| TeeZee | |||||||
| Alias: | Teniola Zaccheaus | ||||||
| Birth Name: | Teni Zaccheaus JR. | ||||||
| Birth Date: | 27 June | ||||||
| Birth Place: | Lagos | ||||||
| Nationality: | Nigeria | ||||||
| Known For: | The NATIVE Networks | ||||||
| Father: | Teni Zaccheaus Sr. | ||||||
| Mother: | Yewande Zaccheaus | ||||||
| Relatives: | Iretidayo Zaccheaus | ||||||
| Years Active: | 2007–present | ||||||
| Partner: | Grace Ladoja | ||||||
| Record executive | |||||||
| Module: |
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Teni Zaccheaus JR. (born 27 June) better known by his stage name Teezee (stylized as TeeZee) is an English-Nigerian rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. He is one-third of the musical group DRB LasGidi with BOJ and Fresh L. He currently serves as the co-president of NATIVE Records, and co-founder of The NATIVE Networks (subsidiaries include: The Native, and NATIVE Records). He is best known as a pioneer of alté,[1] [2] and credited for the crossover success of Odumodublvck single "Declan Rice".[3]
Teniola Zaccheaus JR. was born in Lagos,[4] Nigeria, and raised between London, England, and Lagos, Nigeria.[5] In year 9 (JSS 3), Teni began making music while still schooling at Malvern College, in Malvern, Worcestershire, England, with BOJ and Fresh L. In conversation with The Crack Magazine author Rob Dozier on 9 March 2022, he credited his father, Teni Zaccheaus Sr., as he was responsible for his music education while growing up. in the conversation, he said: “His father ran nightclubs in Lagos during his childhood, which meant that he had to be on top of what was hot on the radio”.[6]
Teezee joined the group DRB LasGidi in 2007 with his school friends BOJ and Fresh L. He also went by Teniola Zacchaeus, at the early stage of his career, and he is fondly called the Fresh Prince of LasGidi coined from his debut studio album Fresh Prince of LasGidi[7] in 2013. He is regarded as one of Nigeria's first generations of self-publishing artists, alongside BOJ and Fresh L, to take advantage of the internet services by sharing their music on YouTube, and SoundCloud.
On 3 March 2020, Eventful CEO Yewande Zaccheaus appoints Teezee as Marketing Executive and Creative Consultant for Eventful and Harbour Point Event Centre, both in Lagos.[8] On 30 July 2021, he appeared on Skepta sophomore extended play All In on track 2 "Peace of Mind" with American rapper Kid Cudi.[9] On 11 November 2021, he released "BADI" featuring Davido as the lead single off his debut studio album Arrested by Love, with the accompanying music video inspired by '00s Nollywood classics.[10]
On 17 December 2021, he released "NEW GOVERNMENT"[11] featuring Prettyboy D-O and Kofi Mole, as the second lead single off Arrested by Love. On 4 February 2022, he released "NOK'D"[12] featuring Deto Black, as the third single off Arrested by Love, with the accompanying music video directed by Chukwuka Nwobi and Sanjo Omosa. On 18 February 2022, he released his first solo studio album titled Arrested by Love,[13] with guest appearances from Davido, Prettyboy D-O, Kofi Mole, Midas the Jagaban, DETO BLACK, Pa Salieu, Lancey Foux, BACKROAD GEE, and Teni. On 9 September 2022, Jameson Irish Whiskey unveils a limited edition bottle to celebrate his album Arrested by Love.[14] On 6 October 2023, following the release of Odumodublvck's fifth mixtape studio album EZIOKWU, Teezee served as the co-exclusive producer alongside Odumodu.
In 2017, Teezee signed a brand ambassador deal with Jameson Irish Whiskey in Nigeria.[15]
See main article: The Native. In 2016, NATIVE Networks established The Native, a music magazine with the aim to promote alté craft.[16] [17] In a conversation with Patta, a clothing appeal in Amsterdam; Teezee and Seni Saraki said: “We made Native because we wanted to tell the stories about the cool creatives pushing boundaries that everybody outside Nigeria was noticing but weren’t getting covered at home”, pointing at the lack of media attention the music genre alté was getting doing the early stage of the sound.
See main article: NATIVE Records. On 20 September 2022, Teezee alongside Chubbziano, and Sholz co-founded NATIVE Records,[18] through NATIVE Networks as a joint venture partnership with the multinational label Def Jam Recordings, with the sole aim to sign and develop talents in Africa and its diaspora. On 23 November 2022, he announced the signing of its first recording NATIVE act Odumodublvck. On 8 December 2022, Teezee released his first single under his label, titled "Manhattan"[19] featuring Cruel Santino, with production from GMK.
Teezee is the Nigerian fashion entrepreneur Iretidayo Zaccheaus' brother. Teezee and British music executive Grace Ladoja are partners, and in 2021 they announced the birth of their first child.[20]
In 2019, Chude Jideonwo listed Teezee as one of his 150 most interesting people in the culture.[21] In 2021, YNaija listed Teezee as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Media.[22] On 12 April 2023, Teezee was named Executive of the Week by TurnTable, following the crossover success of Odumodublvck into the mainstream, as the first Nigerian rapper to have two top songs on the weekly TurnTable Top Hip-Hop/Rap Songs with "Picanto" and "Declan Rice" breaking into TurnTable Official Nigeria Top 100 chart.