Kickman Teddy is cruising solo these days.
Teddy, who played drums in the alternative hip-hop/rock band, FreeSol, is now singing, writing, and producing. His single, “Crusin’,” currently is No. 2 on iTunes and No. 23 on the Billboard R&B/Soul charts.
The single, which he produced last June, is “basically about me and this female just cruising the city, enjoying life, having fun together,” Teddy says.
“Crusin’,” which includes Memphian Mike Sweep and Atlanta-based Kanard Thomas, is on the Hotline Miami compilation.
Teddy and his manager decided to add the song to “make people aware that the song is out there … build momentum around [it]. We got it to the people we needed to and it took off from there.” His new single, “Get the Paper,” will be released in late May.
Born in Memphis, but raised in Julius, Arkansas, where his grandparents lived, Teddy says his family members sang in churches. “They would go around and tour churches and so forth and let us hang around and learn from them.”
As for his drumming talent, Teddy says, “Man, it was in my blood. It’s always been there.”
But he didn’t have a drum set at first. “I was beating on anything I could get my hands on — shoes, my desk. I would just make noise. All the rhythms going. Kids would go crazy over it. It’s just a natural thing for me to do, and I enjoyed it.”
Teddy originally went the “choir scene” route, drumming and touring with community choirs. He says people began saying, “Who is this guy? This little young drummer? He’s got a fast foot and he can play songs fast.”
Teddy began performing for Billy Rivers & the Angelic Voices of Faith. One night, he played Rivers part of a song he’d written. “He was like, ‘Keep going.’ I was making up lyrics on the spot. Before I knew it — I don’t know if he knew this — he was pushing me into being a writer.”
Teddy toured Europe with the group for about a month. But things changed after he met FreeSol at Applebee’s. They struck up a conversation and formed the FreeSol band that day. “I had to make a choice because I started touring with FreeSol pretty heavy.”
The group was signed to Justin Timberlake’s production company, Tennman Records, in 2006. “Man, one of the high points for me was just being in the studio with Justin and learning … his whole work ethic and how he could come in and command a room.”
FreeSol then signed with Interscope Records, but was dropped from the label. “For a minute, I lost my love and drive for what I was doing.”
Teddy reached his low point. “I was locked in a cell overnight. I got locked up for DUI — intoxicated, drinking at a party.”
But, he says, “It changed my life. When I got there, man, I saw murderers around me. I saw drug addicts around me. And nobody cared about who I was or who I worked with. I was just like everybody else.”
When he got out, FreeSol bass player/keyboardist Daniel “Primo Danger” Dangerfield, called and asked him to join him playing on a cruise ship.
“God always has a plan for your life,” Teddy says.
Teddy began writing raps every day. Writing hip-hop came naturally. “I just liked being challenged, doing something different. I was beating on my desks again. It brought me back and grounded me.”
He released his first full-fledged album, Xrayvision, in 2014. “For a solo project on my own, I thought it was pretty dope. That was just me and my writing skills.”
Teddy formed a production company, Martian Boy Music, and he also got the FreeSol members back in the studio to record the song “Out of Love,” which is slated to be released in July. “It brought a feeling over me like, ‘Man, we can still make music and enjoy each other.’”
Now, Teddy says, “I’m not thinking about fame. I’m not thinking about money. I’m thinking about putting out great music.”