Nigerian-born, Brampton-based rapper and singer TOBi has a lot going for him: top-notch beat selection, thoughtful flow, catchy melodies, poetic wordplay, songwriting layered with multiple meanings, genre-defying musical tastes and skills, deep intentions. He fuses hip-hop, R&B, neo-soul, and Afrobeats, and his introspective music explores themes of identity, conscience, vulnerability, and the immigrant experience. His songs, like “Made Me Everything,” “Someone I Knew,” and “Flowers,” resonate with audiences seeking authenticity and emotional depth.
It’s no surprise that TOBi has garnered critical acclaim, with Complex magazine naming him a “top artist to watch,” and features in Billboard, Rolling Stone, i-D, COLORS, and PAPER. He’s also won four JUNO Awards: Rap Recording of the Year in 2021 for ELEMENTS Vol. 1, which was also shortlisted for the Polaris Music Prize.; Rap Album/EP of the Year in 2023 for Shall I Continue?; the same award in 2024 for PANIC; and Rap Single of the Year in 2024 for “Someone I Knew.” His music videos have earned more than 2.3 million cumulative views on YouTube, and he’s already enjoyed more than 2.7 million Spotify plays of the songs on his new album alone, ELEMENTS Vol. 2, in the first week since its release on July 9, 2025.
We caught up with TOBi within that week, for a conversation (mostly) about the new album.
Select the image to access the YouTube video of the TOBi song “Life is a Jungle”
The opening song on ELEMENTS Vol. 2, “Life is a Jungle,” is so raw, straight from the heart. It seems like it was intended as a kind of introductory confession, to set up the album.
“‘Life is a Jungle’ was very stream-of-consciousness. I literally woke up in the middle of the night, and I couldn’t sleep. I had all these thoughts racing in my head, and I’m, like, ‘I have to get this out.’ So, I just found a beat and I wrote it right there. There’s something very magical that happens at that 4:00 a.m. time. For me, it’s like a post-REM [moment in the sleep] cycle, when information is being consolidated… That’s why it feels so free-form, ‘cause that’s exactly how it was made.”
Your eye notices things that someone in your position might miss: the homeless camped outside the building with the marble floor foyer, the immigrant maid working for a few dollars less than someone else would. How do you stay sharp and observant like that?
“For better or for worse, I’m a very hyper-aware individual, and just attuned to what’s going on in the world around me, and within me. And I’m blessed to have a good circle of friends, and people that I respect, where we’re able to have these kind of conversations in a healing way… How do we tap into the greater human story beyond ourselves? That’s important to me.”
How did you and Classified work together, coming up with “He’s So Good”?
“I met Classified for the first time at the JUNOs last year [2024] in Halifax, and he said, ‘Man, we have to work [together].’ I said, ‘I would love to.’ So, my A &R [person] at Warner Chappell, Ricardo Chung, sent me a pack of beats from Classified. And as soon as I heard that joint, I said, ‘Please tell him I need this one. I need it.’ As soon as I sent that e-mail and Ricardo gave the thumbs-up, I wrote the song… I just wanted it to be a celebration of self-confidence and self-affirmation. Just, like, when you wake up, how do you be the best at whatever it is you do, whether you’re an artist, athlete, entrepreneur, or hairstylist, whatever you do.”
“I just want to make music that makes me feel better, and makes the people around me feel better”
“Never Fold” sounds like it could be a love song to another person, or to yourself, or to your history, or to all three. Was that overlapping possibility part of the intention when you were putting that together?
“Absolutely. Love exists in different forms and formats, and self-love is very important. We need self- love in order to even be secure in romantic love, and secure in love of our friends and family, and people we care about. So it’s all intertwined.”
Are the opening words that you’re singing in “Changes” sung in Yoruba (an Indigenous African language native to what is now Nigeria)? What are they saying?
“Yes sir. Basically, it means I’m walking my own path. Don’t get distracted by the noise. Don’t get distracted by critiques, naysayers. Don’t get distracted by illusions. Just keep following your path, and stay the course.”
How do you keep hope alive, especially under challenging circumstances?
“Hope has always been the thing that drives us further and, you know, just keeps us propelling us through the galaxy… One of the ways that I keep hope alive is knowing that I’m an agent of change. I’m one of the agents of this butterfly effect. I may not be able to make these large transformative decisions, but it’s all good. Like, if I can go outside and I can spread compassion and love to a few strangers on the street, or even a good friend of mine, or family, that’s a multiplier, you know?
Select the image to access the YouTube video of the TOBi song “He’s So Good”
If there’s an over-arching theme to the record, it seems to be about reconciling what we usually perceive of as contradictory forces: ego and humility, ambition and staying true to your roots, toughness and sensitivity, hope and fear, pressure and release, imagination and reality.
“That’s essentially the thesis of what I aim to convey as an artist. You know, I’ve even got this tattoo over here [shows his right arm], that [depicts] opposing forces. And that’s my interpretation of just how I move through life, finding that balance.”
I read a something someone wrote about you once, saying that what you do is transform personal pain into power.
“I’m happy to hear that. That’s what that’s what I came into music doing. The first time I wrote a song, I had a I had a well of emotional pain, and as soon as I wrote it down, it’s not like it evaporated, but it just made more sense. I just said, ‘Oh, okay.’ So, there is power in expression… I started this program three years ago called Create and Connect Club, for Black youth to express themselves through music. And what I found doing that is from week one – as they’re super-shy and nervous to speak their truth – to about week six, week seven, you see these transformational changes, that even they may not realize at first. But you see it. You’re, like, ‘Oh, you’re opening up about this, which is in turn allowing you to feel more confident, allowing you to smile more. Connect easier.’ It’s so beautiful, man.”
Your work is so conscious and so vulnerable. How do you make those qualities work for you instead of paralyzing you?
“I think I always try not to be a preacher. I never aspire to be a thought leader, or somebody on a soapbox. These are just my personal philosophies that I embody. And if you like it, so be it… I just want to make music that makes me feel better, and makes the people around me feel better. That’s it.”