Thomas Veli

Tommy Hoang Nguyen (born August 4, 1995), better known by his stage names Thomas Veli and Young Veli, is a 21 year old rapper, singer, YouTuber, and VZNR (visioner). Born in Seattle, Washington, the first-generation American of Vietnamese and Chinese descent. In 2009, Tommy started to become interested in hip-hop and rap through the influences of his peers in high school and began rapping by the age of 15. Not knowing much about hip-hop and rap culture, Tommy knew that if he wanted to pursue this as a career, he had to learn more about the culture and artistry. Tommy would spend his early school mornings watching MTV and BET music videos of mainstream artists like Chris Brown, T.I., T-Pain, Fabolous, and many more. Although hip-hop and rap seemed interesting, Tommy was not seeing much of his ethnicity within the culture. Soon he was introduced to YouTube artists Timothy Delaghetto, Pryde, and Lil Crazed, who were the Asian American artists of hip-hop and rap. From there, Tommy discovered rap legend Tupac through his cousin-in-law and became heavily influenced by his music.

During his high school years, Thomas Veli would write raps in his notebooks and iPod Touch, and record his music in his bedroom studio. Through the power of YouTube and the Internet, Thomas Veli taught himself how to use Cool Edit Pro 2.1 for music engineering and Sony Vegas Pro for video editing. From there, Thomas Veli went on from performing at his school talent show to opening for Brian Franada's Reign Takeover concert shows for artists like Lil Crazed, Jargon, and Lions Ambition. Thomas Veli felt that he had accomplished lots with music, however his parents did not enjoy him making rap music. Rap culture was notoriously known for profanity within the lyrics, so his parents would discourage him from making the music he is passionate about and often told him to quit. Regardless of the lack of support, Thomas Veli would keep on making music in his studio day and night. He knew that if he kept on believing in his art and creativity, he will go far with his music career. With much courage, dedication, and motivation, Thomas Veli has successfully grown since the start of his hip-hop/rap career.

Throughout his music career, Thomas Veli has collaborated with many local artists:
- EDM/Dubstep/Trap producer, Data.Bass
- Pop-Divo singer, John Royale
- Seattle rapper, JTL
- Federal Way rapper, Jonah Ray
- Dreams on 53rd rapper, Wes Mayo
- Auburn rapper/singer, BTee
- Seattle singer, Cathy Phan

In the current year of 2016, rapper/singer Thomas Veli has been experimenting with his new sounds of Pop, Trap Rap, and EDM/Dubstep. Thomas Veli's most recent performance was at Tet in Seattle in the Fisher Pavillion of Seattle Center, where he brought a new level of high energy performance with his orignals $EA4EVA, ILOVEU, and Can't Stop Us. Thomas Veli is currently working on a few under-developed music projects (release dates to be announced). One of the projects will be a collaborative compilation of Thomas Veli and other artists.

Aside from his music career, Thomas Veli has a YouTube channel with his fiancé Destiny where they share a glimpse of their journey they call "life" in vlog-style. You can watch them here: http://bit.ly/DestinyAndTommyVLOG

Thomas Veli's goals for his rap career is go on a tour across the United States and hopefully to other countries around the world. Not only that, but Thomas Veli hopes that his music is to be felt emotionally through the messages he speaks through his lyrics by those who truly listen.

Thomas Veli will continue to create new music and grow his brand as an artist. If you would like to book Thomas Veli for a show or interview, please e-mail thomasvelimgmt@gmail.com.