Header photo credit: Zeal Laflare
When Timothy Peterson pulls up his phone to talk about what he’s been listening to lately, the playlist tells a story that defies easy categorization. Movie soundtracks sit next to conscious rap, gospel harmonies blend with experimental hip-hop, and somewhere in the mix, you’ll find both High School Musical 2 and Earl Sweatshirt. It’s an eclectic collection that makes perfect sense once you understand the artist behind it.
Recording under the name Eugenius, the Greensboro-based rapper and songwriter has spent years cultivating a sound that reflects his own journey. It’s a unique path, having gone from a Christian household filled with gospel and musicals to discovering the conscious rap that would eventually inspire him to pick up the mic himself. That musical curiosity has served him well, leading to a prolific output since 2016.
Eugenius’s approach to music goes deeper than just diverse influences. In a genre often dominated by surface-level braggadocio, he’s carved out his space to be more contemplative. His songs invite listeners to think, to question, to sit with complex feelings about faith and identity rather than simply escape from them.
I caught up with Eugenius between the release of his new EP, (DEMO), and our Mountains to Sea Vol. 1 benefit compilation, in which he graciously participated. We explored the responsibility he feels as a storyteller and why he believes the best art comes from being honest about doubt, crisis, and growth.
What is something you’ve been listening to lately?
Timothy: I have a playlist on my phone full of movie scores and soundtracks. Like music from The Sound of Music, Hunchback of Notre Dame, High School Musical 2. [laughs] Anything that has to do with movies. I think soundtracks and scores have a lot more emotion and storytelling poured into them. I love that type of stuff.
Has film been something that you’ve always been drawn to? What’s the connection there?
Timothy: I grew up without cable, so I watched a lot of VHSs that we had lying around. All these Disney movies. My mom is a playwright, so she would put on all the musicals. Those songs would end up getting stuck in my head.
What is the first musician that you remember discovering on your own and obsessing over?
Timothy: A local Greensboro rapper named Blackwell. He was definitely the first. I grew up Christian and we were listening to a lot of gospel music in my house. But Christian rap was kind of getting popular at that time. There were Christian rappers that sounded like Jay-Z, Lil Wayne, or Eminem.
Blackwell was the first one that I heard who sounded like Common or Lupe Fiasco, somebody who was more conscious. He was rhyming over these beats that had samples, which taught me what a sample was. His rhyme schemes and storytelling just blew my mind.
He went to my church, so he was like right there. Every time I saw him come into church, I got nervous. It’s so weird because now he’s a good friend of mine. But back then when I was 11, I just didn’t understand how somebody could be that talented. I still have his first CD [Reality Check] to this day.
Being in community with someone you idolize is something special, but I can’t imagine sharing a pew like that!
Timothy: Demeanor is another one: he’s a rapper but also plays banjo. The first time I saw him perform, I never thought those two sounds could go together. It was something else entirely to me. But now we’re in the same vicinity, running into each other now and then. There are a few local artists who I was a fan of before we met. It’s cool to rub elbows with them now.
How has your musical taste changed as you’ve gotten older?
Timothy: That Blackwell album inspired me to rap. So, of course, I listened to all the rap I could find. Whatever was popular at the time, from Jay-Z to Kendrick, Drake, everybody. And then the older I got, some of those old musicals from my childhood came back up. Now I’m hearing different elements of what music can be.
One day, I decided I’m just going to listen to what I like. And that turned out to be everything from Earl Sweatshirt and Jamiroquai to Kirk Franklin and Stacey Kent. It’s all over the place, but I just go by what gives me goosebumps.
Music is just music. We have genres and stuff, but when you break it down on a scientific level, it’s all sound. It’s kinda like food. You have foods from different countries and they can taste different while having similar ingredients. And who’s saying that you can’t have pancakes and spaghetti at the same time? You have to experiment to get new flavors.
Image credit: purpleolive_photography
When did you start performing live?
Timothy: Technically, my first performance was as a hype man for my friend Cleff. He was performing a talent show at our school and the day of he was like, “Do you want to be my hype man on stage?” So I was behind him wearing sunglasses, not knowing his lyrics so I couldn’t really say it along with him. I wasn’t an efficient hype man that day. [laughs]
My official first performance was at this open mic in 10th grade. I was just performing this song I wrote over “Payback” by James Brown. It was just a loop of that beat, but I didn’t know it at the time. It was like one of the first verses I wrote and I got a good reception.
I feel like rapping puts an immense spotlight on the artist in a way that other genres can’t quite match. How do you use the artform as a means to express yourself?
Timothy: For me, it’s about telling a story and making it rhyme. We learn a lot from music, like the ABCs. I learned how to count my fives in Spanish because my teacher made up a rap. When it comes to telling stories and being honest about my life, being able to make it rhyme is like therapy. You have to speak out what you feel. But to be able to rap it and make it appealing is a bonus.
Today, I was listening back to the EP that I just dropped this year [(DEMO)]. It was a very personal project, but the fact that I was able to articulate those deep rooted feelings means I can listen to it and be reminded of the journey I went on. It’s a fun way to express yourself, like a creative exercise.
I think rap has evolved to a point where you kind of can hide behind instrumentation if you want. But at the end of the day, rap has always been about the lyrics. People are going to eventually break down what you’re saying and, a lot of time, live by that. There’s a certain responsibility that rappers have. When rap first came on the scene in New York, it was about what was going on in the city, like a news report. People depended on it.
What typically goes through your head when approaching a song? Are you starting with a beat, a theme, a lyric?
Timothy: It definitely starts with a beat. There are times when I’ll fall in love with one particular part and take it from there. I think of the most honest thing I can say about what I’m going through at the time and match the lyrics to what the beat makes me feel.
I want to capture the listener, so that’s always my focus. Usually, once I get a few bars in, I know where it’s going from there. But other times, I can’t really tell you. I often forget how I wrote a song.
How do you bring in and collaborate with featured artists or producers?
Timothy: On the rare occasion that I do start a beat, usually it’ll come from like a sample, or like a piece of music that I find. I chop up and loop it to do the easy part. Then I’ll send it to a friend. There’s someone I’ve been working with forever; his name is Black Kitchen. There’s another artist from Greensboro called Deviant Sounds: he’s a pianist by trade and makes beats.
Usually, I’ll send a YouTube link to songs I want to sample. Whatever they come back with, we’ll talk about and maybe switch something up. And then it just goes from there.
As for artists, I feel like when I finished that first verse and it’s good, but the second verse feels forced, then maybe somebody else needs to be on it. There are times when somebody will send a verse in but it doesn’t end up fitting the song’s theme, so I find something or someone else.
It’s like putting a puzzle together, every song is going to be different. There’s no template to follow. If there was, it’d be pretty boring.
Image credit: isaiahvizuals
What do you want listeners to take away from your music?
Timothy: I grew up in a Christian household. My dad’s a preacher. So I had like… not an identity crisis, but like a faith crisis. I didn’t know what I believed for a long time.
When people hear my music, I want them to just think about it. Because when I talk about God, or about different subjects like faith or just my regular life, I want people to contemplate their own life. Not in a super deep way all the time, just to give a different perspective on things.
I want people to take away some sense of tangibility. When J. Cole first came out, he was very tangible to college students. People got that he rapped about the college struggle and related to it. Drake was the same way for people who had either been heartbroken or were really romantic.
I feel like almost every artist has some sense of that and it’s what I want too. Where people can feel like you described a feeling that couldn’t be explained by just saying it. Especially when it comes to faith, it’s such a big concept, it’s hard to grasp. I hope to make it more bite-sized in a sense.
That feels like a refreshing perspective to have, especially when a lot of the mainstream rap feels more surface level than ever.
Timothy: It’s kind of like escapism. There’s a time and a place, of course. I once heard somebody describe it as “weekend music.” There’s music for the parties and music for the weekdays. I try to make more weekday music, personally.
It’s wild that we’re already staring down the end of 2025, but do you have any goals for the rest of the year?
Timothy: I have a mixtape in the works that it’s taken me forever to finish and put out. I’m in a pretty productive mode right now, so I’m hoping to wrap it up soon.
I just dropped a song with a few friends called “YOUNG & STRONG” and I’m hoping to make more content around that.
Beyond that, just rest. I’ve been working really hard on a lot of things, even outside of music. I need a second to recharge. I don’t want to get dragged into the grind mode way that I used to. So if I can balance making the mixtape, making content, and resting, then I’ll call it a successful year.
Who are your favorite local/North Carolina artists?
Timothy: I love this question! I want to shout out some of my friends. You got people like Cleff, Deviant Sounds, Black Kitchen, Bengy Cinco, K Mojica, Seneca Burns, Joey., The One Keon. Demeanor, who I mentioned earlier. Sonny Miles and T. Walker are amazing. Can’t forget Blackwell, Sean Hunter, Kiiba, Antoine Scales, and TuKool Tiff.
The whole Greensboro rap scene I’m really proud of. It’s diversified over the years with so many great artists. Carey K is another one. And Colin Cutler is a great folk artist.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
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