I wanted to try a new series on music to try and spur some writing! My thought was that I hope to discover at least one new great artist a month, and that writing about them should be easy if I really like them! This month, we’ll start with hip-hop which should be a common theme through these posts.

My artist of choice this month is Tobi Lou a Nigeria-to-Chicago rapper whose unique style is endearing and captivating. As someone drawn to the weird, Tobi Lou definitely catches my eye in a variety of ways.

Background

Since he moved to Chicago at age 2, it’s not surprising that his style reminds me of Chance with the vocal and instrumental harmonies. He did set up shop in LA after ending his stint as a semi-pro baseball player, so he has some nice lazy slurring from the west coast too.

The large variety of instrumentals also brought to mind a ton of musical influences to mind. One track had flutes which reminde me of Nujabes/Shing02. Besides that, I recognized strings, jazzy guitar riffs, and your more typical synth + bass tracks.

Songs

This man fits right at home in 2020 and the modern GenZ crowd. Openly owning depression, anxiety, and missed expectations lays the stage for most of his tracks. Whether it’s a broken heart, frustrations at his past, or anxiety about the future, Tobi has plenty of subject matter to cover. During these times especially, I think a lot of people are looking to empathize with artists going through the same challenges worldwide.

Besides the sadboy angle, he also nails pop culture regularly.

Style

Tobi Lou definitely claims a unique style. If I had to sum him up in some kind of phrase, I would call him a pastel-infused happy-sadboy. As he floats between moods in his tracks, the bright colors put up a facade while he disects his problems in the open for us to listen to.

This style extends to his videos and brand as a whole, too. Buff Baby looks like an episode of Adventure Time but more washed out. One can’t help to think about how real the happy feelings are when they’re thrust into your view so consistently.

Speaking of his videos, Bops R’ Us has some real quality video work. I tend to think hip hop music videos can get kind of generic, but this man has moves and great production to go with it. With his dash of weird and eccentric outfits, it makes the videos super entertaining to watch. I recommend checking them out on his home page.

Honorable Mentions

JID / Spillage Village

JID’s flow is buttery smooth and his variety keeps me coming back for more. The group uses solid production and boisterous jazzy sounds to bring tracks together.

Quakers

Honorable mention #2 goes to Quakers. I stumbled across this record on Bandcamp, and it’s full of juicy tracks. Recommended!