Meet Tentilldeath aka Rojelio Capone | Music Artist, Content Creator, and Future Human Service Worker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tentilldeath aka Rojelio Capone and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tentilldeath aka, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
People and the tribulations of life. Without the people I have met or the people who have made the art that I have consumed, I would not have the experience to create or construct ideas for my projects. Listening to music from different artists, viewing art and graphics, and other people’s works have greatly contributed to what I do. I’m very proud of the people I have met and the opinions and thoughts that they have provided me. There have been times where I have taken advice and implemented it from people that I normally would not have agreed with initially. In a way, all of these different ideas that I have absorbed from others, has become a part of my music, content creation, etc…or I guess you could say that a lot of my own creations contain others in them! Others as in other people’s works, ideas, or opinions! I may have initiated ideas from others into creating my own work, but it was others who existed at this point in time that allowed for me to flourish as a creator.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m independent creative, Tentilldeath, formerly known as chicano hip-hop artist, Rojelio Capone. Between the time of 2015-2017, I got deep into 90s and late 80s hip-hop, which would lay the groundwork for the creative I have become today. Listening to artists like Ice Cube, Nas, Tupac, Cypress Hill, and Murs during these earlier years, would motivate me to start my journey by making hip-hop music in 2018. Between 2018-2022, I started my own independent label, played a strong role in the independent hip-hop scene, and became a figure in chicano hip-hop. After 2022, I left hip-hop as a whole, and by 2023, I rebranded myself as the alternative creator, TenTillDeath. This is a short non detailed tale of events; however, the actual journey the last few years has been a journey of many trials.

One general consensus about being a hip-hop artist is that “anyone can become famous.” The fact of the matter is that not everyone can become famous, and people do indeed tend to find interest in catchy music, and characters that are played by artists. In my early years of music creation, I met truly talented individuals that could rap circles around many mainstream names; however, just because your poetry skills are strong does not mean you are going to become famous. There are tons of “lyrical miracle” style rappers on the underground with the same flows, rhyme schemes, and stories being told. In a market of oversaturation, how are you going to stand out? It didn’t matter how many punchlines, insane flows, or bars I could come up with, lyrical talent was not what helped me gain any sort of popularity. So that was one of the hardest realities about becoming a music artist. Just because you can outrap somebody who is a mainstream artist on the radio does not mean you will gain success. There’s a lot more than that! Building yourself a brand, marketing, and exposure really do help in getting your music heard or art seen!

Another hard lesson I learned about making music is similar to the previous comment I just made. I found many, and I mean many underground artists that I worked with ending up quitting music for good and never returning because they felt hopeless. As a smaller artist, you do want people to listen to your music, and pushing out a lot of music while gaining little to no fanbase can make anyone feel demoralized. The harshest reality that tests many independent artists is the question of if they’re creating music because they genuinely enjoy it, or because they seek fame. I believe many independent artists fall in the fame category, and give up as they feel like failures for not going viral. I realized that I genuinely love music and don’t care about virality. The struggle as a independent artist is real as you have no management team or label to back you up with resources. I have had music do micro blow-ups, but at the end of the day, my passion for music overrides the concept of fame. About a year ago, I watched a Youtube video where they showed the harsh reality of independent artists. Many dream seekers they covered in that video ended up quitting music altogether as they thought fame was just an easy road.

When I switched brands and reinvented myself as Tentilldeath from my former brand Rojelio Capone, I did see a lot more success than I previously had before. People on both of my tiktok accounts ended up enjoying this TenTillDeath character they saw on their phone screens and many even started enjoying the music I was putting out as well. Not many independent artists or creatives are willing to do a rebrand, and for me, it actually helped to reignite my passion for music!

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
I would take them to Game Terminal in Nashville, Tennessee to start us off! Game Terminal is a barcade (an arcade that’s a bar) that featured arcade systems from the 80s, 90s, 2000s, and even has karaoke with a bar! From the times I have gone there, the crowds tend to really get into the karaoke with the people participating! After Game Terminal, I would take them to Chattanooga, Tennessee to go explore the urban culture and art of Downtown Chattanooga near the aquarium area. Downtown Chattanooga is filled with vivid paintings on buildings, unique statues, and is full of life of all different types of cultures and diverse businesses! It also features a wooden walking bridge that goes over the Tennessee River that has a very nostalgic feel when one walks on it. Chattanooga also features many community events, a murder mystery themed dinner, outdoor yoga, and a plethora of odd finds here and there. As for food, I would personally choose Cleveland, Tennessee for it’s small mom and pop style southern cooking places. In fact, Cleveland has a small family restaurant that follows a dress code for its visitors. It’s a unique concept and a truly different eating experience. Other than Cleveland and the above mentioned places, I think most people would like to visit Pigeon Forge! Pigeon Forge is basically if Disney Land was a city in Tennessee!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d like to thank Nas, aka Nasir Jones for his contributions to hip-hop. Nas greatly inspired my getting into audio creation. Secondly, I’d like to thank one of my close friends, Luis Sanchez, for providing me ideas and opinions in my creative efforts over the last several years. Lastly, I’d like to thank Gerard Way of My Chemical Romance. Gerard’s music actually helped me through an extremely rough time from late 2022 to early 2023. It was his music that actually helped re-spark my creative juices in a time where I had hit a road block.

Website: https://musictomurderwithrecords.godaddysites.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thevampireweirdo/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCyeHHqfn_fx77Djw9ef2BVw

Other: Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@tentilldeath

Image Credits
I have permission as they’re my own photos!