This month, Téo Rodriguez ‘24 released his debut album, “For Those Who Waited,” on all streaming platforms.
Rodriguez’s album is a response to his audience’s requests for a proper album and uses songs he has written over the last three years in addition to new material.
“I just decided that now that I have a good selection of songs, and I’m also in the process of making new ones, that I should put them all together as best as I could [to] make an album out of it,” Rodriguez said. “You’ll hear me reference throughout the album [how] people have asked me … for an album, for new music and extra things like that.”
Rodriguez collaborated with a variety of artists and friends to create his work, including his producer, Shane Alston.
“Honestly, it didn’t feel like work at all,” Alston said. “I personally love it, just seeing him grow from his past bodies of work and all of the development, time and effort.”
The goal of Rodriguez’s album is to tell a story and create music that is meaningful. He points to “NASCAR” and “Vulnerable (Interlude)” as the two songs that best describe this goal.
“I pride myself on making relatable music, timeless music, stuff that people can relate to and understand more so on a deeper level and contribute to a time in their life or something like that,” Rodriguez said.
Through his music, Rodriguez formed a community of artists and listeners. One such collaborator, William Shelton ‘23, discussed Rodriguez’s impact.
“The community at Lafayette of either racial or ethnic minorities, we don’t really get a lot of opportunities to celebrate things that are different,” Shelton said. “We don’t have a lot of opportunities to go to parties and hear hip hop music, especially live. And then he came up with this album that is completely written by him.”
Now, when Rodriguez performs, he creates a community where people can gather around their love for his music.
“[In high school] I didn’t think that people … were really listening and it was more like blind support, but now, not only do I feel that support, but I also feel like it’s intentional support and it’s people actually listening to the music and indulging in the music,” Rodriguez said.
Rodriguez looks forward to continuing to share his music with the community in the next few months. His band, Sold Out Six, will have a concert on Nov. 3 at Williams Center for the Arts that will feature some of the songs on his album. He also plans to release a deluxe version of “For Those Who Waited” in January.
“I would hope that people understand that I really care about my music and music in general,” Rodriguez said. “I also care about the people that are listening to me, like I talked about it a little bit at the end of ‘Three Time War Freestyle,’ I’m really big on giving thanks, and appreciate the people that not only have helped me but also listen to me.”
