The story
A young Porter looked back over text message conversations he'd had with Tavarez before he was gunned down, and realized the encouragement and support his friend was showing in regard to his skills as a rapper.
Inspired to honor his fallen friend, Porter put his basketball aspirations on hold and started rapping full time, first self-releasing a few tracks online. It was his 2018 single "Tricky" that caught fire, leading to a contract with Def Jam before the young rapper was even out of high school. From there he released more singles, looking to New York legend 50 Cent for inspiration, hoping his tracks could re-create the powerful, ubiquitous energy of his rap hero's prime years. Porter's introspective and often melodic studio debut, Voice of the Trenches, arrived in June 2019, featuring just one guest slot by Chicago rapper Calboy on the song "Flooding the Streets."
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For TJ Porter
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About 2 minutes, then a quick review by the Hiffi team.
