Teebs (aka Mtendere Mandowa) has been in the right place at the right time. The avid skater met esteemed workaholic producers Flying Lotus and Samiyam at a 2007 Red Bull Music Academy function in Orange County and later became immersed in Los Angeles's weekly future-bass hot spot the Low End Theory, witnessing the Gaslamp Killer, Daedelus, Kutmah, and others tear it up on the regular. An Achilles-tendon injury forced Teebs to take a year off from skating, which allowed him to focus on his music.