First and foremost, I would like to say that this is NOT my autobiography. Think of this, as a very one-sided
conversation between me, and whomsoever may read what I write. You don't know me, and I always get tired of reading
what some hired biographist has to say about an artist, so I thought I'd tell you, as quickly and as plainly as
possible, a little bit about myself...BY MYSELF. No pretense, just me, writing to you at 3am, in the realest way i
know how.
Ok.....I was born in London, in 1987. My mum's Nigerian, my dad was English. Ma brought me up...alone.. (you gotta
respect single mothers man), Pops was'nt around... I got 2 know him a bit, but he passed away when I was 11...its
kind of an unfinished chapter u know.
Anyway... I moved to Fortaleza, Brazil, with my mum when I was 1. Not much to say about that really... I came back
at age 8. I stayed in Willesden, North West London. Coming up I kept to myself mostly... I mean, I kept busy and
whatnot... trying to home train my voice, trying to write decent verses. It made sense to me...... I wanted to be a
part of this industry since I was 7, so, the way I reasoned, why would I waste my time playing, when I could be
harnessing my skills (don't watch that). I started writing my own material when I was 12; I started off with raps
and poems... but the industry in England was'nt supporting British Hip-Hop at the time. Its a hard choice, moving
away from one art form to another, but looking at things from a businessman's point of view, the switch from rapping
to singing had to be made.
I won't lie... I used to get in a lot of trouble as a kid... I found myself being kicked out of schools, had a few
run-ins with the law. I mean, we've all made our fair share of mistakes right? In my defence though, the English
legal system is'nt exactly "friendly" towards young people of colour. However, pushing that aside, I was pretty much
an A-grade student... you know... misbehaved, but got good grades.... lol, the teachers could'nt stand it. I had a
natural flair for Mathematics and Literature (as it turned out, those became 2 of the A-levels I studied). I dunno,
my dad was a Maths teacher, my mum loves books...maybe it was hereditary.
I started paving MY OWN road at age 12. Mum used to give us 50 pence a week for pocket money... could'nt really
complain, it was all she could afford at the time; in retrospect, i think she only gave it for the gesture, so we
would'nt be the only kids at school that had to go without it...lol, with that in mind i suppose it was the gesture
that counted. Either way, I've never been the type to be broke, so, well... lets not get into that part of the story
(jokes); the point is.. one might say I started Acacia the day I learned how to make a Pound from a Penny, but that's just
MY point of view....and it involves far too much pompous philosophical nonsense to break down here...lol!
When I was 13, due to various issues I moved to Lagos, Nigeria. You learn a lot in that kind of place. As one with
Nigerian roots, it taught me about myself.... gave me a sense of belonging... and as a youth, it definately changed
the way in which i viewed life. I came back to London, finally, 5 years later (after my 18th birthday). I began
making my way through the industry... trying make good use of the connections I already had, and simultaneously
make new ones. Throughout my studies... the more I concentrated on my music, the more my grades at school suffered;
perhaps if all I wanted to be was a singer, this would'nt have been the case... I may have been able to pull off
killing two birds with one stone if I had aimed slightly lower.... but whatever the case, this trend had reached the
point where I HAD to make it, or else I would have wasted my adolescence. I made my connects, I travelled around,
I wrote harder, I nearly killed myself trying to do what was needed. Almost three years later, here I am.... still
grinding. In all honesty I have no one but myself to blame for my lack of advancement in this industry, I've always put things off too much!!lol... you know,the kind of guy that has a studio in his room, so never feels the need to rush. Anyway, my new year's resolution for 2008 was to "NO LONGER PROCRASTINATE" and thus far I've been doing o.k.. I got my label off the ground though, so that's good. I got my album planned out (not sure when it's gonna
drop, but watch out for "The Creed"). I got my mind right, got my circle right... money's STILL right (lol...), so
watch out for the kid...right? (corny jokes...pay no attention).
I hope you like what I put out.... if you dont, well, each to their own... but without blowing my own horn too
hard, you probably will.
Thank you for taking the time out to read what I had to say... Stay blessed.
Tj.Stattz.
Enter your e-mail address to
subscribe to Tj.Stattz's mailing list...
