Aeronotiqz

If I were to take a guess as to what year I became aware of the DFW hip hop/ rap scene, I would say around 2010- 2011. I wasn’t aware of an underground rap scene before then, granted I was heavily involved in the local punk and hardcore scene. 2012 was the year I started becoming an actual fan of rap when I discovered the Florida rap group Raider Klan. On a Saturday night, like any other Saturday night, I was casually walking through a festive clutter in Deep Ellum and heard the sounds of Braingang, The Mohican, Dustin Caravos and ADd making its way out of the bars and venues to fill the sky. Although the DFW scene was new and refreshing, I felt like there was something missing, like there was more out there that needed to be recognized. Additionally, I felt like there was a huge wave forming that was about to hit the city with something new, I just didn’t know what it was at the time. In 2014, or probably 2015, started a short lived rap career that helped open my eyes to the DFW underground rap scene; a hip hop culture filled with a wide variety of talent, eccentric personalities and numerous amount of weekend shows at locations that seemed to be a secret to many. I found myself networking and eventually landed a spot of the Amber London from Raider Klan tour. With the help of Marcus Washington, I got in touch with a clothing brand, Aeronotiqz, who were the ones who curated the tour. Years later, I have the pleasure of telling their story. 

Aeronotiqz was formed in 2010 by Ft Worth native Tiron Banks. At the time, Banks was attending high school and working a regular job. He soon realized that the 9-5 lifestyle wasn’t for him. From there he transferred his focus and energy on his brand. The name “ Aeronotiqz “ originated from the specific bar that Louisiana artist Currency spit in the song “Fly Niggas do fly things” featuring Wiz Khalifa, “ I perfected my role in the science of aeronautics.”, which means “ the science of flight. Tiron changed “aeronautics “ to “Aeronotiqz.” He also gave it it’s own meaning; the progression in life through knowledge, diversity, open mindedness and self awareness. “Life is a marathon,” Tiron says, “not a race...and you can’t be great at something the first day you start. You have to grow and progress and you have to do it the right way.” 

Aeronotiqz  initially started out as a clothing brand with Clay West, a longtime friend of Banks and Ft Worth hip hop artist. West was serious about being an artist and wanted to collab with Tiron to take the brand a step further; from helping each other promote, networking and eventually hosting shows. In the beginning, the brand was selling units, mainly doing pop ups at local shows and events. That became a major bread winner for Aeronotiqz. After noticing how things operate behind the scene, Tiron grew frustrated at how unfairly artists were being treated and getting robbed of their performance times. At this point, Banks was affiliated with many artists and built enough relationships. That made the transitions to hosting events seem fairly easy and it felt natural. Dizzi Davis, another longtime friend of Tiron and Ft Worth artist, started to show up at the events from time to time to check out what was going on. Eventually ,he had a chat with Tiron to discuss how can he be apart of the brand. “ Without this man, nothing  would’ve happened over the last years, he’s my right hand man,” every move that Tiron makes, he notifies Dizzi first to see if the move will be beneficial to the brand.

In between 2014- 2015, there was a rough patch, although there were a few good events that Aeronotiqz put together. They started at Lola’s in Ft Worth. At first the venue only allowed them to throw events on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Due to miscommunication, Aeronotiqz was rewarded a Saturday, and they packed the house with 200 people. It sparked a momentum that still carries on to this day. In the meantime, Banks decided enough was enough and didn’t allow anyone else to take advantage of the benefits of being affiliated with Aeronotiqz. Prior to this, Banks mistakenly put his trust into everyone and assumed that people he was associated with were going to stick around longer than they did. He quickly put a stop to it after he noticed people going in and out. 

From 2016 onward was the rise of Aeronotiqz as the brand started to become a household name in DFW. After Aerolife and death tour with Amber London in the first half of 2016, Aeronotiqz went on to host more tours with artists such as Loudiene, Tedy Andreas, Chxpo and Ying Simmie, just to name a few. After the tour, Dallas rap group Gwap Gang reached out to Banks. He was very impressed with the different kind of energy Gwap Gang showcased at their shows. Banks started to book Gwapmizzle for upcoming events, which lead to a closer relationship to Gwap Gang and curated Gwapfest in October 2017 and a tour in February 2018 featuring Gwapmizzle, Zaybooty, Gwap Lvrd D. In retrospect, linking up with Gwap Gang was essential for Aeronotiqz as it helped lead them to curate shows outside of Texas.

Los Angeles was one of the first few cities outside of Texas that Aeronotiqz reached. It wasn’t difficult considering Gwap Gang already had a fan base out there. It became the blueprint for every other city Aeronotiqz wanted to explore. “It’s hard work reaching these other cities, “ Tiron explains, “we couldn’t just show up with nothing but Dallas artists, we had to make sure to tap in to every city and the local artists to get the city involved.” Aeronotiqz doesn’t plan on stopping  anytime soon. With many other cities to explore and networking and other genres to tap in to, Aeronotiqz is here to stay and is constantly on the move to create opportunities for artists and to give the fans what they want. For more information and show updates, click the image below