TommY-G - [ NEW MUSIC UP ]

Early Life
Born in the late 80’s, on the beautiful island of Grenada in the south-eastern Caribbean, TommY G. found that growing up was difficult. When TommY was only two-years old, his mother moved to Canada to start building a life for them. Unfortunately this took longer than expected. He was raised by his grandparents, and because of this, became quite distressed and confused. The line between “mom” and “grandma” became blurred.
In 1995, he moved to Canada, to live with his mother and younger siblings – south side Scarborough became his playground. Adjusting to his new life was difficult, because now he was no longer the “baby” of the home but the oldest and so received more responsibilities. In 1996, he was introduced to hip-hop through his uncle. As time progressed, his home-life started spiraling downwards. Soon, his mother had to take up three jobs to support the family, while his step-father lived a double life, “husband and father” at home and on the outside, drugs ruled. His stepfather got a little too deep and broke the code of “don’t get high on your own supply”, which ultimately led to abuse. Here, TommY turned to music to help soothe this pain.
Rise to Stardom
In grade 9, TommY and two friends, Ronny O. and Atkinson Kenelle, then known as Yung Zeus, met and formed “The Chase”. TommY and Ronny were the rappers and Zeus, the producer. In 2001, they recorded their first full track “Criminal Music”. At the time, they had no idea how it would impact their future careers. Unfortunately, one of the group members had to move to another city; “The Chase” dissolved. The remaining two did what they had to, to keep their musical aspirations going. Their hunger to accomplish their goals landed TommY and Zeus behind bars, arrested because of robberies trying to gain money to travel to an independent label. When they were released, and because of tight bail restrictions, TommY was unable to do anything but write his music. In this time he wrote over 200 songs and started broadening his horizons, and credits major Rap and R&B players like LOX, Diddy, Mase, Michael Jackson, and R. Kelly as musical inspirations.
At 17, TommY performed his song “Go Girl” at a high school Christmas show. He released his first mixtape “Put tha $ in da Bag B*tch” which went on to sell over 21,000 CDs Canada-wide, with the help of his older cousins at DiscoBoyS Productions and 3rd Degree Entertainment who had previously taken him under their wings. On the eve of his 18th birthday was his first major show, opening for established Canadian artists at The ReVerb. After being commended and seeing the crowd’s reaction, this is when TommY believed music was a part of his destiny. Thanks to DiscoBoyS, by 19 he had performances across Canada and the United States under his belt.
After months of being asked by longtime friend RonnY O., TommY met with the CEO of Hardknock Music C! and began work. While on the label, TommY found himself placed on a back-burner, because of the label’s lack of organization, but never did he play second fiddle. TommY started work behind the scenes. He made appearances on television shows, dappled in modeling, made cameos in music videos, was featured on songs and made valuable contacts within the music industry. After two years of sitting back and watching the top artist’s career decline, with the label’s failure to promote two singles, and numerous other label mates leave, TommY withdrew from the label to reassess his decision to even join. When Hardknock Music decided to diversify by starting MusicblvdCanada, TommY decided that it was better to leave for his own career’s sake. Once he cut off all ties to Hardknock, TommY began to work on his return by recording new music and performing at local events in and around the city.
Present
TommY was constantly told that he was not ready, but this misinformed opinion never fazed him. He knew he needed to depart from Hardknock Music if he was ever going to return to the spotlight. After a brief break and going under new management, TommY’s career sky-rocketed.
Early 2008, TommY was named one of the top artists in Canada by hypeoftoronto.com and made a much anticipated comeback with his street single “Parkin’ Lot Pimpin’”, a huge hit south of the border that led to major labels asking for demos and offering him plane tickets to fly him to the States for in-person meetings, and even radio play in the US and across the Caribbean. However, behind all the hype, he was still working on more and more music.
In the summer of 2008, TommY found himself rising to the top of the urban music list with the launch of his website and debut single “Money Over Here”. He received the honor of performing at “Grenada Day” in July of 2008, the biggest venue for Grenadians across North America. His songs are heavily pumped at clubs, parties and even at stores in major malls across the country.
Due to popular request, the long awaited return of the mixtape king happened with “$ in the Bag: The Prequel”. Nevertheless, this is exactly what the title suggests, simply a teaser for the CD/DVD planned for release in early 2009.
Currently, TommY is on the road for the “Hip-Hop Over Drugs” tour, where he’s opened for Peedi Crakk and Scratch, from the legendary group The Roots, and the “Girls Gone Wild” tour, going around major cities in Canada, and soon the US, as well as performing at the renowned Passa Passa parties.
TommY G. is here! A new era has begun for urban music in Canada.