Artist profile ·
BLAKCHYL’S EAST AUSTIN STORY JOINS WORDPLAY, MENTORSHIP AND LONGEVITY
Te’aunna Moore’s path from The Cipher and Mindz of a Different Kind to a solo career keeps community inside the craft.
Blakchyl’s East Austin story is built from bars, mentorship and years of showing up.
Te’aunna Moore joined The Cipher in 2007 after meeting mentor Chris “Gator” Ockletree in a beatmaking class. There, the artist then known as T-Fly met future members of Mindz of a Different Kind and learned to connect poetry, production and community practice.
A career that sends knowledge back
After MDK’s projects and international performances, Moore developed the Blakchyl name through solo releases including “Pushin Penz” and the album Better Than I Imagined. The work moves between East Coast-informed rap, R&B and jazz without losing the writing at its center.
Her workshops, youth mentorship and continued collaboration show longevity as circulation: skill gained in one room gets carried into the next. East Austin remains both subject and working method.