By Esther Sanchez
Chris Thomas, AKA Tiptoe Stallone is a guy who wears a lot of hats. An Indio native, Thomas is a hip hop artist, event promoter, father, community leader and youth mentor. His calm demeanor, quiet confidence, inclusive attitude and unifying spirit have earned him respect from not only the children he works with, but from many of his peers in the desert’s music scene.
Rapping since childhood, Tiptoe Stallone has deep roots in the blossoming Coachella Valley hip hop scene. Thomas: “I started writing poetry and rapping when I was about 9 years old. The very first time I ever performed for an audience was a talent show at Jefferson Middle School when I was in 7th grade. This dude named Kevin Carey was playing drums and we really didn’t plan it but I ended up freestyling while he played for about 15 minutes. I started recording music somewhere around 1999 or 2000. There weren’t really any venues out here at the time that were interested in hip hop performers so we would perform at block-parties or wherever we could. Slowly, that has been changing.”
Thomas has been signed to the Rick Ross Music Group. Started in 2014, the indie-label that distributes through Universal is owned by notorious, former drug kingpin turned community organizer and humanitarian, Freeway Rick Ross. Ross originally found infamy in the early 80s through his involvement in distributing massive amounts of Cocaine that was supplied to fund Contra rallies against Sandinista rulers in Nicaragua. Now a sought after lecturer, Ross is using his notoriety to hold events and build programs in at-risk communities. Tiptoe Stallone, whose music is being featured in a new documentary series about Ross, “Freeway: Crack in the System” has had the opportunity to perform out of state at community outreach events with Ross, who Thomas describes as “a very cool and humble dude.” No stranger to working with disadvantaged youth, Stallone is thrilled to have been given the opportunity to serve others combined with the opportunity to perform his music and hopes to be able to continue touring with the music group this summer throughout the Pacific Northwest and possibly Hawaii.
Always looking for ways to promote unity, Thomas is a part of “760 CV Movement” which is a loosely affiliated group of artists who aim to provide promotion, mentorship and community for musicians from any genre with the ultimate goal of building support and unity amongst artists.
Thomas: “Whenever a member of ‘760 CV’ has a show or a new video dropping or whatever, we try to embrace everyone’s art and activities with equal support and promotion. As part of the movement I have been hosting hip hop friendly events about once a month. We are preparing for our 3rd DJ and rap battle event on Sunday, May 31st at Buffalo Wild Wings in Palm Desert. The line-up for the rap battle includes local MCs, Ray Ray vs. Nons3ns3 da Menace and Mr. Game 7 vs. Young Juseboxx. The DJs battling this time around are Ax vs. John Paul. This is a free, all-ages event that is open to the community. We welcome everyone to come out and see what is happening with the movement.”
Tiptoe Stallone is dropping a new album, Everyone Hates Chris that is currently in limited release with an official release date and event set for the end of the summer.
Tiptoe Stallone will be performing along with PharmTecs, Chylite, Twin Eagles and others at ‘Mic Anthologies’ this Thursday, May 28th at Plan B in Thousand Palms. You can also catch him on June 5th at The Hood opening for J. Patron.
reverbnation.com/TiptoeStallone
