Tabiabuè Bonney, better known as Tabi Bonney, is a

Togo Togo (), officially the Togolese Republic (french: République togolaise), is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Ghana to the west, Benin to the east and Burkina Faso to the north. It extends south to the Gulf of Guinea, where its c ...

-born,

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

-based rapper. He is the son of Itadi Bonney, an

afro-funk Afrobeat is a Nigerian music genre that involves the combination of West African musical styles (such as traditional Yoruba music and highlife) and American funk, jazz, and soul influences, with a focus on chanted vocals, complex intersecting rh ...

musician popular during the 1970s in Togo and

West Africa West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...

. Bonney achieved recognition in the

Washington metro area The Washington metropolitan area, also commonly referred to as the National Capital Region, is the metropolitan area centered on Washington, D.C. The metropolitan area includes all of Washington, D.C. and parts of the states of Maryland, Virgi ...

with his radio singles "The Pocket" and "Doin It," which featured Raheem DeVaughn. Bonney started a clothing line called Bonney Runway; he has also directed and produced music videos for several artists including friend and fellow D.C.-associated rapper Wale.

Biography

Bonney was born in

Lomé Lomé is the capital and largest city of Togo. It has an urban population of 837,437

, to musician Itadi Bonney and Jo, a teacher from Washington, D.C. who had been stationed in Lomé through the

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John F. ...

. Political turmoil in Togo forced the Bonneys to flee the country, and they eventually settled in D.C. Bonney's parents did not wish for him to become a musician. They insisted that he attend college, and he enrolled at

Florida A&M University Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a public historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida. Founded in 1887, It is the third largest historically black university in the U ...

to study pre-med. He earned a

Master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

biology Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...

with plans to become a doctor, but pursued other paths after he realized his heart wasn't in it. He was a science teacher at Roosevelt High School in Petworth, Washington, D.C. for two years after college.

Music career

While in college, Bonney and friend Haziq Ali formed a group called Organized Rhyme. The group opened for artists including

LL Cool J James Todd Smith (born January 14, 1968), known professionally as LL Cool J (short for Ladies Love Cool James), is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is one of the earliest rappers to achieve commercial success, along ...

Cam'ron Cameron Ezike Giles (born February 4, 1976), better known by his stage name Cam'ron, is an American rapper, record executive, and actor from Harlem, New York City. Beginning his career in the mid-1990s as Killa Cam, Giles signed to Lance "Un" ...

, and OutKast. In 2006, Bonney had a regional breakout hit with "The Pocket," his first single from ''A Fly Guy's Theme''. In 2011, Bonney released ''The Summer Years'', his fourth studio album, with songs sampling his father's music and featuring

Terri Walker Terri Walker (born Chanelle Gstettenbauer, 14 April 1979) is an English R&B and soul singer-songwriter. Walker has released four albums in the United Kingdom, ''Untitled'', '' L.O.V.E'', ''I Am'' and ''Entitled''. She also provided the majority ...

and

Murs Murs may refer to: People * Marc Athanase Parfait Œillet des Murs (1804-1878), French ornithologist * Olly Murs (born 1984), English singer-songwriter * Murs (rapper) (born 1978), American rapper Places * Murs, Indre, France * Murs, Vaucluse, Fr ...

Discography

Studio albums

* ''A Fly Guy's Theme'' (2006) * ''Dope'' (2009) * ''Fresh'' (2010) * ''The Summer Years'' (2011) * ''Le Bon Voyage (EP)'' (2018)

Mixtapes

* ''A Place Called Stardom'' (2010) * ''Postcards from Abroad'' (2011) * ''Lovejoy Park'' (2012) * ''The Endless Summer'' (2012)

References

External links

Tabi Bonney
on

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

Tabi Bonney
on

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bonney, Tabi Togolese emigrants to the United States African-American male rappers American male rappers 1977 births Living people Rappers from Washington, D.C. 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American people