Towkio (original) (raw)

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American rapper

Towkio
Birth name Preston Oshita
Also known as Young P Preston San Tokyo Shawn Pizza-kun
Born (1993-06-26) June 26, 1993 (age 31)[1]Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Genres Hip hop
Occupation Rapper
Years active 2012–present
Labels Republic Records[2]
Website www.towk.io

Musical artist

Preston Oshita[3] (born June 26, 1993),[1] better known by his stage name Towkio, is an American rapper from Chicago, Illinois.[4] He was previously known as Young P, Preston San, and Tokyo Shawn.[5] He is a member of the Savemoney crew.[6] His debut studio album, WWW., was released in 2018.[7]

On June 26, 1993,[1] Towkio was born Preston Oshita in Chicago, Illinois to a Mexican mother and a Japanese father.[8] He has two older brothers.[9] He attended Lane Tech College Prep High School.[8]

In 2012, Towkio released a collaborative EP with producer Mojek, titled Community Service.[8] In 2014, he released another EP, titled Hot Chips n Chop Stix, which was produced by A Billion Young.[8]

In 2015, Towkio released a mixtape, titled .Wav Theory, which featured contributions from Chance the Rapper, Vic Mensa, Kaytranada, and Donnie Trumpet.[10] It was included on year-end lists by publications such as Complex,[11] Chicago Tribune,[12] and RedEye.[13] He was included on HipHopDX's "Top 8 Rising Stars of 2015" list.[14] In 2016, Towkio was featured alongside Justin Bieber on Chance the Rapper's song, "Juke Jam", from his third mixtape, Coloring Book. That same year, he released an EP, titled Community Service 2.[15]

In 2018, Towkio released his debut studio album, titled WWW., which included the previously released singles, namely "Drift", "Hot Shit", "Swim", "Symphony", and "2 Da Moon".[16] It included guest appearances from Teddy Jackson, Grace Weber, SZA, Vic Mensa, and Njomza.[17]

Style and influences

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Towkio's musical style has been described by Chicago Tribune as "an adventurous mix of rap, '90s soul, jazz and generally weird, fuzzed-out beats."[18] He cited Kanye West and Lil Wayne as his biggest influences.[8]

In January 2019, Towkio was accused by a woman of sexual assault on Twitter.[19] He denied the allegations, stating that they "were in an ongoing consensual sexual relationship dating back to 2014 which even included other women."[19] He added, "It is my hope that her and I can engage in a dialogue in a place where she feels comfortable to discuss our past relationship and her feelings."[19]

Other charted songs

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  1. ^ a b c "Towkio". HotNewHipHop. Archived from the original on July 10, 2018. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
  2. ^ "Towkio". Republic Records. Archived from the original on July 8, 2018. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  3. ^ Julious, Britt (May 14, 2015). "Towkio sometimes seems too good to be true". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
  4. ^ Grebey, James (April 8, 2015). "Chance the Rapper and Towkio Smoothly Soar on 'Heaven Only Knows'". Spin. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
  5. ^ Terry, Josh (April 27, 2015). "Rising Chicago rapper Towkio can free your mind". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved February 14, 2020.
  6. ^ Leight, Elias (February 25, 2015). "Billboard Exclusive Premiere: Towkio's 'Free Your Mind' Featuring Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment". Billboard. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
  7. ^ Puckett, Lily (February 21, 2018). "Towkio will drop his album from space today". The Fader. Retrieved April 27, 2018.
  8. ^ a b c d e Barber, Andrew (October 8, 2015). "Towkio Is the Next SaveMoney Rapper to Blow". Complex. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
  9. ^ Williams, Aaron (February 23, 2018). "Towkio Explains How The Release Of His Debut Album 'WWW.' Helped Him Become An Astronaut". Uproxx. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
  10. ^ Camp, Zoe (April 28, 2015). "Towkio Drops .Wav Theory Mixtape Featuring Chance the Rapper, Vic Mensa, Kaytranada, Donnie Trumpet". Pitchfork. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  11. ^ Nostro, Lauren (December 2, 2015). "The Best Albums of 2015". Complex. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  12. ^ Kot, Greg (December 10, 2015). "Top 10 Chicago indie albums of 2015". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  13. ^ Terry, Josh (December 15, 2015). "The 20 best albums of 2015". RedEye. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  14. ^ Dowling, Marcus (January 7, 2016). "HipHopDX's Top 8 Rising Stars Of 2015". HipHopDX. Retrieved January 23, 2016.
  15. ^ Mench, Chris (July 8, 2016). "Stream Towkio's New EP 'Community Service 2' f/ Vic Mensa and Joey Purp". Complex. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  16. ^ Espinoza, Joshua (February 23, 2018). "Towkio's Debut Studio Album 'WWW.' Is Here". Complex. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
  17. ^ Saponara, Michael (February 23, 2018). "Towkio Shares 'WWW.' Album From Space, Featuring Vic Mensa, SZA & More". Billboard. Retrieved February 25, 2018.
  18. ^ Stewart, Allison (December 18, 2014). "Towkio doesn't want to be last to break big". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved October 18, 2015.
  19. ^ a b c Bloom, Madison; Blais-Billie, Braudie (January 7, 2019). "Towkio Faces Sexual Assault Allegation, Responds". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 29, 2019.
  20. ^ "Towkio Chart History: Bubbling Under Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved May 24, 2016.
  21. ^ "Towkio Chart History: Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Retrieved May 24, 2016.