This week’s column takes things to the West Coast, where we shine a light on rapper Teyter Tot. With a project and a slew of singles under her belt, the Oakland native caught my attention thanks to a couple of freestyles that live on her Instagram page. The first is one from a few months ago with the platform and the other is with another called .

In both, Teyter Tot displayed fierce attitude as she fired off brash, tough-talking bars over bass-rattling production. Teyter Tot’s music reminds me a bit of Rico Nasty’s, only with an emphasis on The Bay rather than the DMV. Teyter’s most recent project came back in 2022 with , and though she’s yet to release a record in 2024, she’s spent the last week teasing what we can assume is her next single of many to come.

The sky is the limit for the Oakland-bred rapper, so if you want to dive into her releases, you can start with highlights like “Act Right” and “Wait” or check out some of her 2023 singles like “Angel” and “Choose Up.” With more to come from Teyter Tot, scroll down to learn more about her artistry and discover her inspiration, aspiration, and influences. Music has been a part of my life as long as I can remember, so I’m not sure.

What I do remember is my mom telling me when I was a few months old, she would purposefully put on Mary J. Blige and I would sit up and bounce on beat. My mother.

She always told me if I do it, do it fully and always encouraged me to finish what I started. She also e.