You may have recently heard about rapper Teriq Royal. He’s the Compton rap artist who, after getting wounded last week in the crossfire of a drive-by, immediately posted a selfie video to Facebook showing he’d been shot.
What you may not already know about Teriq is that he is an accomplished, talented rap artist in his own right. And his public persona of tough Compton rapper works in harmony with his off-stage personality, which is articulate and well-spoken.
Sharing a Jan. 15 (1997) birthday with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Teriq Omar Bradley is named after his uncle, former Compton mayor Omar Bradley. Teriq started writing and 
performing poetry in the 5th grade, and switched to rap in middle school. He accomplished his first recording in 9th grade.
His songs are an interesting mix of youthful enthusiasm and hardcore life. While his 18-year-old’s voice has a tinge of the grime of an older rapper, one of his greatest gifts is in his lyrics. He spits fast and hard, and if you can keep up, you’ll be amazed by the thought behind his words. “Long Time Comin” is a good example of this. His track “#Westside” stands up with the best in the business, and really showcases Teriq’s talent perfectly. “Hustle” is another perfect mix of Teriq’s poetry and lyrical background tracks. “Cool Young Sire” is a great track, with a quirky track and mind-bending verbal wordplay. “Diamond” is another good listen, and features MnR.
My personal favorite is “Dumbo Freestyle.” This track, produced by DJ Tee, is funny, smart, well-written, and has a fresh new feel and sound that Teriq fans should hear more of.
Teriq graduated high school recently, and is a prospective TDE artist. He’s already worked with Kendrick 
Lamar and has shared his music with the presidents of Top Dawg Entertainment. Teriq’s nickname is “Soul Bro 3” in honor of Ab-Soul and Pete Rock. He worked for Stevie Wonder’s ‘Hitting The Right Note’ program along side Megan Good and many others who work in the industry.
So what’s next for Teriq? Definitely more music…and even though he’s been left with bullet fragments still in his head that can’t be removed safely, he understands how lucky he is to be alive.
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