Teezo Touchdown’s search for the perfect breakthrough

With a catalog that almost resembles a mosaic, and a penchant for dressing the part, no matter what that part might be, it can be hard to anticipate Teezo Touchdown’s next move.

Courtesy of the artist

Before birthing Teezo Touchdown in 2016, the Beaumont, TX rapper, singer-songwriter and producer Aaron Thomas underwent a couple of iterations — first, rapping as Aye Tee during his senior year of high school, and then as Teezo Suave a couple years later, when he began producing, writing and learning how to shoot music videos himself. He’s become a mysterious artist since, with so many personas it can be difficult to assess what is real about him. In his latest incarnation, he first gained recognition for the way he looked: “Teezo Touchdown’s Nail Hair Is Taking Him To the Top,” GQ proclaimed in 2021. But his sound is just as style-forward and eclectic. The music he makes ranges from snap-era hip-hop to early ’00s pop-punk, a nod to a lifetime spent deejaying and sampling sounds, from humble beginnings playing local talent shows in a trailer to hanging around the rapper Trippie Redd in L.A. Still, many are hung up on the way he presents himself, most notably, with a head full of nails and strapped into football shoulder pads. Teezo, for his part, is fully aware of the dissonance his presence creates.

Since 2020, the rapper has garnered a cult-like following, in large part because of the spectacle. His series of self-released, wisecrack-filled singles — like “SUCKA!,” “Strong Friend” and “Careful” — were paired with satirical skits of his alter-egos in front of a graffiti-adorned garage. In 2021, he landed on Tyler, The Creator’s Call Me If You Get Lost and later joined him on tour. He’s only ascended…