A 24 year-old senior from Arlington, Texas, Terry Williams, also known as “Teewillo,” has come a long way from get- ting his Head Wrapped, which led him to being Broke As F**k. But now that he’s gotten a job and is on course to graduate, he will be moving west and pursuing the American Dream.
Williams is projected to graduate on Dec. 20 and after, he plans on moving to San Di- ego. But before he departs from Grambling State University and the South completely, the academic emcee plans on releasing his third and last mixtape titled American Dream Dec. 19.
With Shakeback Music and Tatum supporting him, Williams said his mixtape is so good, he wants GSU President Frank G. Pogue to hear an explicit version of it. “I want Diddy to take it, I
want Kanye to take it, them boys need that,” said Williams. “No- body in this area who I know, heard or haven’t heard can see this tape. Dr. Pogue needs a
copy, none edited. I want him to know it’s raw.”
Society may describe the American dream as being patriotic, having money, a house with a white picket fence around the yard. But TeeWillo sees it differ ently.
Now that his days of college struggle are nearly over and making major progress in life, he feels he’s at a point of no worries.
“The American dream portrayed on TV is not the way we (Blacks) grew up,” said Williams.
“A lot of us grew up in single mother households and we had to get it the way we had to get it. The American dream to me has always been doing what you have to do to find your lane to be successful in, taking it and running with it.”
Initially, July 4 was the release date for American Dream, but Williams said he wanted to put forth his best effort possible on what he calls the “first official real real real mixtape,” so he delayed the process.”
“I want to reach a level where people understand because even though you are going to hear some superior production from Chase and those guys, I want you to hear me word for word. I want you to hear my story.”
On this mixtape, TeeWillo has no other featured rappers and with Grambling’s own D.J. Chase behind the majority of the sound, Williams describes their relationship as the “south- side Snoop and Dre.”
He also worked with pro- ducers Dubya Beats, Black Soil, Adam Fresh, OldSkool– Slim, Dangerous MC’s, who did “Greed” on BAF, Recc the Stoner, who produced “Rappin like Kanye”.
TeeWillo said that American Dream is not 100 percent complete and does want to collabo– rate with a few other artists in Grambling, such as Quay Jackson, Kim Monroe, Ashleigh Todd and Ashley Johnson.
“I don’t do other rappers,” Williams said.