Tee-Double

The Home Town Kid (Kinetic Global)

Tee-Double is nothing if not prolific. The local hip-hop kingpin has released at least one LP per year for as long as anyone can remember. The Home Town Kid gives an insider tour of the ATX, throwing “word javelins” over synth-heavy midtempo minimalism. Lest anyone doubt his local bona fides, the artist born Terrany Johnson shouts out Highland Mall, Maplewood Elementary, and Short Stop burgers. The album gets topical when Tee-Double tackles the hottest issue in Austin hip-hop on “Pay 2 Play,” taking the role of shady promoter in one verse and duped artist the next: “Now let me tell you about pay to play/ We just need a fee and we don’t really give a damn if you can emcee.” Fortysomething rappers don’t blow up overnight and The Home Town Kid seems content to be just that, a seasoned vet giving aspiring rappers a lesson in longevity.

**.5

This article appears in April 25 • 2014.

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Thomas Fawcett has been freelancing for The Austin Chronicle since 2007. He likes good music and does not fake the funk.