Oluwatobi Feyisara Ajibolade, known professionally as Tobi (stylized as TOBi), is a
Nigerian
Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...
born
Canadian
Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...
rapper and singer signed to
RCA Records
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...
and Same Plate Entertainment. He released his debut studio album ''Still'' in May 2019 and his second album ''Elements Vol. 1'' in 2020.
Early life and education
Oluwatobi Feyisara Ajibolade was born in 1993 in
Lagos
Lagos (Nigerian English: ; ) is the largest city in Nigeria and the List of cities in Africa by population, second most populous city in Africa, with a population of 15.4 million as of 2015 within the city proper. Lagos was the national ca ...
,
Nigeria
Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...
and moved to
Ottawa
Ottawa (, ; Canadian French: ) is the capital city of Canada. It is located at the confluence of the Ottawa River and the Rideau River in the southern portion of the province of Ontario. Ottawa borders Gatineau, Quebec, and forms the core ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
with his father when he was 8 or 9 years old. He first began writing lyrics and poetry around that time. Ajibolade grew up largely in
Brampton
Brampton ( or ) is a city in the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario. Brampton is a city in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) and is a List of municipalities in Ontario#Lower-tier municipalities, lower-tier municipalit ...
,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, a suburb of
Toronto
Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...
. As a teenager, he engaged in
rap battles
Battle rap (also known as rap battling)Edwards, Paul, 2009, p. 25. is a type of rapping performed between two or more performers that incorporates boasts, insults and wordplay. Battle rap is often performed or freestyled spontaneously in live ...
, including one with a pre-fame
Tory Lanez
Daystar Shemuel Shua Peterson (born July 27, 1992), known professionally as Tory Lanez, is a Canadian rapper, singer, songwriter, and convicted felon. He received initial recognition from the mixtape ''Conflicts of My Soul: The 416 Story'', rel ...
. He later attended
Wilfrid Laurier University
Wilfrid Laurier University (commonly referred to as WLU or simply Laurier) is a public university in Ontario, Canada, with campuses in Waterloo, Brantford and Milton. The newer Brantford and Milton campuses are not considered satellite campuses ...
where he studied biology and psychology.
Career
Around 2015, Ajibolade began releasing music using the stage name, "Tobi Aji". In 2016, he began using the moniker, "Tobi" (stylized as TOBi), and independently released an EP titled, ''FYI''. The collection featured the songs, "Indecisions" and "Deeper". A music video for the latter song was released in November 2016. The following month, Tobi released the single, "Libra".
In September 2017, he released the song, "Hidden Fences", which appeared on an episode of the
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
series, '' Insecure''. Another song, "January December", was released in January 2018. Beginning in 2019, Tobi began releasing several new tracks, including "City Blues", "Sweet Poison", and "Werking". Those three songs served as the singles for Tobi's debut studio album, ''Still'', released in May 2019 by
RCA Records
RCA Records is an American record label currently owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside RCA's former long-time rival Columbia Records; also A ...
and Same Plate Entertainment. The album also featured a guest appearance from
VanJess
VanJess was a Nigerian-American R&B duo composed of sisters Ivana and Jessica Nwokike. The duo began their career on YouTube performing cover songs. After one of their videos, a cover of Drake's "Headlines", had viral success, they decided to p ...
on the track, "Come Back Home". A deluxe edition of the album, ''Still+,'' was released in April 2020 and included two new songs ("Paid" and "Holiday") and three new remixes. ''Still+'' had guest appearances from The Game,
Haviah Mighty
Haviah Mighty (born December 17, 1992) is a Canadian rapper from Brampton, Ontario. She rose to prominence in 2016 as a member of the hip hop group the Sorority, before releasing several EPs on her own, most notably ''Flower City'', in 2017. He ...
Jazz Cartier
Jahmarie Wishart Adams (born March 19, 1993), known professionally as Jazz Cartier, is a Canadian rapper, singer, and songwriter. He is best known for his mixtapes, ''Marauding in Paradise'' and ''Hotel Paranoia''.
He has twice been a long lis ...
, and Ejji Smith.
In October 2020, Tobi released his second studio album, ''Elements Vol. 1''. It won the 2021
Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year The Juno Award for Rap Recording of the Year was introduced in 1991, and awarded for the best rap album in Canada. It was formerly known as Best Rap Recording from 1993 to 2002.
Before 1999, because of the relatively limited commercial visibility o ...
, with "Holiday" being nominated for Contemporary R&B/Soul Recording of the Year. The music video for his song "24 (Toronto Remix)", directed by Kit Weyman, was longlisted for the 2021
Prism Prize The Prism Prize is a national juried award recognizing the artistry of the modern music video in Canada.SOCAN
The Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada (SOCAN) is a Canadian performance rights organization that represents the performing rights of more than 135,000 songwriters, composers and music publishers. The organization collects ...
's inaugural Black Canadian Music Awards alongside Dylan Sinclair, Naya Ali, RAAHiiM and Hunnah.
''Elements Vol. 1'' was shortlisted for the
2021 Polaris Music Prize
The 2021 edition of the Canadian Polaris Music Prize was presented on September 27, 2021. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Canada, the award was presented in a livestreamed virtual event hosted by Angeline Tetteh-Wayoe of CBC Music.
The longlist ...
.
Artistry
In an interview with ''Afropunk'', Tobi cited the work of
Gil Scott-Heron
Gilbert Scott-Heron (April 1, 1949 – May 27, 2011) was an American Jazz poetry, jazz poet, singer, musician, and author, known primarily for his work as a spoken-word performer in the 1970s and 1980s. His collaborative efforts with musician ...
,
Frank Ocean
Christopher Francis "Frank" Ocean (born Christopher Edwin Breaux; October 28, 1987), is an American singer, songwriter, and rapper. His works are noted by music critics for featuring avant-garde styles and introspective, elliptical lyrics. Ocean ...
,
Marvin Gaye
Marvin Pentz Gay Jr., who also spelled his surname as Gaye (April 2, 1939 – April 1, 1984), was an American singer and songwriter. He helped to shape the sound of Motown in the 1960s, first as an in-house session player and later as a solo ar ...
,
Eartha Kitt
Eartha Kitt (born Eartha Mae Keith; January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008) was an American singer and actress known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 recordings of "C'est si bon" and the Christmas novelty song "Santa Ba ...
,
Florence and the Machine
Florence and the Machine (stylised as Florence + the Machine) are an English indie rock band that formed in London in 2007, consisting of lead vocalist Florence Welch, keyboardist Isabella Summers, guitarist Rob Ackroyd, harpist Tom Monger, and ...