We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Robb Teneo. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Robb below.
Robb, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
That’s a tough one. Only because of the sheer amount of risks I have taken both in general, and for an insane dedication to art. The risks that I take nowadays, are a lot less reckless and more calculated haha. I’ve taken one-way flights to other countries (multiple times), with just the money in my pocket and a confidence in myself to figure things out. Every risk undoubtedly becomes a rich learning experience, and at various depths of cost. One of the most extreme risks that I took was deciding to move to Shenzhen, China. This is a huge province just North of Hong Kong, on the Chinese side. I rose to the occasion and took it as an opportunity to expand my mental limitations. One week in I was already teaching English full-time, and within the month had gravitated into becoming a resident MC at a hip-hop club at the HK border. At this point, I had become hooked to the challenge of entering new industries, and testing the legitimacy of my boundaries. Some boundaries are necessary, some are illusions, it’s our job to test the elements and discern the difference.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
It’s been a strange and wondrous evolutionary journey to where I am currently. I entered this world as an artist — skateboarding as a teenager in the streets of Atlanta with a pair of headphones on always. I was writing lyrics and verses throughout those years, as well, on napkins, receipts.. anything that was available when inspiration hit. This grew into cyphers and freestyle sessions, being invited to jam with my friends’ reggae band, getting brought on stage with bands and DJs to feature verses, etc. I eventually began spending time in studios, recording actual songs, and beginning to learn as much as I could about putting all of this together properly. My love for music had been so vital in my life to that point that I was intensely dedicated to doing what was necessary to grow and develop. The core of my music is all hip-hop — from boom-bap, trap-soul, to dubstep collabs, etc. with subject matter ranging from conscious rap, relationship tensions, catching a vibe, navigating hardships, to chasing your dreams and eliminating your doubts. Along my way of studying the industry, the online sphere, applying grassroots efforts, and gaining traction with adjacent professional pursuits, I habitually felt compelled to share everything I was realizing with any aspiring artist or creative that was in my friend group or that I crossed paths with. I I was so passionate about removing any obstacles in the way of my creativity becoming a reality that it was my duty to spread this inspiration and help make things possible for anyone with a similar goal or calling. That drive naturally became a profession, and ultimately a living business. I found myself on teams with people who have achievements that my blow my younger self’s mind. It’s been an honor and an affirming experience, to be involved in projects and business ideas with guys who propel me to continuously raise my standards and push the goal post further down the field. I have served as the operations officer of a distribution company, an A&R to a well-respected legend, managed countless roll-outs, content calendars, royalty registrations, marketing campaigns, music videos, event production, I currently offer various services to a growing roster of artist clients, ranging from running targeted ad campaigns, optimizing artist revenue, building a growing listener base, and overall career consultation. My aim is to make it financially accessible for hardworking artists with a tight budget to have access to tools/strategies that other marketers and A&R’s charge a lot for. This has organically become a beautiful balance between using my experiences to give back to others to make their journey’s easier, and turning my passion into my career.
Do you think there is something that non-creatives might struggle to understand about your journey as a creative? Maybe you can shed some light?
The part that I feel has been most difficult for my friends and acquaintances who are less creatively inclined to fathom is the die-hard sacrifice and investment into something that doesn’t have an immediate financial reward, a clear timeline of progress, or a high probability of success. Making decisions that put pressure and stresses on your quality of life with no indicator of benefit can seem crazy and reckless, I definitely see that, and as I got older, friends and relationships who favored more traditional routes slowly drifted apart — and by traveling the world and sharing stories with people within the networks of these cities, I’ve noticed a commonality amongst all of those building their dreams.. unconventional risk. You just have to clear the gap between the leap and the landing.
Is there mission driving your creative journey?
Really, it started as a passion. It was a soul-lifting and ethereal experience to listen to music and to receive these rhythmic thoughts, descriptions, and wisdoms in different soundscapes. I aimed to maintain music and art as a core part of my world because it allowed me to elevate mentally, and ultimately brought me my best experiences, friendships, and motivations to continue growing through difficult chapters in life. I gravitated to certain teams and projects adapting and contributing along the way, I’ve had literally thousands of conversations with artists, guiding them with structures and helpful info, answering questions that some surprisingly weren’t able to get a clear answer for despite years in what other artists would consider the ranks of success. This natural desire to share information, strategies, or networks that I’ve developed with other creatives who are working to make things move — has turned into both a profession and another reason to go even further.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/its10eo
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCD0l3-LG0i3sMByV_hnYmIg
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/10eo
