Teezo Touchdown Thanks ‘Future Artists, Future Execs’ Who ‘Can Potentially Change the World’ at 2024 Billboard R&B Hip-Hop Power Players

Teezo Touchdown accepted the Rookie of the Year award at Billboard‘s 2024 R&B/Hip-Hop Power Players event Thursday night (Sept. 5) at Times Square Edition in New York.

Senior R&B/Hip-Hop/Afrobeats writer Heran Mamo introduced the 31-year-old artist, describing him as someone who “embodies the emotional melodies of an R&B singer, the clever lyricism of a rapper and the instrumental intensity of a rockstar.” As his manager Amal Noor described in his Rookie of the Year feature, “Teezo is your favorite artist’s favorite artist. He respects these artists’ careers, and to know that they love him creatively is an amazing feeling.”

“Father God, I want to say thank you for my gift that has taken me from a small town in Beaumont, Texas, to corners of the world I couldn’t even imagine. I want to say thank you in a room full of people who I still study and admire to this day, just as I would right before I close my eyes at night and immediately after I open them in the morning,” he started his acceptance speech. “I want to say thank you to my team for tirelessly helping me scratch every single goal I have off my list and pushing me to write down more wilder than the last.”

“I want to say thank you in a room full of peers who understand that the satisfaction of seeing someone succeed is a feeling that will never get old, just as I would after a quick phone call or Zoom meeting. I want to say thank you to Billboard for this prestigious award, Rookie of the Year,” he continued. “I want to say thank you to every single veteran for being so kind and insightful for giving me a firsthand lesson of how to nurture and instill knowledge to the next person who’s coming in after you.

“Last but not least, I want to thank the future — future artists, future execs, the people who are on their way to change the world as we know it,” he concluded. “I want to say thank you in advance for the innovation you will bring to the art and your perspective that can potentially change the world. I want to say thank you in a room full of people rooting for you with open arms and are here if you ever need anything. Thank you.”

Teezo is Billboard‘s fourth R&B/Hip-Hop Rookie of the Year, following Baby Keem (2021), Blxst (2022) and Ice Spice (2023). He was also Billboard‘s R&B/Hip-Hop Rookie of the Month in November 2023.

Playboi Carti, Megan Thee Stallion, Joey Bada$$ and Victoria Monét‘s manager Rachelle Jean-Louis were also honored at R&B Hip-Hop Power Players.