Towkio

On June 26, 1993,^[1] Towkio was born Preston Oshita in Chicago, Illinois to a Mexican mother and a Japanese father.^[8] He has two older brothers.^[9] He attended Lane Tech College Prep High School.^[8]

In 2012, Towkio released a collaborative EP with producer Mojek, titled Community Service.^[8] In 2014, he released another EP, titled Hot Chips n Chop Stix, which was produced by A Billion Young.^[8]

In 2015, Towkio released a mixtape, titled .Wav Theory, which featured contributions from Chance the Rapper, Vic Mensa, Kaytranada, and Donnie Trumpet.^[10] It was included on year-end lists by publications such as Complex,^[11] Chicago Tribune,^[12] and RedEye.^[13] He was included on HipHopDX's "Top 8 Rising Stars of 2015" list.^[14] In 2016, Towkio was featured alongside Justin Bieber on Chance the Rapper's song, "Juke Jam", from his third mixtape, Coloring Book. That same year, he released an EP, titled Community Service 2.^[15]

In 2018, Towkio released his debut studio album, titled WWW., which included the previously released singles, namely "Drift", "Hot Shit", "Swim", "Symphony", and "2 Da Moon".^[16] It included guest appearances from Teddy Jackson, Grace Weber, SZA, Vic Mensa, and Njomza.^[17]

Towkio's musical style has been described by Chicago Tribune as "an adventurous mix of rap, '90s soul, jazz and generally weird, fuzzed-out beats."^[18] He cited Kanye West and Lil Wayne as his biggest influences.^[8]

In January 2019, Towkio was accused by a woman of sexual assault on Twitter.^[19] He denied the allegations, stating that they "were in an ongoing consensual sexual relationship dating back to 2014 which even included other women."^[19] He added, "It is my hope that her and I can engage in a dialogue in a place where she feels comfortable to discuss our past relationship and her feelings."^[19]