The rising star TEHYA returns, opening a door into her new era with “the patriot”, a track she wrote alongside producer Cameron Hale (Khalid, Kiana Ledé). The song is a statement of identity and intent. On the surface, it sounds intimate, but underneath, it echoes something larger: a demand for accountability, respect, and recognition from the systems and people who have taken without acknowledging it.
About “the patriot” she says: “It began as a way for me to highlight Indigenous visibility, and it’s portion of my roots. however, as I kept writing during this wave of violence against immigrants, it became about something broader — a song about the false sense of ownership people have over land that was never theirs.”
TEHYA is part of the lengthy lineage of alt-pop artists at Neon Gold Records, the celebrated independent label that first put out Charli XCX, Tove Lo, MARINA, Christine and the Queens, and many more.
On her first EP, she graced the cover of NME Magazine alongside Lola Young, Teddy Swims, Laufey, Royel Otis, and Artemas. And she released the EP track “spoons for sweets” with an intimate music video and celebrated Native American Heritage Month with the release of “trap door”, which landed her on the cover of Spotify’s Fresh Finds playlist.
Growing up in the Pacific Northwest in the crosshairs of her ancestral cultures; Cherokee, Filipino and Scotch-Irish, Tehya was heavily influenced by music and took after her father, a local legend funk drummer, from a young age. After leaving home at 16, she found her community in Capitol Hill with some of the biggest names in the Seattle underground rap scene. It was here she picked up production via osmosis, sitting in on sessions and teaching herself Pro Tools and FL whenever a room was going spare. She is self-taught across the board – playing guitar, keys, drums, and writing 100% of her toplines and lyrics – a self-made DIY popstar unbound by genre and ready for the spotlight.
Expect more from TEHYA in the next few weeks, months, and year to come!
https://www.instagram.com/oktehya/
https://neon.gold/
https://futures.music/