T-Speed & 5upamanHOE

When it comes to catching social music trends or keeping their eyes out for the next street dance craze, the rap duo of T-Speed & 5upaman are batting a thousand. Hailing from the Oak Cliff district of Dallas, Texas, the talented pair have released a dozen or so singles and videos that have earned them millions of social media fans and followers.
“Sleep,” their biggest hit to date (and growing), is receiving massive airplay at radio stations across the country; starting with hometown stations KKDA-FM and 97.9 the Beat in Dallas. With a video starring the duo slated for release in early 2017, the current #Official Dance Video has generated some 1.5 million views, while the YouTube audio version is nearly 10 million in views. From the dance clubs, to the strip clubs, to radio stations and the internet, “Sleep” is a phenomenon!
T-Speed & 5upaman, which signed to Dirty Water Music Group in November 2016, aren’t completely surprised by this success. The guys have been on their grind, making music together for nearly 5 years. They built their growing fan base and popularity off of their first single, titled, “We Gone Eat,” in 2012. Local radio and social media caught on, and the guys soon found themselves with another hit on their hands, titled, “Dat Rollie.” “Everything started happening so quickly,” T-Speed recalls. “People were asking, how much it cost to book us. It was then that we knew we were on to something. We couldn’t get too comfortable. Let’s do this now!”
T-Speed attributes their success to understanding trends and having their fingers on the pulse of the streets. 5upaman noticed that people were doing these popular dances and there were no official songs to them. “Some of these dancers had even larger followers than we did,” says T-Speed, “so 5upa suggested we create some songs so the dancers can promote their steps. It was ‘Dat Rollie,’ that set the foundation for ‘Sleep’.”
5upaman, also known as 5upamanHo, didn’t have it easy growing up. After pulling through numerous illnesses, he says he got the nickname from his Mom, who called him her little Supaman. He was a big fan of the neighboring Houston Hip-Hop scene, and rappers like Lil Flip, Chamillionaire, and the Swishahouse label. “I liked how they was free-styling…not writing stuff down. It’s an art on how to do that,” says 5upa. “That’s what made me want to rap today.”
T-Speed aka Ten Speed says his Mom was a singer and was friends with a gentleman who owned a label with access to a studio, where he could write and record. “I would listen to OutKast and Pretty Ricky, and to a lot of R&B coming up,” T-Speed says. “I used to listen to Tupac a lot, too. But I would just write, with pages of stuff and no real song structure. Eventually, I learned about the art of writing, and linked up with 5upa who at first was doing stuff on his own. We both had names out there, but decided we could take things to a whole other level if we came together.”
With their careers taking off at rapid speed, the guys continuously write and produce new music in order to stay ahead. They’ve already done more than a 100 shows around the country since the start of 2016, with more dates to come. For T-Speed & 5upaman, it’s about striking while the fire is hot. “We don’t have time for anything else,” says 5upaman. The priority is “about doing music and keeping our fans happy!”