Local underground lyricist infuses music with emotion

For Terry Rabb, music means everything.

Rabb, 19, was born into the music world, with his dad heavily involved in the industry. When his father's career took a new direction, Rabb decided to pick up the hobby and make it his craft.

Today, Rabb, who graduated from Cheyenne High School, is a Las Vegas underground lyricist and producer.

"I love music because I think it is the best form of expression, one of the most powerful things we have on this Earth," said Rabb, commonly known by his music name of T.R@bb.

T.R@bb is immersed in the local underground movement through an organization called Killoff Entertainment, which includes photographers, rappers, videographers and producers who come together to work toward moving to the forefront of the Las Vegas music scene. T.R@bb said he's greatly inspired by Trade Voorhees and the rest of the Killoff family, along with his own family.

Christian Astroga, a blogger, designer and photographer who has worked on some projects for Killoff Entertainment, said T.R@bb stands apart from other musicians.

"His music is very different because he generates his own style by using a variety of different styles," Astroga said. "He is also a producer, which makes him unique by the way he blends his clever lyrics with his own beats."

One of T.R@bb's past projects was a mixtape called "The Difference." Bloggers asked him when he was going to put out new music, so he decided he would release "The Difference" on his birthday on April 27. He released another mixtape called "The Difference 2" on Halloween.

"I was ecstatic over the lyricism and the way he put so much time and effort into the mixtape," said Justin Griffin, a representative with MathAddicts Clothing and a T.R@bb supporter. "Overall, he created a dope masterpiece and his diversity showed throughout the entire tape."

Tajaya Stevenson, who is also a fan of T.R@bb's music, said, "When I first listened, I thought, 'Wow, this is coming from a local Vegas musician.' The energy that he used and his expression of words were rather intriguing."

He is now working on another project with local rapper and artist Clark Kent. They won't reveal much, but both artists say to expect the unexpected, which has created a sense of mystery among their fans.

In this mixtape, they said they are trying to create a new style of music that they have yet to produce. They also said they want to try to better the community through their music.

Regardless of his musical style or artistic goals, T.R@bb is likely to find success, said his colleague, Clark Kent.

"R@bb's work efforts are very precise," Clark Kent said. "If you listen to his music you can hear how much he pays attention to every little detail. He's a master of his craft and will make a permanent stamp on this world no matter how hard he has to work to do it."

The underground-music movement in Las Vegas isn't well-known, but fans can get informed about the scene through the Internet and blogs. T.R@bb said local music would gain a big boost if artists and fans helped each other more.

"I think that each rapper has so many supporters that don't really listen to other local artists," he said. "In the (San Francisco) Bay Area, everyone works together. Here, artists try to be biased and work more individually. If everyone was supporting each other and the music, we'd be famous."

Not all artists make it to the mainstream, but T.R@bb plans to get to a platform where he can have as many people listen to his music as possible. He also said he would rather not have a record deal because he appreciates the underground scene more and has grown up around it.

"I am a real musician," he said. "I feel that I speak through emotion and generally make music to make people feel good."