Teezo Touchdown Talks Self Care, André 3000 Praise and Overcoming Doubts: 'Always Think Like a Rookie' (Exclusive)

The Texas trendsetter spoke with PEOPLE about being named Billboard's Rookie of the Year and what it really means to be a rookie

Teezo Touchdown, fresh off of experiencing a year like no other, is ready to touch down and reflect.

Over the past several months, the 31-year-old Texas hitmaker has been championed by the likes of Drake, Doja Cat and Travis Scott — all superstar collaborators who've prominently featured him on their latest albums — with André 3000 even commending his "spirit." He released his long-awaited debut album, How Do You Sleep At Night?, a year ago this week, which Drake referred to as "some of the best music ever." Not to mention being referenced in the No. 1 song in the U.S. at one point this summer, Kendrick Lamar's "Not Like Us."

But after a period of career milestones, charting collabs and releasing his first full body of material, Teezo is ready to finally take it all in.

"I finally get the time to take a breather and reflect on not only this last year, but March of 2019 when Trippie Redd flew me to Los Angeles. I feel like I’ve been running since then," the musician, born Aaron Lashane Thomas, tells PEOPLE following his performance Billboard's Hip-Hop Live concert in Brooklyn on Sept. 6. "Not having a crib, just living on the road, all of that. I don’t really realize 'til I talk to someone else, but it really weighs a lot on you."

"So right now, I’m taking care of Aaron to make sure that Teezo Touchdown can be the star that everyone sees. That’s where I’m at."

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As he prepares to take care of himself, Teezo also has a new trophy in his possession to take care of, too. This year-long highlight reel has made Teezo Billboard's R&B/Hip-Hop Rookie of the Year — an honor he accepted at the publication's R&B Hip-Hop Power Players 2024 and celebrated even further during a gig at Xanadu in Brooklyn the following night.

Dressed in a self-described LL Cool J get-up — complete with a red bucket hat and matching tank-top — Teezo's presence is just as electric as it was just a few short years before when he captured the internet's attention with memorable DIY visuals in front of a garage in Texas, earned new fans when he opened for collaborator Tyler, the Creator in sold-out arenas or, more recently, performed on his first-ever headlining Spend the Night Tour this past year.

But even with more stage time and an audience of his own now, Teezo still views each opportunity as another chance to elevate.

"What we’re seeing now is a room full of people who have seen me before, or this is their first time, it’s all about just giving me a chance," Teezo says. "So right now, I owe it to them, the next time that they see me, that something elevates. As long as something elevates, that’s what I’m looking forward to.”

Shortly after his performance in Brooklyn last weekend, Teezo caught up with PEOPLE about overcoming doubts about his first album, words of encouragement from Andre 3000 and preparing his forthcoming material — which he categorizes as "undeniable from beginning to end."

September marks one year of How Do You Sleep at Night. What does your debut album mean to you a year later?

I remember a lot of the doubt that I had about the album, even before we put it out. The first day we put it out. Seeing one of those Twitter [accounts tracking] the Billboard charts, it’s like, ‘Teezo Touchdown fails to make a whisper on Billboard.’ I was like, ‘Yo, that’s very, very harsh.’ But I do remember the bliss that I had once it dropped and I didn’t go online for a week or so. It was maybe like a few days. Just feeling proud of myself. And I brought up that I was feeling down about it. But here we are, it’ll be a year on Sunday. I just got Billboard’s Rookie of the Year, been on a crazy tour, got to work with some of my favorite artists. I talk to more artists and it's comforting but also sad to hear that a lot of artists are this present and also this hard on themselves once they get off stage. I just want to be aware of it so I can fix it. I just want to figure out how we can get over that. I know it's wanting to get better. But how can we enjoy the moment and be present?

It's been a lot of emotions but this weekend alone has validated — like it always does — and kicks out a lot of that negative stuff. [It's] something so beautiful. What were you thinking? What were you saying that for? Look what’s in front of you right now.

Since we last spoke, the cosigns have been plentiful. One in particular that I wanted to ask you about was Andre 3000 and what he said about seeing a bit of himself in you. What was your reaction when you heard that?

It made me feel seen. You’re talking about, when you say he sees a little bit of himself in me… When I hear him talk about, "Yo, I wanna rap, I still rap…" You’re seen. I feel you. It doesn’t matter if you’re, however old he is, he’s talking about it like that.

Some days, when you go in the studio, it’s like, "I don’t have anything right now." And that’s never easy. We treat it very lightly, though. I’ll tell my engineer, "Yo I’m not feeling it today, peace out." We shake hands and then we dip.

But I wanted him to know, thank you for seeing me. I want him to know that I see you. I’m not gonna speak for the world, I’ll speak for me. I see you, take your time, have fun, live life. You have a hell of a legacy and a lot for us to research and study. Go off and take however much time you want to.

You told Billboard you’re working on new music. What type of pocket are you in right now creatively?

As far as the music, like we said in the Billboard interview, we’re just throwing around the word "undeniable." We don’t want, "No, wait 'til the second verse, it gets really good on the second half." Undeniable, from the beginning to end. And we’re having a total blast. I want to give love, Tyler Cole, Dylan Neustadter, Johan Lenox, Andrew Keller. That’s giving me a lot of confidence. I’m sitting on a lot of music right now. It lifts a lot of weight. I go to the studio like, "I’m sitting on something crazy, but let’s keep making more crazy stuff." So, as far as the music goes, it’s very creative. I just want to take a second to breathe and just look back at everything. Reflect. And then go back to that art, elevate it and make some more.

If you could build a band with three people, living or not, who would it be?

I’m gonna get Mk.gee on guitar. I’m gonna get Laila! on keyboards. And who do we need for drums? Travis Scott on the drums. 

Do you still feel like a rookie? Is it still early to be a Teezo Touchdown fan?

Absolutely. It’s kind of like me talking about Beaumont. "I’m from a small town, Beaumont, Texas." We got like 100,000 population, you know what I’m saying? I know some real small towns. I know towns like Silsbee that have 6,000, that’s a real small town. But as far as this man, I’m always learning. I always think like a rookie. I also think like a veteran — a veteran or a peer — like, "Yo, this is how it was when I dropped my first album. The critics are gonna say this." Same way I read a lot of interviews, it’s like I’m able to talk to Led Zeppelin when they dropped their first album. I try to relate to that, man. We’re always learning. We’re always new. If you know somebody who knows everything, please point me out to ‘em. I would love to meet them.

It’s still very early. It’s a lot of people in the world who don’t know who I am yet. So we’re working on that. One at a time.

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