About Theophilus Martins

Theophilus Martins Jr., better known by his stage name Theo Martins is an American musician from Providence, Rhode Island. Martins, also known for his personal style, was described by MTV as "[a man that] marches to the beat of his own drum". He first came to attention after releasing his debut mixtape, The Birth. Martins then released 2010 EP, You Can't Do That on Television and received major attention from press including AOL, GQ Magazine and The Washington Post. Martins made an early career as a child actor landing a role in Steven Spielberg's Academy Award nominated film, Amistad. Martins plans to release his debut album, Wonderland, in September 2012. Theo Martins was born in Providence, Rhode Island. His father and mother are from Nigerian descent. He was raised in a middle-class household, attending Veazie St. School, Esek Hopkins Middle School, and Mt. Pleasant High School before studying at the University of Rhode Island, graduating with a degree in Communications and Music Composition. Theo was brought up in a musical household, his father was a trumpet player & Disc Jockey and his mother sang in the church choir. Martins and his elder sister would be brought to various casting calls, many of which Martins would avoid as he was extremely shy. During his freshmen year of High School Martins purchased his first set of turntables. Through this purchase he later gained local fame traveling as a tour DJ for Chris Brown, Rakim, Lloyd Banks, Cassidy and others]. After small success as a DJ, Martins wanted to pursue his career as a rapper and solo artist. Partnering with Okayplayer, website co-founded by Amir "Questlove" Thompson, Martins presented his debut mixtape, The Birth to notable acclaim. In 2009 Theo toured with West-Coast Hip-Hop legend Warren G, along with U-N-I and Kidz in The Hall for G's "G-Files" tour, spawning 22 dates nation-wide. In Spring of 2010 Martins collaborated with Ohio-producer $port for the release of their collaborative EP, You Can't Do That on Television, which landed Theo Prefix Magazine's, "Artist To Watch" and AOL's, "Need To Know" artist. Collectively, the duo are known as Chris Connery, $port paying homage to Chris "DJ Premier" Martin and Theo paying homage to Sean Connery. Theo followed up with mixtape, Sincerely Yours, The Dance Floor, drawing inspiration from more eclectic instrumentation. The mixtape drew press from Hip-Hop mega-site Rap Radar, Complex Magazine and MTV. Martins was invited to perform alongside Lloyd Banks at his "Hunger For More 2" album release at New York City's Best Buy Theatre. In the summer of 2011 Martins traveled to Asia to support Malaysian artist Mizz Nina on her International leg of her Homecoming Tour. The two would go on to perform their collaborative effort, "Let Me C U Get It" together in Kota Kinabalu. Following his return to the United States, Martins' recorded "Take off Your Cool" (a remake of Andre 3000's original take) as part of New York City's lifestyle website, Street Etiquette's Sartorial Sounds: Style and Music Editorial. Recently relocating to Los Angeles, California Theo revealed he would be working on his debut album.