "I know how flex that muscle when I need it."
He鈥檚 also definitely looking forward to reconnecting with his fans. 鈥淲ith the art exhibit, I kind of want to use it as a way to bring people back together,鈥� he says. 鈥淵ou know what I mean? Since everybody鈥檚 been locked up in the house for a year. We want to use it as an opportunity to bring people back together and kind of timestamp that.鈥�
opens at with an artist reception on April 24; it'll be viewable by appointment through May 1.
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