After receiving a second chance at life this Canadian rapper is writing rhymes to give praise.

Teah is a Canadian Christian rapper that calls himself the 'East Coast Fresh IE.' He goes by the stage name One8Tea, because of what God has done in his life. 

"The name represents doing a u-turn in my life," says Teah. "We got creative with the name, One8Tea."

He was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia and now lives in Moncton, New Brunswick.

"Music was kind of one of those things that was going to happen. My grandmother sang in a quartet and my uncles are award-winning singers. The East Coast Music Association has an award named after one of my uncles, The Bucky Adams Award. Somehow over the years, I didn't figure out how to play an instrument and if you heard me vocally sing, we would never do that. I enjoyed writing poetry and became a rapper."

Past Addict

Teah shares that growing up he was raised by two families that were 'gelling' together before he started down a rough path.

"I made a lot of bad decisions. I ended up developing a hard cocaine addiction that was consuming me."

It was 2010, Teah was married and his wife asked him to seek out help for this addiction. 

"I tried to in my own strength and failed miserably, without turning to the Lord for His strength. I ended up heavily depressed."

During this time, Teah thought about ending it all, including his life. 

"It led me to enter the Teen Challenge program in Moncton. That's where God really got His hands on me. A lot of things were happening that were leading me to where I am now that I didn't see happening at the time. Now when I look back, it all makes good sense."

The day Teah graduated from ATC, the now-Director Matt had an album cover designed for him. 

"It's been straight ministry since, and here we are now."

One8Tea is on tour with Winnipeg Christian rapper Fresh IE. Last week they performed at five concerts on the east coast. 

Faith-filled Music

When it came to deciding what music he would release and write, it was a natural process for Teah to choose Christian rap.

"I believe any art should be reflective of you. For me, I believe in God. He saved my life literally and so because of that my art has to reflect what I believe. If I'm going to be honest with my art, then most of my life is influenced by Jesus."

One8Tea released a new album, Under the Hood on August 18, 2022. It includes his new single 'Say Amen.'

"It has been a hard couple of years and we've been praying hard. When God starts answering these prayers, you just say amen."

One8Tea will be performing in Winnipeg alongside his 'big brother' Fresh IE and other guest artists on September 25 at The Goodwill from 4-8 p.m. Tickets are $20 at the door. 

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