travis thompson

Travis Thompson Racks Up Some ‘Dead Prezis’ In A High-Speed ‘UPROXX Sessions’ Performance

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Straight from the Pacific Northwest, Travis Thompson drops in to rack up some “Dead Prezis” on the latest UPROXX Sessions. The Burien, Washington native’s latest is a high-speed, pedal-to-the-metal get-money anthem and in his live performance, he displays both an impressive degree of technical skill (check out that breath control) and a well-practiced nonchalance that makes it look all too easy.

When we last heard from Travis Thompson, he’d just released his 2019 album, Reckless Endangerment, but like many of our favorites, was forced to take 2020 off by the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic and resultant shutdowns. However, he returned with a vengeance this past summer, dropping a follow-up project titled Blvd Boy featuring appearances from G-Eazy (who appears on the album version of “Dead Prezis”), Kota The Friend, Kyle (on “Parked Cars”), and Westside Boogie (on “Bad Luck”).

From a suburb of Seattle to the UPROXX Sessions stage, Travis Thompson is gaining momentum by the minute. Now’s the time to get a ticket to the train, because there are few other rappers who are gaining steam as quickly.

UPROXX Sessions is Uproxx’s performance show featuring the hottest up-and-coming acts you should keep an eye on. Featuring creative direction from LA promotion collective, Ham On Everything, and taking place on our “bathroom” set designed and painted by Julian Gross, UPROXX Sessions is a showcase of some of our favorite performers, who just might soon be yours, too.

Lupe Fiasco’s ‘Kick, Push’ Prompts Belly, Lakeyah, And Other Young Rappers To Consider Skateboarding

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Back in 2006 when Chicago native Lupe Fiasco released the lead single “Kick, Push” from his debut album, Food And Liquor, there weren’t many high-profile Black skateboarders. In fact, Black kids who skated — especially in the hood — were subject to ridicule and outsider status for engaging in an activity that was long held as the domain of beach-blond surf rats in Venice Beach. But Lupe was part of a vanguard of Black artists who changed that, providing representation for those outsiders and throwing open the doors of possibility for generations after.

Many of Uproxx’s panel of React Like You Know artists are part of those younger generations. For instance, Almighty Suspect thinks it “helped a lot,” while Foushee calls the song “very important to build the foundation” for young, Black skaters. However, that doesn’t mean that it made skaters of the whole hood overnight. Our newest panel members, Belly and Lakeyah, both point out their very good reasons for refusing to try it out. Lakeyah says, “The closest I ever got was a hoverboard… I have no balance.” Meanwhile, Belly reminds us that “I’ve always been big-boned my whole life — I feel like that’s a bad combination.”

Things get deep when our panel is asked about choosing between love and their careers, inspired by Lupe’s second verse boy-meets-girl narrative. Newcomer Jazz Cartier points out that “you can have room for love, opposed to half-assing it.” Meanwhile, the fashions of the video captivate Travis Thompson and Godson; Travis says “Nike SBs were everything,” while Godson marvels at Lupe’s Bathing Ape hoodie.

Watch our panel of guest rappers react to Lupe Fiasco’s “Kick, Push” video above.

Some artists covered here are Warner Music artists. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.