When Tielo Lanez released Greedy, the song quickly found a home on social media, introducing the emerging dancehall artiste to a growing audience and earning him early recognition in the genre. Now, almost two years after making his debut on the musical landscape with TikTok trending songs Muk Truck and Bless, dancehall artiste Tielo Lanez has released his debut EP titled The Rebellion.

According to the 21-year-old, The Rebellion represents his musical direction.

“The EP is called The Rebellion because it’s a representation of what I need to become to achieve what I want,” Tielo Lanez told the Jamaica Observer recently.

“I somewhat write as if I’m creating an album each time I create a record,” he explained. “I believe it was only a matter of time before I dropped a project. I don’t think I was getting the singles out fast enough, and so this is a way to get all the songs out without it becoming overwhelming.”

The EP features StairDiWay produced Undecided, and the DJ Mac-assisted Blow and Code Up by Extended Play Records.

The track Shootah Dem (remix) features Kkrytical, while Worship is a collaboration with Ayetian.

Other producers who contributed their talent include MXSSIVH, Alva Music, Kutti Music, Temple Boss, Slyngerz Music, Prod 14, and Doneknowkello.

The project took two months to complete.

The artiste noted that he wrote every song himself and remained fully involved throughout the production.

“The song on this project I believe will surprise people the most is Bad Bunch. It’s my newest sound, created on accident. The instrumental is also a skeleton, which is something very new to me as well.”

The project’s emotional centre, however, is the title track, Rebellion, which the artiste recommends listeners hear first.

“Rebellion is about finding yourself, being yourself and living your truth,” he said, explaining that the song carries a message of honesty and self-discovery that he believes many people will relate to.

Originally from St Thomas, Tielo Lanez (real name Jevaughn Smith) attended Morant Bay High School and later Signal Hill Secondary in the parish.

He shared that music has been his calling since his high school days.

“I’ve been doing music professionally for less than two years and the journey has been challenging. However, the lesson learnt along the journey is to be yourself and to live your truth,” he disclosed.

Putting the EP together also gave the entertainer a clearer understanding of his own creative instincts.

“A lesson that stood out to me while putting this EP together is I’m a jack of all trades when it comes to creating different types of music.”

The artiste experiments with multiple sounds on the project, hoping to better understand both himself as an artiste and the audience discovering his music.

“What I want the audience to understand about Tielo Lanez is that he is more than capable of dominating different styles of music and is ready to make a name for himself,” he said, outlining that his willingness to experiment became one of the defining characteristics of the project.

Rather than chasing trends, Tielo believes the project’s greatest strength lies in its authenticity.

“This project distinguishes itself and me with its sound and energy behind each record. No trends were followed — just music for the soul and pure creativity,” said the artiste.

As he braces himself for fan reactions to the project, the entertainer also sets his sights on finding that one breakthrough record he hopes will elevate his career to the next level.

Tielo Lanez made his debut in the United Kingdom in May, when he performed before at City Splash, which reportedly saw more than 20,000 patrons in attendance. Also sharing that bill were Beres Hammond, Aidonia, and Elephant Man.