TaioJr, a Samoan rapper from sunny San Diego who is using music to help unify his community. TaioJr is a rising talent who has been releasing music since 2021. He is about 7 albums deep and with each drop there has been nothing but banger after banger.
If you grew up on West Coast music and immersed yourself in the Hip-Hop, RnB, and Rap genres, you will have a great appreciation for Taiojr. With West Coast rap rising again with mainstream artists such as Blxst, Kalan.FrFr, LaRussell, Saweetie, Kenrdick Lamar taking up the charts, there haven’t been many rappers who have come out of San Diego, or “Daygo.”
TaioJr is one of the few but many artists who are from Daygo! In that, his newest project pays homage to the home of the Padres. His newest album is called “for i so loved MY CITY.”
Starting off with the album cover art, there are so many easter eggs that foreshadows the album. First off, you see a panoramic view of Petco Park stadium located in the heart of downtown San Diego, and in the outfield you can see the American Samoa flag paying homage to Taio’s cultural background. Lastly, if you look up and to the left on the jumbo tron there is a photo of Taio himself.
I love the subliminal messages an artist brings into their art. (Fun fact: TaioJr makes all of his album covers in the comfort of his phone).
The album was released a few months ago on February 27, 2025, and if you haven’t heard at least one song or have come across his music yet, let me be the one to put you on! (You heard it here first, this is why we do what we do).
Some of my personal favorites from the album are “main ATTRACTION” and “truly MATTERS.” If you take a look at the album you can notice almost all of the songs have a feature and have been collabed with, and only one song is a solo. Interesting? I know right.
“I would say “fire FIGHTER” featuring theholyrainbowclub. I think it has a lot of potential if it’s marketed the right way and if I can get that song in the right people’s ears I think it could be something very special and it’s already a special song – it’s the first female collaboration I’ve ever put out.” Taio responds when asked about his favorite track off the album.
One of the most important parts of this project was the collaboration! When we were chatting with Taio, you can tell he really loves his people, his city, and his music. There is a layer of humility and hard work that seeps through the music where it makes you immediately add to your playlists. This is such a special album because there are so many layers to it that makes it one of its kind in a saturated market.
“The album is the first of its kind in the history of my city because all the features are all local Polynesian/Samoan artists from San Diego County including two Oceanside artists (Boi and theholyrainbowclub).” Taio explains.
A project like this has not been done before coming out of the city of Daygo. Music truly unifies! Every era and area has their own demons and vices. In San Diego more specifically, a lot of drama and politics prevents most artists from working together and collaborating with one another.
“They (Polynesian artists) all supported me on it (“for i so loved MY CITY”) which is why it’s special to me.” Taio states.
The beauty in collaborating in this project comes from Taio’s ability to be diverse and adaptable. “Every artist’s own unique styles and hearing what makes them them on every track. Everyone has different styles. It was cool because I tried to tailor each song to them and they did better than I expected them to do, so, it was great.”
If this doesn’t open the flood gates for other artists to collaborate with Taio then I’m not sure what else I can say. I think it’s beautiful how an artist is able to have a project of this stature and be able to cater to so many different artists and their own sounds.
“And I think it’s important to make them comfortable. Not only does it challenge me to do something different or pull different tools, like different flows or cadences it just only makes the both of us better at the end of the day,” Taio on collaborating with the other artists.
With that being said, Taiojr’s advice for young artists is to create and release your albums!
“I feel like each project is a time piece and a time stamp for me. It’s kind of tricky nowadays because we live in such a fast world and people’s attention spans are so short and no one really wants to listen to projects. But I tell a lot of young artists – ‘like, bro, create these albums, they’re time pieces and they capture how you were feeling at that moment.’ One day, you’re just going to look back at it or anytime you hear a song on the album, you’re just going to remember a memory. Obviously something had to inspire you to make that song at that time.”
Mic Drop. Take notes. Write that down. Release the fear, and release the album.
If you haven’t done so already, I hope by now, I have influenced you to listen to Taiojr and his music, along with all the other Polynesian artists on his project.
