Becoming
PEACHCURLS Hip Hop and R&B done only as Cleveland can. Dave Sebille
P
eachcurls, born TJ Maclin, never had a choice whether or not he was going to be the artist he is today. That person always lived inside him, but finding the true creative inside often sends people on a wild and twisted journey. This is Maclin’s.
Maclin’s father owned and operated a small label in Cleveland called Red Eye Records. This was the time of No Limit and Cash Money, so independent record labels saw a chance to really change things. Red Eye didn’t see the heights of success other small labels achieved, but it directly influenced a young Maclin to learn how to rap and hang with the big boys. “I thought rapping was for adults, until I heard that first Lil’ Bow Wow album. I was like ‘shit, I’m gonna be a thugged out Lil’ Bow Wow,’” Maclin laughs. The growth didn’t end there. After forming a rap group with friends and recording a few songs, Maclin was pulled in a different direction by his then girlfriend. “She was listening to Ratatat, Bon Iver, and Led Zeppelin,” Maclin says. “But when I heard and saw Jimi Hendrix, I was like, ‘Yo, that’s what I want to be.’”
Image courtesy of V'Avri Visuals
toured the country, played SXSW, and released several successful singles. Even while living in Chicago and enjoying success in the indie scene, Maclin kept honing his skills as a hip hop producer.
I had convinced everyone that the fake me was the real me.
Upon moving back to Cleveland, Maclin started producing beats for Kip Stone, who he claims is, “one of the best rappers in Cleveland.” Despite a falling out years later, Maclin still respects the fact that, “through him I became a better rapper and a real producer.”
Maclin bought a guitar and watched YouTube videos of Jimi Hendrix, pausing them and mimicking the shape of his hands. “It’s hard because he has big hands but if it sounded right I’d be like, ‘Okay that’s how you do that,’” he explains.
In 2014, Thaddeus Anna Greene’s album Bleed was released and the band decided to move on soon after. At this point, Maclin found himself at the Cleveland Botanical Gardens at an event where kids planted bean sprouts. The kids gave their sprouts names and Maclin overheard one say “Peachcurls.” Maclin laughed and said “for real, I’m stealing that.” Peachcurls was born.
This newfound love of rock and roll led to the formation of Maclin’s band Thaddeus Anna Greene. The band signed to ReverbNation,
In 2018, Peachcurls released his debut EP Missing Piece to little press and critical friends.
6 PRESSURELIFE | ISSUE 29
