Latino rapper Tommy Gunz, crowned Rookie of the Year by the All Facts! Podcast, rises from Pixley streets repping hard, raw, and staying real. With Mic Check taking over the internet, a record produced by platinum producer DJ FLIPPP is just the beginning for Tommy Gunz.
When you think of rising rap stars, Pixley, California, probably isn’t the first place that comes to mind. But 21-year-old Tommy Gunz is out to change that. With no stoplights, no McDonald’s, and barely any sidewalks, Pixley might be small, but thanks to Tommy, it's getting louder every day.
With his mother being African American and his father Mexican, his upbringing was different; he didn’t grow up around studios or industry connections. He grew up playing sports, smoking bud in eighth grade, and figuring out life with little more than loyalty and hustle. “We didn’t have a hospital, we didn’t have a high school,” he says. “But I still love that sh*t.” The pride he carries for Pixley is deep from his hood to LA County, he’s repping 16th Letter Management, named for the letter P in the alphabet.
It started slowly, one video here, one freestyle there. But after dropping his first track We Don’t Play, Tommy was shot just two days later. Most would take that as a sign to fall back. Tommy? He doubled down. With a daughter to raise and a story to tell, he began using music to express everything: the streets, the pain, the brotherhood, and the grind. “You’ll never hear me rap about a chain or a whip I just bought,” he says. “I rap about gang banging and struggling. That’s it.”
Now signed to Sony Records, Tommy is everywhere literally. From Rolling 40s hood day in LA to interviews across the city, he's working nonstop. But no matter where he goes, Pixley comes with him. “I always find a way to bring it up. I’ve shed light on Pixley. That’s what I did for my town.” He’s proud to say the name on camera, to drop it in bars, and to be the reason people know it exists.
Tommy Gunz is more than a rapper; he’s proof that being yourself pays off. No gimmicks, no industry faking. Just a young father, with a past full of hard lessons, and a future that looks like everything he never had. And if you didn’t know where Pixley was before, you do now.
Photoshoot by Miguel Amezcua aka PRIME
