Poverty | fr

Thomas Joseph Abate III (born August 20, 1983/1978(wikipedia), in Methuen, Massachusetts) is a hip-hop performing artist and actor from the New England area.

As a minor Thommy was dragged around the east coast sleeping in shelters with his drug addicted mother whom prostituted and sold drugs to support them. Eventually settling in Portland, Maine he quickly gained popularity among the disconnected youth and in 1999 began performing at local hip-hop clubs as Poverty and releasing promotional CDs. His album "Rise From Ruin" found its way to Columbia Records in Hollywood, California where Thommy signed on to be a songwriter.

While a ghostwriter Thommy continued to pursue his personal career in music and recorded a demo with hip-hop producer Tycoon (50 Cent, Mickey Avalon, Pussy Cat Dolls). Later he landed a national tour with Lyricist Lounge and opened performances for 50 Cent, KRS ONE, DMX, Nelly, and Fabulous. Eventually Thommy’s charismatic persona clearly translated on to the big screen with a significant role in the 2006 Film, "Waist Deep" (Tyrese Gibson, The Game, Megan Good).

In the wake of his mother's tragic sudden death Thommy returned to Maine. He found himself back on the streets bouncing between shelters and squatting in the basements of abandoned apartment buildings. This dark period unleashed some of the most prolific music of Thommy's young career. Reliving the life which had sparked his creativity in the first place he realized it was too late to save his mother but it was possible to save himself and get back on track.

Letting go of the moniker "Poverty" his new project was simply self-titled "Thommy". The song “I Don’t Wanna Grow Up” portrays the mischievous and poetic carefree lifestyle that fueled his imagination as a child.

Currently producing as "ThommyKane he continues to defy the typical hip-hop classification with vivid lyrics and anthemic overtones retorting the voice of the "I-pod" generation having no musical limits.

Superhuman
Whitebread
Rise From Ruin (The Red Album)
Kill Krissy
Beef (Soundtrack and extra disc)
.