Tommy Nguyen, better known by his stage name Thomas Veli, is a rapper/singer, songwriter, and producer. Born in Seattle, Washington, the first-generation American of Vietnamese and Chinese descent. In 2006, Nguyen started to become interested in hip-hop and rap through the influences of his friends from school and began rapping by the age of 15. Not knowing much about hip-hop and rap culture, Nguyen knew that if he wanted to pursue this as a career, he had to learn more about the culture and artistry. Nguyen would spend his early school mornings watching MTV and BET music videos of mainstream artists like Chris Brown, T.I., T-Pain, Fabolous, and many more. Although hip-hop and rap seemed interesting, Nguyen was not seeing much of his ethnicity within the culture. Soon he was introduced to YouTube artists Timothy Delaghetto, RUSSELL!, and Dumbfoundead, who were the Asian American artists of hip-hop and rap. From there, Nguyen discovered rap legend Tupac through his cousin-in-law and became heavily influenced by his music.

 

Early on in his music career, Nguyen would write raps in his notebooks and iPod Touch, and record music in his home studio using a RockBand microphone and a free recording software. Admitting that he was not a very good music artist at first, Nguyen continued to make music because it was fun and expressive. In the summer of 2010, Nguyen saved up money to buy his first studio condenser microphone on eBay for no more than $50. Through the power of YouTube and the Internet, Nguyen taught himself how to use Cool Edit Pro 2.0 for music recording and Sony Vegas Pro for video editing. From there, Nguyen went on from performing at his school talent shows to opening for artists like Jargon Dyonisis, Lil Crazed, G2 (Korean rapper), and Lions Ambition. Nguyen felt that he had accomplished lots with music, however his parents did not enjoy him making rap songs. Rap culture was notoriously known for profanity within song lyrics, so his parents would discourage him from making the music he was passionate about and often told him to quit. Regardless of the lack of support, Nguyen would keep on making music in his studio day and night. He knew that if he kept on believing in his art and creativity, he will go far with his music career. With much courage, dedication, and motivation, Nguyen has successfully grown and matured since the start of his hip-hop/rap career.

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Nguyen is the Founder and CEO of VZNRS Studio, a production company that specializes in photography and video services. Nguyen is also a YouTube vlogger documenting his personal life ventures.

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Want to know more about Thomas Veli?

Please send an e-mail to thomasvelimgmt@gmail.com

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