For years, mix-tapes ruled the underground hip-hop world.

However, in a day and age where MacBooks don’t even have a CD drive, Spotify has taken over as the gatekeeper for underground music.

It’s why Kelowna’s Teon Gibbs has a lot of people he’s never even met bumping his music right now.

Gibb’s tune “Rookie Szn” has stacked over 40k plays on Spotify and has been placed on the revered Northern Bars playlist, with the likes of Drake and the Weeknd, to name a few.

“I've gained a lot of exposure in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and a lot of producers have been reaching out for studio sessions,” said Gibbs.

“It's also gotten me a little bit of cache, so it’s a lot easier for me to approach clubs and line up live shows.”

Gibb’s tune “Rookie Szn” has stacked over 25k plays on Spotify and has been placed on the revered Northern Bars playlist, with the likes of Drake and the Weeknd, to name a few.

“I've gained a lot of exposure in Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal and a lot of producers have been reaching out for studio sessions,” said Gibbs.

“It's also gotten me a little bit of cache, so it’s a lot easier for me to approach clubs and line up live shows.”

One of those shows will be this Saturday at downtown Kelowna’s Black Box Theatre with Kelowna rap crew Rare Breed.

Photo Credit: KelownaNow.

As much as playing live shows is great, for Gibbs it’s always been about the studio and the music.

“I've been playing music in several capacities for over a decade,” explained Gibbs. “Being able to bring different elements of musicality, from composition writing to production keeps my music from getting generic and helps diversify the sound.”

A beautiful form of poetry, one of hip-hop's greatest qualities as a genre is the ability to tell a story.

So if Gibb’s music peaks your interest, it’s likely due to his diverse background.

“I’m originally from Botswana, but I spent most of my formative years traveling. My dad worked with developing countries, specifically helping more rural communities manage their food resources so we moved a lot,” explained Gibbs.

“Eventually I settled in Kelowna because my Grandfather lives here and I enrolled at CATO to learn the recording arts and that’s what got me into recording.”

For now, Gibbs is enjoying the success of his new album These Are the Times and working on his next release that is due out this fall. 

If you would like to see Teon Gibbs perform check out his show with Rare Breed this Saturday in Kelowna!

For more info, click here.