We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Tee Got Hitz a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Tee, appreciate you joining us today. Can you open up about a risk you’ve taken – what it was like taking that risk, why you took the risk and how it turned out?
The biggest risk I’ve ever taken was deciding to leave my hometown of Washington, D.C and Moving to Atlanta Ga in late 2005. Early 2004, I was working Home Depot when one day of my coworkers/friends during our lunch break introduced me to a MPC 2000XL. We almost got fired that day because I lost track of time while learning how to make beats on it.
At the end of 2004 (Xmas) I had saved up enough money to purchase a MPC 1000 from Chuck Levins
( which I still use till this day.) A former friend of mines at the time had been living in ATL after and told me how cheap the cost of living was and for me to come and visit, as well as another friend of mines that moved to Dallas Texas, So in early 2005 I took a 20 hour greyhound bus trip to Dallas from Washington DC. That was the longest trip in my life, but I made the most of it. Every little town we stopped in I got off the bus to stretch my legs and plug up my MPC and make beats along the way while having a window seat with views of the countryside. One of my fondest memories of the trip was crossing over the Mississippi River! It’s quite a sight to see at night. Dallas is a great City! I just didn’t see it as where I should be at the time.
By the summertime of 2005 I then took a flight to ATL to visit a former friend and from the time I landed till I left it was nothing less than exceptional from the Strip Clubs, The Artist I played beats for, restaurants and studios! I knew ATL would be the place for me at that very moment!
I now go back to work at Home Depot after leaving Atl and immediately start looking for apartments, put in for a transfer packed up all my belongings in my 89 Cadillac Fleetwood Brougham and drove 10 hrs to ATL.
Once I arrived in ATL, I went to the Home Depot that was supposed to approve my transfer, somehow it wasn’t completed and now I’m in ATL with no job for the first 3 weeks with my very first apartment in my life and I was panicking trying to figure out how I was going to pay my first months rent.
One night while in my new apt, I was making beats and heard leaves rustling outside of my window (Apt was on the ground level) I proceeded to look outside and a guy with a ski mask was outside of my window peeking in. I promptly called 911. When the police arrived,I told them what happened and I had just moved in from out of town, they informed me that it wasn’t the safest neighborhood. The next day I called my former friend, explained what happened and moved out the next day and rented a house with him.
This all happened in my first month in ATL. Finally after many calls to Home Depot back and forth my transfer was approved! I’m now working, meeting new people at work, networking, beat battles. I then move closer to my job to beat the horrendous traffic in ATL. Then one early morning in October 2006 I come in to start work at Home Depot (Paint Dept) and the closer who was a supervisor failed to close properly and unbeknownst to me someone from corporate would be visiting the store that day. This person from corporate already had a bad reputation for getting employees fired or written up. Long story short I was fired after working for them for 6 yrs and not one write up on my record. Now I’m unemployed & didn’t know what to do, I’m stressing, I don’t have family in ATL or anything! I ended up on unemployment and food stamps which isn’t much if you don’t have any kids. That was a very stressful part of my life having never been with it a job. What I learned is that that in the state of Georgia is a “right to work state” Ever since then, I vowed to be the Boss of my finances and work for myself. And that started with the customers I met at Home Depot. I took that clientele and went to do side projects at their homes, like painting, staining, resurfacing cabinets etc.
Tee, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Born and raised in Washington DC/ DMV area I started my first business at 24 yrs old being a local Music Producer and handing out business cards to any everybody that would take one. In being an entrepreneur, discipline is a must, from structure to organizational skills is one of many keys to being successful. With my clients I’m an open book and often times I have given advice and consultations for free regarding target marketing, knowledge of social media analytics and metrics, the business side of the music industry ie: copyrighting works of music, P.R.O. affiliation, attorneys, contracts, and what pitfalls to avoid during your journey.
How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?
October 2013 was a bad and teachable moment in my journey. After having a great meeting with a Major Label A&R that I met through a good friend of mines. After the said beat was picked I was to go and rearrange the format of the Beat. The bad… It was at the time I was in a terrible relationship! In which two weeks after that meeting I ended up in jail after an argument escalated and my ex at that time bit me on my shoulder so hard that there’s still a partial mark till this very day. Authorities arrived and we subsequently went to jail for simple battery. Although I wasn’t the aggressor I learned the man goes to jail regardless if the authorities are called. I was treated like a criminal, damage to my wrist from the handcuffs being to tight (filed report with I.A.) I caught tonsillitis from the unsafe and unsanitary conditions (in cells with drug abuse users)….And they almost extradited to another country after seeing the judge!!! If it wasn’t for another guy in jail who was familiar with that cell they put me in I would’ve been likely a political prisoner in Jamaica!
After getting out of jail I transferred my job with Sams Club at the time and I moved back to the DMV for about 6 months and stayed with my father. I had lost everything but my music equipment. I literally had to start over!! By May of 2014 I was back in ATL yet again…
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative? As well as teaching the young producers and engineers tips and tricks in music and the business side of the industry.
There’s nothing more moving than to watch a room full of people nod their heads, dance and smile when your music playing! It’s just something about it like, this came from my brain and now I’m watching people vibe to it! The feeling is unmatched!
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @teegothitz
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/teegothitz/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/terence-tee-got-hitz-walker-57b2134b
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/user/REASONJUNKIE
- Other: https://m.soundcloud.com/tee-walker-eargasmic
Image Credits
@kingambition