Thommy Kane (born Thomas J Abate III; August 20, 1978, in Methuen, Massachusetts), also known as Poverty, is a filmmaker, hip-hop artist, singer, composer and actor in Los Angeles, California.

[1][2] Kane moved to L.A. in 2001 and wrote for Seth Binzer of the rock band Crazy Town.

Through his relationship with Binzer, one of Kane's demos ended up on the desk of big wig Jimmy Iovine of Interscope Records.

[3] Interscope co-founder Ted Field, now of Artist Direct, eventually won the bidding war to secure the right to produce Kane's music.

However, plans to release his album Rise from Ruin foundered in the wake of problems at the label.