Pioneers of Music — New Generation
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Some artists make music inside a genre. Others use music to connect genres, generations, communities and ideas.
TOBi belongs in the second group.
The Nigerian-born, Canadian-raised rapper, singer and songwriter has spent the last decade building a body of work that moves freely between hip-hop, R&B, soul and Afrobeats while treating vulnerability, identity, masculinity, migration and community as part of the music rather than subjects that sit outside it.
That makes TOBi a natural fit for the Pioneers of Music — New Generation campaign. He is not simply borrowing from the pioneers who came before him. He is actively building bridges between their work and a new generation of artists, audiences and digital communities.
From Lagos to Brampton — and Into His Own Musical Language
Born in Lagos, Nigeria, TOBi moved to Canada as a child and grew up largely in Brampton, Ontario. He began writing lyrics and poetry around the time of that transition, using writing as a way to process the cultural and social changes around him. Before music became a profession, it was already a tool for expression.
His career developed gradually. He first released music under the name Tobi Aji before adopting the stylized name TOBi and independently releasing the FYi EP in 2016. His debut album STILL arrived in 2019, followed by ELEMENTS Vol. 1 in 2020, PANIC in 2023 and ELEMENTS Vol. 2 in 2025.
Along the way, TOBi evolved from a promising independent artist into a four-time JUNO Award winner, Polaris Music Prize contender and internationally streamed artist with more than 100 million global streams. But the most interesting part of the story is not simply the awards. It is how he has chosen to build the music.
“Flatline” Shows What TOBi Means by Unapologetic Soul Music
A strong entry point is “Flatline” featuring Kenny Mason, released as part of the PANIC era.
Built around a recurring staccato piano and the contrast between TOBi and Kenny Mason’s vocal styles, “Flatline” is aggressive without abandoning soul. TOBi described the record as “unapologetic soul music” and explained that the central idea is personal power: transforming pain into energy that can be carried into a game, a job interview, a performance or any other high-pressure moment.
That philosophy runs throughout TOBi’s work. Pain is not treated as weakness. Vulnerability is not positioned as the opposite of confidence. Instead, those experiences become fuel.
That is important because modern hip-hop still contains strong expectations around toughness, composure and emotional restraint. TOBi deliberately pushes against that limitation. On later work, he has spoken openly about learning to embrace tenderness, fear, sadness and vulnerability without giving up the confidence and competitive energy associated with rap.
The result is music that can move between reflection and bravado without pretending those qualities cannot coexist.
Watch TOBi — “Flatline” featuring Kenny Mason (Lyric Video)
Doing Music Differently Means Refusing to Stay in One Box
TOBi’s sound is difficult to reduce to one genre because he does not appear interested in staying inside a single musical lane.
- hip-hop lyricism and flow;
- R&B melody;
- soul instrumentation;
- Afrobeats and African rhythmic influences;
- jazz textures;
- live musicianship;
- spoken-word and poetic writing;
- and contemporary digital production.
That genre fluidity is not random experimentation. It reflects his identity.
On ELEMENTS Vol. 2, TOBi explained that Afrobeats has been present in every full-length project because it is connected directly to his Nigerian heritage. On “Changes,” he goes further by speaking Yoruba and placing African musical identity inside a project that can move from hard rap to soul and introspection.
For Pioneers of Music, this matters because the future of music is increasingly being built through combination rather than separation.
The next generation does not have to choose between African music and Canadian hip-hop, between soul and rap, or between traditional musicianship and digital production. TOBi treats those influences as parts of the same musical vocabulary.
He Is Also Building Bridges Backward
One of the clearest ways TOBi fits the Pioneers of Music mission is that he does not treat musical history as something to leave behind.
ELEMENTS Vol. 2 deliberately connects contemporary music with earlier generations of Canadian Black music. The album includes contributions and references involving artists such as Jully Black, Saukrates and Classified.
Jully Black described her collaboration with TOBi as more than a feature. She called it “a bridge between generations.”
That statement could almost serve as a description of the Pioneers of Music campaign itself.
TOBi has spoken about wanting to build more infrastructure at home rather than automatically outsourcing everything elsewhere. He has specifically cited Nipsey Hussle’s philosophy of building locally, and ELEMENTS Vol. 2 was intentionally shaped with significant Canadian production, mixing, mastering and artist participation.
That is more than nostalgia.
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TOBi Treats Music as Community Infrastructure
Another major difference between TOBi and a conventional recording-first artist is what he has built around the music.
During the PANIC campaign, TOBi and his team launched PANIC.FM, described as an interactive digital universe and social fan club. Rather than using a traditional artist website simply as a place to post tour dates and links, the concept was designed as a digital hub where core fans could access catalog content, collectibles, new releases and ongoing engagement with TOBi and his wider creative network.
That is a significant New Generation idea.
The artist website becomes a community platform.
The catalog becomes a continuing experience.
The fan relationship becomes something the artist can develop directly instead of leaving entirely to streaming and social-media platforms.
From Audience Building to Youth Development
TOBi’s idea of community also extends beyond his own fan base.
He has spoken about creating the Create and Connect Club, a program for Black youth to express themselves through music. He has described watching participants become more confident and more comfortable speaking openly as the program progresses.
TOBi is also associated with UNPACK Community, a discussion initiative focused on mental wellness within creative fields.
This makes his work especially relevant to a project called Pioneers of Music.
Pioneers do not only make records.
They create pathways that make it easier for somebody else to create after them.
The Football Mindset: Seeing the Entire Pitch
TOBi has used football to describe his approach to music.
Rather than thinking of himself as occupying one fixed position, he has compared his creative role to a centre attacking midfielder who sees the entire pitch — knowing when to drive forward, when to support somebody else and when to create an opening.
That is an unusually useful way to understand his music.
On one record he may be the rapper. On another he may become the singer. On another he may foreground a collaborator, an older Canadian artist, an African rhythm or a live musician.
The goal is not simply to dominate every moment. The goal is to make the entire record work.
Four Ways TOBi Is Doing Music Differently
| Traditional Approach | TOBi's Approach |
|---|---|
| Stay inside a clearly defined genre | Move between hip-hop, soul, R&B, jazz and Afrobeats as parts of one identity |
| Treat vulnerability as separate from rap confidence | Use vulnerability, masculinity, ambition and power in the same artistic language |
| Build only for the current audience | Connect contemporary music with pioneers including Jully Black, Saukrates and other Canadian veterans |
| Use social platforms as the entire fan relationship | Build owned community experiences such as PANIC.FM and youth-focused creative programs |
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A New Generation Artist With a Pioneer's Instinct
TOBi is already an established artist. He has JUNO Awards, major-label distribution, global streams and years of releases behind him.
But in the much longer history of hip-hop, R&B, soul and African diasporic music, he still represents a new generation carrying established traditions into a different technological and cultural environment.
That is why he belongs in the Pioneers of Music conversation.
He is taking the emotional storytelling of soul, the lyrical discipline of hip-hop, the rhythms of his Nigerian heritage and the musical history of Black Canada and placing them inside a modern ecosystem built around streaming, digital communities, international collaboration and direct fan connection.
And instead of treating the pioneers as museum pieces, he collaborates with them.
Instead of treating identity as a branding exercise, he puts it inside the music.
Instead of separating commercial ambition from community development, he is trying to build both.
That is doing music differently.
The Pioneers Built the Sound. TOBi Is Helping Carry It Forward.
“Flatline” is a useful snapshot of TOBi’s philosophy because its message is simple: turn pain into power.
His larger career is doing something similar.
The experience of immigration becomes songwriting. Vulnerability becomes strength. Nigerian heritage becomes contemporary global music. Canadian music history becomes a source for new collaboration. A fan base becomes a digital community. And personal expression becomes an opportunity to help another generation find its voice.
That is the type of progression Pioneers of Music — New Generation was created to document.
The pioneers built the foundation. Artists like TOBi are showing how much further it can travel.
Discover TOBi
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