Underground Rap's Nick Diaz: A Reflection with Tenkay

Tenkay is an artist who stays abundantly true to the Based movement’s loud personality. Since Soulja Boy turned MySpace into a playground, trolling has been one of its key motifs. Tenkay is undoubtedly a troll online, but regardless of how you sit with his irony-laced, controversial social media presence, he is a pivotal, often misunderstood figure in the SoundCloud jerk wave’s origin story and the modern based revival. Tenkay and his ex-collective 1C34’s 2022-23 run sits in a very specific and defining pocket of modern SoundCloud history. A wave built on bedroom freestyles, questionably out of pocket bars and old Instagram filter photos. It was refreshingly honest, self-made, and fast-moving, with 1C and being the key group to push the music and its expressive attitude forward into the future.

In this conversation, Tenkay clears up some of the misread narratives around his name. Reflecting on a changing underground and his misalignment with the current Sound Cloud realm. He speaks on a possibility of a life outside of Rap, discussing the pieces of his childhood which made for his passionate come up and potential departure.

Firstly I must ask, what does being based mean to you? 

Being yourself to the fullest extent and always trying to spread positivity to those around you.

We always ask rappers this, but what are your top 5 favourite rap mixtapes of all time?

Not in any particular order:

I’m Thraxx by Lil B

Mista Thug Isolation by Lil Ugly Mane

Almighty So by Chief Keef

Paid Programming 2 by Bones

When Devil’s Strike by SPM

Blackland Radio 6.66 is an honourable mention too.

You've spoke about Lil Ugly Mane in previous interviews. What draws you to his music and do you have a favourite song of his?

It’s a tough choice. Bust A Sag, U Aint From My Hood, Opposite Lanes. There are many, but On Doing An Evil Deed Blues is probably my favourite. That track is especially meaningful for me.

The way he flipped the Honeychain sample is unlike anything I’ve heard before. The whole song feels like a portrait of what it’s like to be an aspiring Hip-Hop artist who’s fully consumed by their craft: obsessive, dedicated, always chasing perfection and constantly comparing yourself to your idols. When Ugly Mane said, “spitting Raekwon bars in the mirror just to hear if it sounded the same,” that shit is so real because I literally do the same thing with his bars. I relate to this song a lot.

I used to write songs from night until late in the day, revising and editing everything until it felt right. I would have mental breakdowns when I couldn’t get things to sound the way I wanted and It’s kinda funny because every song I have dropped for past 3 years have been freestyles. I just started writing lyrics again like yesterday.

Between the obvious pioneers—Metro Zu, Ocean Gang, Lil B, Main Attrakionz, and all the foundational blog era guys—who do you think has the most influence that isn’t spoken about enough?

All of them are very influential on their own, but I’d have to say Lil B, just because he’s really the godfather of a lot of this internet music shit we’re seeing right now. Countless rappers have copied his formula. It’s to the point where you can pretty much steal Lil B’s flow and swag, but nobody will even be mad at it for real because his impact is undeniable, whether you like him or not.

He’s been getting more recognition over the last couple years from TikTok, but I still feel like people don’t truly understand how important that nigga is to hip-hop. On top of that, he is one of the best lyricists of all time. I put that on everything. Listen to The Bible, The World Is Ending, or Death of Rap and try to tell me otherwise. You literally can’t.

What’s your best memory from making music so far?

Probably the April 2024 1c show that took place in Los Angeles. That was the first time I had been with most of the members in real life. We stayed in a clean-ass BnB, I brought my Xbox, and we had mad alcohol. It was one of the best shows I’ve ever performed at. We had a crowd of 900+ people losing their shit. It felt like, from there, 1c, with all of its original members, was seeing the success we deserved and that it would only go up from there.

I’m not saying 1c isn’t succeeding now, but I’m referring to before the exclusion of certain members, including myself. It seems fucked how things played out, but it was really a blessing, although it was a strange time period when I left.

Not being in a collective gave me time to reflect on how I can elevate my craft as a solo artist and break away from the juvenile and unrefined sound that I was stuck on for a while. I already felt as if I was outgrowing that style while I was in 1c, which in itself almost made me leave prior to the situations that led me to depart from the collective entirely. Everyone is cool now, though. We have resolved and set aside whatever happened. That shit is water under the bridge. Xav and I have been cooking together as of recently.

Xaviersobased & Tenkay in a recent studio session.

With hindsight, what’s it like looking back on that 2023 era? You and 1C pioneered an entire SoundCloud movement.

At that time, I was struggling bad. I had gotten kicked out of my mom’s place and couldn’t make music for a couple of months. Once I finally got my computer back, along with the rest of my stuff, I went crazy. I was dropping consistently, and damn near every song was pulling 2K likes within the first month.

2023 was the year I had my first show in NYC with Xav, BrodieBased, Mari (Bleood), Acid Souljah, Xhris2eazy, Zayguapkid, and others. I had no money at the time, so I was wearing the most bummy fit imaginable, and honestly I felt out of place. It still became one of the most meaningful experiences of my career. That show helped push not only my career forward but others too. More importantly, it brought me closer to my friends and the other members of 1C, people I had mostly only known through social media and Discord. The run we were on had people calling us the new Odd Future, lol. A lot of the based revival and carefree swag that so many artists try to replicate today can be traced back to 1C, both former and present members.

You and Mag work well together. Can you talk about your relationship working with Mag and the rest of the Study Group guys?

I found Mag back in 2021 or 2022 because one of his instrumentals queued after a song I was listening to. I was like, “What the fuck?” I remember it being very melodic and it wasn’t overly upbeat. I liked it, so I hit him up to work and that’s that, to be honest. We’ve been cooking ever since. Him and Cranes are my main producers.

Their beats helped shape what my sound is today. I don’t think I would approach using autotune the way I do if it wasn’t for their production.

If your pen was a UFC fighter who would it be and why?

100% Nick Diaz. He is my favourite fighter of all time. I’ve had a poster of him in my room since I was 16. Prime Nick Diaz stood out to me because of his resilience and his ability to stay unfazed no matter who he was fighting. That mentality is something I try to apply to real life. Beyond his skills, I relate to him on a personal level to an extent. I was raised by a single mother who struggled at times, and I went through experiences that left me dealing with a lot of anger and rebellion as a kid, and all throughout my adolescence. I had a very bleak outlook on life. It affected my mindset deeply.

Over time, I’ve reflected on that and channeled it into my music. I think my approach and energy as a rapper has the same kind of grit and authenticity Nick Diaz showed in his prime. Fans either loved or hated Nick Diaz because of how much he didn’t give a fuck. That’s how I feel right now.

Do you feel like you’re misunderstood at all?

I have always felt very misunderstood, but especially now in my career, that feeling is at an all-time high. People think that I’ve undergone a radicalisation down the alt-right pipe line, which couldn’t be further from the truth. I don’t align with either side of the political spectrum. I wouldn’t even call myself a centrist. I don’t think mainstream politics are helpful to our society, and I think it’s mostly rooted in preventing people from reaching a unified collective consciousness (Christ Consciousness). When a population is divided, they are susceptible to being conquered and manipulated into submission, which already happened to us centuries ago.

I will say though I am a bit of a unserious troll, and real fans know I always have been. One example was when I went on my story saying something like, “Nick Fuentes is on a generational run.” I was joking though. My friends in real life and online be saying the craziest things, and some of y’all’s favourite rappers that you hold in such high regard be doing the exact same when around me. It’s not that deep bro. I don’t understand why everyone’s so tense and high-strung. But then again, it is my fault. I should have kept my playfulness off the internet because these niggas be pussy. I obviously would never support Nick Fuentes or his beliefs in any way. Look at my skin, bro! I am a Black and Mexican man. Why would I support a white supremacist who wants to see my people lynched? I know there are minorities who be moving like that, but I ain’t one of them. I will take responsibility and say that I shouldn’t have trolled like that, but I’m not sorry for anything. People make up blatant falsehoods revolving around my name, such as me being transphobic or some stupid shit like that, when in actuality none of that is true and there is 0 evidence to back that up, so I’m not even about to dignify that by expanding further. A simple conversation with me would change people’s minds about me. The point is, you niggas do not know me personally, and if you don’t want to, that’s perfectly fine, but get off my dick.

Can you speak on what you’ve got coming? Any releases or stuff we can get an early insight on?

I’m dropping Shine Back 2 soon. I’m definitely trying to push out more music videos and content. I should’ve capitalised on that a while ago, but I hate being on camera.

What’s your favourite bar you wrote at the moment? 

“You not good with confrontation but bitch I am, aint shit sliding

For me to give up my respect, my spirit must be sent flying”

What’s the future hold for Tenkay?

I can’t say for certain. Lately I’ve been feeling a growing desire to pursue something outside of music. The current state of the underground scene, combined with feelings of inadequacy, has made me question whether this is still what I want to do long term. I just don’t have the same drive or passion for creating music that I once had. I’m also naturally introverted, and I struggle with many of the social expectations that come with being an artist. I don’t enjoy being on camera, I don’t like meeting new people unless we already have some kind of established connection, and I have no interest in putting on a fake persona for the internet.

A lot of what seems necessary to grow as an artist today feels unnatural to me. The income from rap has been a blessing, and I’m grateful for it, but part of me is considering a completely different path, maybe something hands-on and practical like welding. I still train MMA so I could possibly make something shake with that, I don’t know. Right now I’m not entirely sure what comes next for me, but I know I’ve been seriously thinking about exploring other options.

It feels similar to what happened with drawing and painting when I was a child. I was deeply passionate about art and was decent at it. If I had stuck with it over the years, I probably could have been like my dad and become a tattoo artist, but as I got older I gradually became disengaged and eventually stopped creating altogether. It’s been years since I have drawn a picture. I remember constantly comparing myself to people who seemed way more talented than I was, and that discouragement, along with difficulties at home and at school, slowly drained my creativity and motivation. So that is lowkey how I’ve been feeling about music lately. The passion that once came naturally doesn’t feel as strong as it used to, and I find myself questioning whether I still have the same drive to pursue it.