TOBi on making unapologetic soul music

The New Exchange with Ken Grand-Pierre

You know, it’s a wild thing to think about how today’s guest goes about his craft. TOBi wouldn’t be the first artist to be a lover of the old school while also carving out his own path…but honestly, we’ve never seen it done like this before. Hailing from both Lagos, Nigeria, and Brampton, Canada, TOBi is an artist full of multitudes. His latest album, PANIC, showcases this in spades, where throughout the album's runtime, he tells stories of battling anxiety, depression, and maneuvering around the world as a black man. He’s done this all while doing what expert songwriters do best: leaving enough room for you as a listener to insert your own feelings. Enough room for you to insert your own traumas and your own experiences within the music. Unsurprisingly, this led to PANIC winning two Juno’s one for best rap album and one for best rap single (the Juno’s are the Canadian equivalent of The Grammy’s), but as you’ll hear throughout our conversation, TOBi is a man with little to no ego, and simply put, he just wants to spread his message across the world.