Review: TeeboFG - Nuisance

This debut EP from TeeboFG establishes himself as an exciting talent with room to grow. Despite his first release being only seven months ago, TeeboFG has garnered nationwide attention, with over thirteen thousand monthly Spotify listeners. He has already constructed a unique sound that fuses UK drill and rage, creating eclectic and attention-grabbing music.

This four-song EP feels like TeeboFG just putting all his assets out there to be heard. Listeners gain a clear vision of Teebo as an artist and the realm that he operates in. There is not a clear artistic direction in this project, with each song feeling like a single. Yet, with the purpose of the EP being Teebo showcasing himself early in his career, this is not a problem. The project delivers as advertised, and with a certain emphasis.

On 'Nuisance', TeeboFG doubles down on the theme of 'grabbing attention'. He ensures that the listeners are engaged. The production is often chaotic and heavily layered, featuring deep basslines and high-tempo percussion to create an intimidating atmosphere that compliments Teebo's rapping. The production on 'REAL HEAVY' is relatively more stripped back, yet the out-of-tune 'plucking' perfectly encapsulates this intended sinister atmosphere. Arguably, this achieves the goal more effectively. However, Teebo does sound more comfortable on the thicker production of the other songs on the EP.

His rapping energy compliments this production to create an encapsulating sound. The best showcase of this is on the final track 'KIRSTY'. He combines mostly rapid-fire flows with the occasional broken, interrupted line. The increase of speed and aggression on the second half of the song, culminating in the almost-screamed "Shoot at man you know I'll shoot back", acts as a perfect closer and simultaneous focal point for the project. It showcases Teebo reveling in the chaos and owning the sound. Despite the intensity, his cadence is excellent and each line hits harder than the last. This song delivers more than any other on the 'attention-grabbing' front whilst also displaying high technical rapping skill and impactful 'harsh-reality' lyrics.

Another stand-out feature throughout this project is the creativity displayed from Teebo, himself, and in his production. He often slightly changes the pitch and tone of his voice to match the intended atmosphere, shown most evidently through the fluctuations on 'BAKARDI'. His use of adlibs is sparse yet effective, often employed to add intrigue or emphasis after periods of little sonic variation. Furthermore, there are often moments where the beat will cut out momentarily. In 'MEDALLION', this is utilised to repeat and emphasise the "gin and tonic" punchline, and is effective in doing so as it creates a memorable takeaway from the song. Beat stops that emphasise words and lines are common on 'BAKARDI', with them also being used to precede hooks or stylistic changes. It is a simple feature that adds variation to a song, which Teebo works with effectively.

With all this variation and creativity, one slightly neglected feature on this project is the hook-making. Teebo is a skilled enough artist that these songs do not need a recognised chorus to be engaging, yet there are attempts. Hence, there is a general lack of distinction between the verses and 'hooks'. He does use hard-hitting key words that act as a hook, like in 'BAKARDI' and 'KIRSTY', but are not really isolated from the rest of the song to identify as a hook, per se. However, he does present a clearer, repeated hook in 'REAL HEAVY'. Yet, this repeated section accounts for most of the song due to a lack of fleshed-out verses. It would be ideal for this verse-hook format to be more clear-cut in future songs to create cohesion. This is a simple issue that is amended only through experience. Also, this may not be a current factor as Teebo is mainly focused on experimentation and grabbing attention, as mentioned. This can be achieved without a standard verse/hook structure, but is important to be noted and eventually considered.

In summation, TeeboFG establishes himself as a creative force that demands attention through his music. He is a skilled, adaptable rapper and an effective writer. He has a clear identity in his music through the atmosphere he creates and consistent lyrical content. His signature vocal tag 'Teeeeebo' has become instantly recognisable and adds to this curated identity. Collaborations with like artists, such as jeffgrv, and a Len co-sign show serious intent and promise. Hopefully, Teebo can carry on this upward trajectory, ride the momentum, and keep experimenting to really focus his sound. 'Nuisance' reveals the building blocks of a compelling artist that can diversify the UK rap scene.

Listen to the EP here: