It takes a certain amount of confidence to not only state “I rap better than niggas’ but to also boldly wear the statement on a T-shirt. This week’s guest, Thomas Who? has the talent to back up his statements as he is truly a master of his craft. Thomas and Brandy have an in-depth conversation regarding his development as a rapper, past and upcoming projects, and unveiling who exactly is Thomas Who?
Thomas is from Oklahoma City and proudly represents the Eastside in his music. He graduated from Northeast High School and played football at the University of Tulsa. He chats with Brandy regarding his experiences in college. He was known for being nice on the microphone in college and started to out rapping as well as recording and selling CDs. His love for hip-hop began years prior. He reveals that after hearing Ready to Die by the Notorious B.I.G. at the mere age of 8, he knew that he wanted to rap. He began putting pen to paper at age 12 and demolished his first freestyle opponent in high school. From there he put in the man-hours to perfect his rap skills by studying the game. He released his first project in 2010 called The Method and the Madness under the name X1. Thomas shares with the listeners how after learning how to write hooks and becoming more intentional as a songwriter, he rebranded himself as Thomas Who?. He began to drop mixtapes under Thomas Who? and kept increasing his skill level and improving as an artist. By the time he released his full-length project entitled Who Knew? in 2018, it was evident that Thomas Who? had arrived.
Brandy and Thomas also discuss his projects with Dr. View. Thomas Who? was featured on the Curriculum of the Mind, (In)Visible Man, and also the upcoming Fire In Little Africa projects. Thomas states “there’s not many rappers breathing who can rap better than me” and by listening to his work on the Dr. View projects the listeners will hear that what he is saying is true. Thomas Who? is a beast on the microphone who can annihilate any track. His delivery is aggressive yet articulate and his cadence is mesmerizing. His intellect and wit are shown in his wordplay. His metaphors are truly thought-provoking; so much so that you may have to run the tracks back to truly catch the depth of words. His flow is unlike any rapper and he has the innate ability to rap effortlessly over any beat. He does not waste a single bar and the hours he spent pouring into developing his artistry is clear. His next full-length project produced by Dr. View called Dr. Who? will be out in 2021. You can hear an exclusive clip of the intro to the album at the end of the episode. Thomas Who? is authentic and remains true to himself. As a creative, he accepts his responsibility to create music that correlates with what the culture is experiencing. He released Postmortem ft. Sid Carter which discusses social injustice, systemic racism, and what it is like being a black man in America. It is available on all streaming platforms now and is a powerful song. You can also stream his latest album, Splash on all streaming platforms. Thomas Who? is a phenomenal artist; be on the lookout for his projects in 2021 as well.
Songs featured in this episode:
0:00 93 Rockets 88 Compton- Thomas Who? and SoufwessDes
2:50- Swish- Thomas Who? And 1st Verse
34:19- Open Eyes- Thomas Who?, Tony Foster Jr,, St. Domonick & M.C. produced by Dr. View
55:31- Julius- Thomas Who?