Tobe Nwigwe Will Smack Fire Out of You With His Raps
As serious as Tobe Nwigwe can be about his art—just listen to the skilled MC’s message in his rhymes and the aesthetic across his visuals—he’s really a funny guy. Just when the conversation is about to turn to the many features on his latest album, Hood Hymns, the Texas native thinks there’s a question coming about his five children. “I thought you was ’bout to say, ‘You have a lot of kids,'” Tobe says with a laugh. “I was ’bout to say, ‘Yeah, yeah, for sure.'” The 37-year-old rapper speaks to XXL in a new interview about hitting the road on tour in support of the project, dodging acceptance and smacking fire out of you with his raps.
The 11-song album, which arrived last August, is an uplifting, spiritual journey that dips between rapping and singing as Tobe and his talented friends dive into relationships with God and those around them. While he doesn’t classify himself as a Christian rapper, Tobe is “a real follower of Christ,” and that seeps into everything he does—music included. Jay Electronica and Chance The Rapper appear on the effort. “Masterful when it comes to rapping,” Tobe says of their contributions to the project. Two of his daughters take part as well by reading Bible verses on some of the tracks. The Houston-bred rhymer will bring this dynamic to the people as he embarks on the U.S. leg of his Home Is Where the Hood Is Tour. The performance treks kicks off in New Orleans on March 7.
“They can expect a monumental experience,” the Grammy-nominated artist tells XXL of what fans can look forward to when pulling up to the shows. “This is the first time I’ve ever been on a tour with my family this large. All five of my children are coming with me. This is the first time I perform any of these songs live so it’s gonna be good. And I’m gon’ put out some more songs before the tour in the U.S. starts.” Tickets for the tour are available at tobenwigwe.com. He’s already been warming up on the European run, which started in January and saw him in cities like Milan, Paris, London and Amsterdam.
It’s been about six months since Hood Hymns arrived, and even though he’s going on tour for this project, Tobe already has another mixtape in the works. He’s prepared to bring the new material on the road to perform for the 17 U.S. cities he’s hitting. “I just feel like I’ve expressed myself with all these emotions and stuff from Hood Hymns from a deeper perspective so you can understand exactly where it is I’m coming from,” Tobe shares. “Alright cool, now let’s rap. Let me smack fire out you with these raps right quick.” He’s got a catalog of over 10 projects now, so getting back to the bars is a welcome return for the fans who have championed his lyrical excellence from the start.
Tobe does that for others as well. He gives props where they’re due. While the conversation of The Big 3 rappers over the last year has put Drake, Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole in the conversation as the dominant lyricists in the game, Tobe’s pick for the most talented rapper is none of the above. “I think the most talented rapper, skill-wise, living right now, unpopular opinion, King Los,” Tobe explains. “I think bar for bar what he is able to do is incredible. I hear his stuff and I’m like, Yup, I’ll never be that committed to the art form of rap. I only got that type of level commitment to my wife, children and God. The way he does it has to be like a supernatural talent.” The Maryland rapper is a masterful MC who doesn’t get the mainstream credit or acclaim that many of his counterparts do. But real recognize real, and Tobe puts respect on Los’ name.
To know Tobe is to understand that he’s a leader not a follower. Even the rappers he listens to goes against the grain. From the mint that is synonymous with his brand to bringing his family along for the ride in every aspect of his career, he does things differently than many rappers out here. While some artists enjoy running in cliques and crews, Tobe isn’t one of them. There’s only certain individuals he looks to for validation and acceptance.
“I’ll be honest with you, I feel accepted by myself and my wife and God,” he admits. “That’s it. I feel accepted by myself, my wife, God and the people that be with me on a regular basis. I stopped doing the acceptance thing maybe high school. I think that’s when I stopped doing the acceptance thing. Nah, nah, nah, nah, maybe my sophomore year of college. You know when you’re a freshman, you’re still tryna get on.” He put himself on the right track.
Take a look at what Tobe Nwigwe has to say about his Home Is Where the Hood Is Tour, produced by Live Nation, his new Reebok sneaker, his role in Black Panther 3 (kinda), Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show performance, who really won between K-Dot and Drake, and more in the interview below.