An Interview with Teezo Touchdown
Matt Pecina of Studio Guapo sat down with the rising rockstar to talk spatial dynamics, touring, and what it means to be a designhead for our Spring 2024 print issue
By Matt Pecina of Studio Guapo — Originally published in our Spring 2024 print issue
Talking with Teezo Touchdown takes time. He has a superpower way of slowing things down and cutting them into something deep. He often drifts introspectively in and out of memories, especially when we talk about home. And just as you would expect from exploring his increasingly diverse catalog of bops, bangers, and smooth jams, my man drops bars.
Throughout our 30-minute call, Teezo reminds us that, as “artists”, we are all way more alike than we think. For Teezo, nothing is impossible and everything is doable — if you “DIWYF” (Do It With Your Friends).
Perhaps it’s the Texan in me that gets so hype when an artist shouts out their upbringing as much as Teezo does. Throughout our talk, it’s clear he prioritizes home, family, and friends above all else. Teezo is a man of values, and has a sincere passion to do right by those who paved the way for him to flourish: his approach to limitless self-expression seems rooted in a solid foundation of love and friendship.
One of the greatest cultural revelations of the past decade from my perspective has been the global rise of the multi-disciplinary artist. Now more than ever, it is understood that one’s creativity can be applied to any discipline, at any point in your career. Not only do we celebrate this, we’ve come to almost expect it from our champions.
Teezo Touchdown is one of these artists, and while his career in the mainstream public eye is only still budding, it’s clear to all who have followed his rise since the beginning that his star has a bright future.
So what does design have to do with it ?
I believe, as designers, we have so much to gain from thinking like music artists, especially now as furniture design continues to grow in its influence on the culture: we must approach our craft with the same genre-bending flexibility that musicians explore in their own identity.
I first met Teezo in 2021 when he arrived at my studio in the LES dressed as a construction worker reminiscent of the Village People. As Texas boys, Teezo and I share a mutual friend in Houston –— Josh Allen, a fashion designer and artist who is no stranger to the multi-hyphenate creative landscape, whose family is from Beaumont Texas, the same town as Teezo, and dropped a clothing collection under the name of that same town. Since then, Josh and Teezo have formed a deep friendship built on mutual respect for putting on for their city.
When the boys pulled up, Teezo immediately gravitated to my Pillow Stool, a fully upholstered leather stool I design with a big cuban link chain that you can “wear” like a bag: “Oh shiiitttt — this is fire”. It makes sense that Teezo would respond to such a piece that intersects fashion and furniture. We found ourselves deep in conversation around our take on intersectionality in art and design, passing around a blunt and the aux cord as we each took turns playing everything from 90s hip hop to emo and indie rock hits. Even then, it was abundantly clear that Teezo was transcending into superstar status, but at that moment the three of us were just Texas kids, bright eyed and thankful.
Three years later, Teezo’s just finished touring with Travis Scott — arguably one of the biggest artists in the world — and has been featured on nearly every massive record album in hip hop in the last year. Now he’s on the cover of Rolling Stone and is preparing for own first world tour as one of the most celebrated new artists in the game. And yet still here he is, humble and kind, on Google Meets with ya boy for the first print issue of Designheads.
I don't know if you can see me, but I got my Beaumont hoodie on right now.
Whoa! Josh Allen is in the building with us.
You already know. I don't know if you remember, but we met a couple of years ago — Josh brought you to my studio in New York. We checked out some furniture ...
Yeah! The seat bag, of course.
Full circle moment. You know, I work a lot in the design industry — curating design shows in New York — as well as my own design practice. I'm super inspired by music and DIY culture ... connecting different subcultures. Making design more accessible, so it's just as cool as punk or hip hop or streetwear. I want design to have that same place among these subcultures, you know, which is why it's so great to interview you.
Wow, this is amazing. What a full circle moment — I'm so honored. Thank you Matt, for real.
I mean, the honor’s all mine dude. And you know, you're from Texas. And I'm from Dallas. So Texas boys in the house. You know, we already talked about Beaumont — home of the brave.
What is home to you?
Man, you know, I miss it. I miss it so, so much. It's a place I go to recharge. It's a place that I enjoy seeing grow — grow and expand. I think that's where I'm at right now in my journey. You know, I always mentioned Beaumont in interviews — it's all about just just showing my love to that town. And just pulling back the layers of experiences that I had from that place.
I think it would probably be downtown [Beaumont]. Downtown was always this place — when your parents had to go do business or whatever, or if you ever got a speeding ticket, you had to go downtown. Seeing the architecture there [back] then, you were seeing it decay … [and] I'm seeing it decay even more now. I feel like later in my life, I really started to appreciate the abandoned buildings. When I'm back at home, I still walk around downtown. It's like a ghost town to everyone else, but I'm looking at it with new eyes — like looking at an abandoned Hollywood set.
…I think the reason I like abandoned buildings and stuff like that is because it's not being used. [It] really sticks out as something that I can use — something that's forgotten about, something that they're probably trying to knock down. The place where I shot my music video for "Keep It Professional" is no longer there. A lot of artists use that spot as a place to shoot videos, but the city was like, "Alright, let's knock this [down]."
So there's that feeling of preservation that you have with those spaces in your city. When something doesn't work, are you inspired to fix it?
Absolutely. I was told at a very young age, "There's more than one way to ..." — I changed the saying, because the old saying is, "There's more than one way to skin a cat." Now I say, "There's more than one way to feed a cat." And by that, I mean I get excited trying to find another way of making something happen. I like when my friends come to me with problems.
Handyman.
Facts.
"Mr. Handyman." That whole video and set was really inspiring to me as a designer, seeing you with the tool belt, about to make some shit. That was fire. Tell me a bit about the spirit of DIY. How important is that to you?
I look at it more like “DIWYF.” Not, "Do it yourself" — more like, "Do it with your friends." That banter that you have with your friends, when you all get to meet up and talk about the day you had. I think the reason that the reason [people] thrive so much in art … all goes back to community. I feel like if you're doing it by yourself ... it's pretty sad, just speaking from experience, because I know how lonely you can get. Do it with your friends — I think a lot of good comes from that.
I love that DIWYF versus DIY. There’s a whole TED talk you could do on that.
So — are you a design head?
You know, we're planning our first headlining tour and David Landry, who's from Houston, is building my first [tour set]. When I had my spot in Houston, [I had] one of his pieces as my work desk. That was kind of my introduction into design: having a homie who's very hands on. A homie I can call and say, "Alright, it's time for it to go into the tour. Can you build this for me? Or, "Can you draw this out for us?" I think my love for design — like I say, "do it with your friends" — comes from knowing a friend who's real life hands-on like that.
I used to go to his garage while he was working on someone else's project … and [see] him be so excited about using his hands and building things.
But I have to go back to my dad, because he literally built my studio. He always says, "What you do with music is how I am with my hands." And he's absolutely that. I've seen him build wings to the house. I've seen him build a carport…
That's real — when you're growing up, seeing somebody solve problems. Like, "Alright, something's not working in the house or we want something different in the house." And seeing somebody go buy the materials, bring it to the house, make a plan, and execute — that's a lesson ... observing that is so powerful.
I used to really dread going to home improvement stores with him. Like, "Bro — this is just so boring." Now I'm there like every weekend — it's so funny .
Now you got to get your Home Depot sponsorship.
[Laughs] Not yet.
Or maybe Lowe's.
Virgil [Abloh] often talked about cheat codes — "defining your signature" was one of these main cheat codes. He described how, basically, if you find your signature, you get a cheat code to go to the next level. What's your signature?
I think my signature is being a professional fan: looking at my landscape and bringing something into the world that I would want to see [myself]. That's why — even when it comes down to a tour announcement — I go the extra mile, because ... I would want to see it if I was a fan of Teezo Touchdown. I think my signature is thinking like a fan and delivering like a professional.
Many musicians these days are really exploring different mediums and industries outside of their expertise. Why do you think that's so important for an artist?
Well, I can speak for me — sometimes it comes from a love of different mediums. But sometimes, if I'm having writer's block or something, then I can lean on my visual art, like creating cover art — or something [else] like that. Right now [that's] script writing. It's an outlet to express myself. And I use that sometimes like a therapy — if one thing isn't working, I'm blessed and fortunate enough to have another thing that I can explore, and find another way to express myself. So I think, for me, it's more of a "Yes, it's fun," but also it kind of keeps me sane — keeps me busy, you know?
Now that you're in a position and growing even more every day into a position to bridge different industries and cultures, where do you plan to go outside of music?
I mean, I'm sitting here with a script in front of me. I love comedy, I love screenplays, I love acting — I love the back of the house of those things. So I think I'm just gonna just keep expanding on those things.
100%. You've been interdisciplinary since the beginning.
Alright, a different question: house in the hills or loft in the city?
Me being a country boy, I got to get this city out of my system. [Growing up], we had downtown Beaumont, which was pretty abandoned. And then the next best thing was Houston, you know? For us country folk, a weekend in Houston [was] like going to LA or New York. So … I definitely want to get that Manhattan, middle-of-the-madness out of my system. And then, after that, I'll go somewhere in the country in Texas and call it a day.
Get you the ranch.
Exactly
Loft in the city it is. Have you thought about how you're going to design your loft?
No — haven't had the privilege [yet]. I've been bouncing around, been moving since 2019. So I've just been taking notes on what I like: I love space, I love high ceilings — I love where lights are going — this little circle in the ceiling now. Right now I'm going around the world, living different experiences, and just trying to see what I like. So I think I'm trying to figure out what that is.
And I don't want it to be [about] a spotlight, like "Oh, this is cool because I want to post it." I want to make this world comfortable — like, "This is what I dreamed of." Even on the last tour, we were like, "How are we going to put a bedroom on stage?" … I get to talk to interior designers and actually express what I'm expressing to you. I never really had a spot that I could furnish, from the ground up. So, [I’m] just doing my research, seeing stuff that I like.
How do you foster space for creation? What do you need around you to be most creative?
At this point, I need a neutral zone. I like going to studios, because it's a neutral zone. We know where the kitchen is, we know where the restroom is. That seems to be working for me. I can't record a hotel or a house with other people in it, because I feel like people are like, cup-to-the-wall, trying to hear what I'm thinking or whatever — it's so nerve wracking. And I'm afraid of a noise complaint. So I really just dig studios — it's a designated place where I can come and be loud. But I think once I get my own spot and there's no neighbors or whatever, and it's soundproof, then I'll be able to rock out and record anywhere.
Can you tell me about a moment of pure creative joy?
That happens every time we're brainstorming or are in the studio and you have that moment when the room smiles or the room gets something. But I think my favorite is just creating on Sundays. Something about a Sunday — everyone feels different. I [want to be] there on a video set or studio or something that I really enjoy. Sunday's are my favorite day of the week — I'm just my happiest, to create.
I feel that. Dude, thank you so much. I'm so honored to have gotten to spend a few minutes here with you, talking about art and design and your connection to it. This was sick. When you get that loft and need some furniture, you already know how to come to! [laughs]
Thank you so much for this time, Matt. See you soon and congrats on all of this man. I'm truly honored and thankful.