TOM P CAREER BIO
Personal Background & Early Years:

Tom P, is a rap artist from Decatur GA who, recently, released his third independent, full-length album, “The Preacher’s Kid,” which reached the iTunes ‘Hot 100’ within 24­ hours of its debut. It features collaborations with  Tom P’s long-­time allies in Atlanta; Trinidad James, RITTZ, Jarren Benton, Rehab, Playboy Tre and more. Witty lines, technical lyrics, high energy live shows and his ability to flow at rapid-fire speeds has earned Tom P a large, diverse and loyal following on and offline.

Tom P comes from humble beginnings. He was born in North Carolina to a single, teenage mom living in a mobile home with his grandmother. At the age of two, he was adopted by his uncle, a preacher, and moved to Atlanta. As a kid, Tom loved music and especially hip hop. However, unlike the stereotypical, white suburbanite rap enthusiast, rap was not a novelty, but a music he related to, which described his upbringing and experiences growing up in the inner-city. 

Influenced by artists like Outkast and Goodie Mob, Tom P started writing raps at the age of 15. He studied his favorite rappers styles, collected hundreds of CD’s, while searching for his own unique sound. In high school, he threw parties, creating a platform for himself to showcase his developing talent and, often, hundreds of kids from the area would come out to support and see the live show. After graduation, he decided to pursue music full time and take an independent approach.  He started out producing many of his own instrumentals, recording in a friends attic and booking his own events at local venues. Unlike many artists who struggle early on, performing in dive bars, handing out CD's on the street corner; Tom P started his career as a headline act and was able to sell out several major venues in Atlanta off his own buzz worthy performance.

Eventually, his fan base could no longer fit in the smaller/mid-size Atlanta venues. Tom P started throwing warehouse parties to accommodate. 
He handled all the logistics; setting up the stage and sound equipment, hiring; bartenders, security, lighting, sound­-techs, etc, comprised of an ensemble of friends and fans. He provided kegs, food and let other local artists paint or showcase their talents in-between acts, which he also booked. He paid for everything out-of pocket. Tom utilized his fans as street-promoters and Facebook to spread the word. His concerts continued to grow in popularity and then in 2009 Tom P threw one of the largest-scale underground hip-hop events Atlanta had ever seen. Nearly 1,200 people were in attendance at  Tom P's "Summer Jump Off / Album Release Party." Every person in attendance received a copy of his solo-debut album.

The local press began to catch on to Tom P's movement, which earned the rapper a full spread in Atlanta's most popular and most distributed free newspaper, Creative Loafing. Entitled; Tom P's Hustle. There had never been an artist like Tom P who was, virtually, unknown in the ‘ industry,’ headlining and selling out shows in a city as competitive and over-saturated as Atlanta, for aspiring artists. All of his successes were due to his drive, savvy, supporters and the sheer fact that he was undeniably DOPE. Tom P's live performances have gained much notoriety and often proclaimed as the highlight of the evening. Or outshining the headline act, when he would open. Even on tour with Bone Thugs N Harmony, the local press in North Carolina praised his performance as a highlight of the night and deemed him "the white Twista"

Tom P spent the spring of 2010 writing and recording 'Root for the Underdog,' with producer, Justin Padron, at Music House Studios. A local venue, The Quad, gave Tom P a chance at throwing his release party at their club, which has an over 1,000-person capacity. He earned the opportunity by throwing several prior shows at the venue including some with artists like B.O.B and Yelawolf (who actually opened for Tom P at the time) Tom P promoted the event while recording the album simultaneously and the hard work paid off. The 'Root for the Underdog' release party sold out the venue to capacity. Due to the shows success Tom P was able to start bargaining with traveling groups to be their opening act in Atlanta if he could accompany them on other tour stops. To date Tom P has performed at over 150 shows, mostly as the headlining act or co-headlining, but has also toured with major artists and been booked for numerous 'ensemble' shows, festivals, private parties, events and more. To date he has accomplished a great deal as an unsigned, independent artist...

A Few Notable Accomplishments: 
 

• Won “ Best Local Atlanta Hip­ Hop Act 2013 " - Creative Loafing Atlanta.

• Won " Best Act in Atlanta in 2012," (Last rapper to win this honor was T.I. in 2007)

• Tom P has performed at over 150 shows in his career, most of which he headlined or opened for well-known acts

• Tom P has sold out most well­-known venues in Atlanta as the heading act. For example; The Masquerade, The Quad, The Spring4th Center, The 529, The Five Spot, Star Bar and many more (Show History Listed on Home Page of this EPK) 

• Tom P won MTVU’s Freshman competition  landing his music video “Wicked” on MTVU and MTV2

• Tom P has been a headliner/co-headliner on every major stage of Atlanta's A3C Festival (the largest hip hop festival in the South East) 

• Tom P was recently (Feb. 2015) interviewed by the Durtty Boyz and played live during prime-time hours on HOT107.9, Atlanta's premier commercial hip-hop station.

• Tom P has released three independent albums that he produced, funded and promoted himself. 

• Tom P also handles his web­ design, graphic art, and social-media promotions. Recently, adding music-video directing, prop/ set design to his resume, directed four new music videos; ‘A TL Nightmare’ ft. Jarren Benton and  ‘Sloppy Seconds’ ft. RITTZ, and two additional videos set to be released as part of his promotional campaign for an up-coming project.

• Tom P has performed alongside many major artists as an opener, but in many cases as the co-headliner. 

• He has been written about in nation-wide publications like XXL Magazine 

Live Performances with Notable Artists:

- Three 6 Mafia (The Quad, Co-headliner) Video

- B.O.B (Spring4th Center and UNCW Campus, Co-headliner)

- Machine Gun Kelly (Hostile Takeover Tour, The GA Conference Theater 2013, Club Opera 2014, Touring-Supporting act & Co-headliner)

- Techn9ne (Hostile Takeover Tour, Independent Grind, A3C Festival, Touring-Supporting Act)

- Bone Thugs N Harmony, Touring-Supporting Act)

- Nappy Roots (Starr Bar, Co-headliner)

- Rehab (Wild Bills, Co-headliner)

- Gorilla Zoe (The Fox Theater, Co-headliner)

- D12 (Apache Cafe, Supporting Act)

- Too Short (A3C Festival MainStage, Co-headliner)

- Raekwon (A3C Masquerade Park MainStage, Co-headliner)

- Big Krit (Spring4th, and A3C, Co-headliner)

- Big Sean (A3C Perfect Attendance Stage, Ensemble)

- Mac Miller (A3C Perfect Attendance Stage, Ensemble)

- Chris Webby (Tour Spots, Co-Headliner)

- Yelawolf (Multiple Shows, as both the Support act and headliner)

- RITTZ (Multiple Shows, as both the Co-headliner and headliner)

- Jarren Benton (Multiple shows, as both the Co-headliner and headliner)

- Almost Kings (The Allagreen Music Festival Monster Energy Stage, Co-headliner)

- Heroes and Villians (Moderna, Co-Headliner)

- Mr. Muthafuckin' Esquire (SXSW, Supporting Act)

- Trinidad James (Multiple Shows, Opener and Co-headliner)

- Killer Mike (The Basement, The Nest, Lenny's, Co-headliner)

- E40 (The Loft, Supporting Act)

- Waka Flaka (Opera, Supporting act)

- Kilo Ali ( Smiths Old Bar, Co-headliner)

- Travis Porter (Connect Lounge & Spring4th, Co-headliner)

- Da Backwudz (Apache Cafe, Co-headliner)

- People Under the Stairs (The 529, Supporting Act)

- Cyhi The Prynce (Moderna, The Basement, Star Bar, Co-headliner)

- Freddie Gibbs (The 529, Spring4th, Co-Headliner)

- Project Pat (The Quad, The Graveyard, Co-headliner)

- Lil' Wyte (The Quad, Co-headliner)

- Donnis (The Masquerade, Supporting Act)

- Chino XL (A3C Festival Masquerade Park, Co-Headliner)

- Trouble (A3C Festival Quad Stage, Co-Headliner)

- Cool Breeze (Apache Cafe, Supporting Act)

- Krizz Kallico (Independent Grind Tour, Touring-Supporting Act)

- Jay Rock (The Loft, Supporting Act)




THE PRESENT:

Tom P has continued to work hard toward a career in music and hopes that he will land the right recording deal soon. He has consistently improved as both an artist and performer and continued to "show up more well-established acts."  In 2015, Tom P was interviewed and played on Atlanta's biggest commercial radio station, HOT107.9 and interviewed by The Durtty Boyz during prime-time. He then performed at the stations annual "birthday bash" a week later for a sold out show. He has also released two music videos that he directed and starred in; "Sloppy Seconds" ft. RITTZ and "ATL Nightmare" ft. Jarren Benton. Both videos have currently accumulated 60,000+ views within less than two months. Currently, he is working on a 4th project and preparing for a summer campaign to promote it with the hope that his nearly 10 years of hard work and dedication will finally pay off and he will catch the break that he deserves.


THE FUTURE: 

Tom P was never about Atlanta’s flashy, gimmicky sound. Nor does he identify with the " underground” label, which people have tried to categorize him (without listening to his music.) Tom P aims to show the World they c annot judge books by their cover, which he does with his undeniable talent, energetic live shows and growing, large, diverse, die-hard following. Tom P has never taken the easy route and, while he believes he is extremely talented, is not a rapper who thinks anyone makes it off of talent alone. He is currently working on a mixtape he plans to release for free, which will show the diversity of his talents and styles. The project will "show the same uniqueness as previous projects" with a focus on "doing everything that's hot or trending right now, only make it better."

Tom P is important because he is more than a rapper, he is a man of the people, that the average person actually wants to see succeed. He is an; artist, entrepreneur, and hard worker with a story to tell unlike anything hip hop has heard yet. After three well-recived albums and hundreds of shows, Tom is ready to take his career to the next level and spread his music to the World. If Tom was able to do accomplish what he has off talent and drive alone, then with the proper tools and resources at his disposal; the possibilities are endless. 

It is undeniable that Tom P was born to be a star