Tobi Ibitoye, singer & composer, comes form Abuja, Nigeria. At the age of 15, he moved to Bucharest with his parents, finishing his high school education at the Cambridge School of Bucharest. Starting from Karaoke bars around Bucharest, he soon moved on to be a finalist in The Voice of Romania, performing It’s a man’s world. His first single, "Miss You" was produced by Hahaha Production and he started working with Media Pro Music.
"I feel like I lived so many unconscious epiphanies as a child. Retrospectively, I can observe the turbulence and the peace music created in me, that must have been the spiritual birth of the artist I have become today", says Tobi.
After releasing many singles in the next years, some of them making the international market, he is now ready to launch his first solo album he has been working on in the past 5 years. Harvest is his first single from this album, so we sat down with him to get to know better his musical roots and his musical journey so far.
The beginning
For as long as I can remember, music was a part of my life. Some of the first memories I have of my relationship with music, go all the way back to when I was about 6 or 7 years old. I used to remember memorising the notes of most of the songs (Tonic Sol-fa) I used to sing at elementary Sunday school. That must have been the first time I met the musical scale. As I grew older, I started becoming aware of the fact that my parents, regardless of their actual professions were musicians.
In the orchestra from the church I attended, my dad played woodwind instruments, especially the clarinet. He also used to teach aspiring orchestra members to sight read and play the clarinet. My mum at the time was an aspiring violinist, I get the feeling that just like me, she remained an aspiring violinist. My love for the violin was mostly inspired by her dedication and passion for the violin. She wasn’t great at it, but she would never let it go. My cousin on the other hand, who lived with us at the time, was a Primary Violinist, 1st Violinist as they’d say in the orchestra. She was a joy to behold and to listen to.
Asides from the talent of hitting every note with what I loved to call a subtle vibrato, for me it was the movement of the bow on the strings that was fascinating. I remember listening to her play Beethoven in our living room. When I would see my cousin play the Hallelujah Chorus with the Choir and Orchestra at church, I would have goosebumps. I still do when I listen to Handel. Asides from the sensation, there was something more troubling than the emotions I used to feel as a kid. Excuse the paradox, but I feel like I lived so many unconscious epiphanies as a child. Retrospectively, I can observe the turbulence and the peace music created in me, that must have been the spiritual birth of the artist I have become today.
How was your childhood in Nigeria
Today, I believe I had a very fortunate musical childhood. At church I would listen and sing along to hymns, but also to the likes of Mozart. I had the fortune of listening to every great classical musician that could be played in a church setting. At home, I listened to gospel country music. To the likes of Jim Reeves. But then there was the gospel pop music as well, Don Moen, Ron Kenoly, Mary Mary and eventually Kirk Franklin and Co. Then came the early 2000s and 7th grade which brought me in contact with hip hop (a little bit of Nas, Tupac, TI, Jay Z and Kanye West) and Afro Beat. Fela Kuti and Egypt 80, and his son Femi Kuti. The walkman came around and I discovered Westlife and Boys 2 Men. I was a consumer of music, when I say consumer, I mean, I listened to every song I liked, like I had never listened to it before. While most of my colleagues would flex to girls by singing a song that I knew I liked and I had listened to severely, I would consume myself in their interpretation of the song like I had never heard that song before. I remember a classmate of mine who used to sing “Shape of my Heart - Sting” to a girl he was crazy about. I was in awe of his voice and how he’d make the song his. In all this time, I had sang at home and in church, but I had never really felt the urge to express myself to anyone else who didn’t live with me or go to the same church I went to.
Nigerian music has grown significantly in the past two decades, The era of now legends like King Sunny Ade, Lagbaja, Fela Kuti, Ebenezar Obe and so on has evolved so beautifully into a globally accepted genre of music known as Afrobeats. Artists like Tu Face Idibia and Dbanj were the pioneers for the exportation of Nigerian music after the millennium. Now that popularity is being maintained by the likes of Wizkid, Burnaboy, Davido, Olamide, Rema and so on. It’s no longer Nigeria’s music scene, it’s the worlds.
Voice of Romania
When I got to Romania in 2009 at the very delicate age of 15, I discovered the concept of Karaoke. I lived on the same street with two sisters from Indonesia who went to the same school as myself. We used to take the same bus to school. The elder of the two sisters played the guitar, and they both had lovely voices. As time went by, we grew closer and one night, they invited me over to theirs for my first ever Karaoke night. That must have been the first time I found the courage (asides from at home and at church) to not only listen to music, but to give others the pleasure of listening to me. It was also the first time I was singing something new, something different, ’twas the first time I wasn’t imitating Pavarotti in the shower. It was the first time I wanted to learn Taylor Swift’s “Fifteen" so I could sing it to my neighbour. It was the first time I realised that I also wanted to give music not just receive.
By 2015, I was a karaoke maestro. My friends could only convince me to go out clubbing if they had booked a table at a karaoke bar. I’d sing, make some new friends (mostly girls) and we’d have a great crew for a young and wild night. The validation was overflowing and boy did the raging Leo in me love it. I could feel myself slowly taking ownership of a voice I knew wasn’t perfect, of my rawness and the absence of musical technique, and of the imposter I was certain I was.
However, The Romanian Voice was a different ball game. The Romanian Voice was that A level Exam I had to study for, having never studied for an examinations in my life before. The Voice was the stage that gently and kindly undressed the imposter I was and clothed me with the realisation of the gift buried beneath the superficiality I was feeding my ego with. I remember joking with my friends at the blind auditions and telling them to find a plug they could pull in case I (excuse my french) “Fucked it up”, just so I could do it all over again. The blood rush was devastating, my heart pounded harder than I could ever remember. My brain was empty, in all honestly, all I could do was pray. I didn’t realise how much it meant at the time, but I knew I wanted to do good. The pressure was unreal.
In the midst of this raging turbulence, in the presence of lights and cameras, in front of musicians history will remember, an audience craving emotion and entertainment, and in a body that wanted to elope from a very present now, I heard the Brass and String Ensemble of James Brown’s It’s a man’s world and my eyes shut, my ears tingled, the noise filtered, and as the music started soaking into the depth of my very existence, my mouth opened and my voice blared out… “This is a maaaaaaaan’s world”! The thought of it makes my eyes water even now.
By the time I could hear anything other than the music, I heard the roar of the audience, and the bang of Tudor Chirilla’s chair turning and right there and then I remember subtly thumping my left fist downwards and grinding my teeth against themselves. I had given against the odds and it had been received.
Part of the Forbes Romania under 30 top
In all honestly I don’t know. I don’t know that I’ll ever be rich enough to make another Forbes list, not that I have ever been or influential enough to ever be younger than 30, but it’s been the honour of my life to have been the first ever black man to be listed on a Forbes list in Romania. I can’t tell you that I was so influential and I don’t know that I’m aware of how influential I am now if I am at all, dar cum spune romanul, Am făcut-o și pe asta…. Să fie primit.
How would you define your style
The more I observe my creative journey, the more I take ownership of the fact that I don’t have a style and I don’t need one. If at all I want “my artistry” (sounds so egocentric) to be represented by a notion or concept, it would be the diversity that is firmly embedded in me as a human being and my desperation for development and the supreme constant… Change. These are what I believe give identity to any song I work on. Even in your question, you mentioned three significantly different styles (Genres) and I find myself in each of them. I have a vocal emission for each of them. I often fondly remember Vladimir (Chopstix or Toesup) telling me: Tobi, I need your DJ voice not your piano Ballad voice. I’ve come to learn how to use and appreciate each and every one of these “Tobi”s. I mean, With Matteo and Nosfe (God rest his soul), we made Ragga and Gypsy Reggae, in Summerless with Sasha Lopez the second verse has UK drill, Feli and myself fused Pop with Reggae, with Minelli it was Electronic Pop and with Deny and Reman, we made Afro House. I believe this is testament to the fact that the music industry has evolved past the exclusivity of Artists to certain Genres. I believe it has now become more identity oriented.
For as long as I feel, and I have the grit to mindfully observe my emotions, the grace to accept, understand and interpret the vision that follows, and perseverance to never shy away from my responsibility to share… I can live in the gratitude of a peaceful life regardless of what style the world attaches to whatever I share.
Your creative process
There are no tricks, there are no secrets, there are no short cuts. The much I know is to be a channel and if I do the work of cleaning up the channel, the music will flow effortlessly. The challenge is in cleaning the pipes… that takes time and patience, it takes practice and observation, dedication to arts and its structures, a burning desire to keep learning. All of these things sound so beautiful in words. The doing is a motherfucker though. It’s so easy to rest on your laurels and believe that you got this. Ușor ți se urcă la cap. I remember the kid I was after the finals of the voice and even at the time I couldn’t stand myself. But I’m learning and growing and striving more and more for discipline.
Music is as practical as science, while more spiritual than religion. At least this is how I’m experiencing it. You might think you know something at a point in time, but then you get into a session and you are lost. Somedays you just don’t have it, but the more you learn to accept those days, the fewer they become. The odds are stacked against you either way. But in the words of a wise producer I know (Șerban Cazan) you just gotta keep going, keep singing, keep writing, keep composing. Pouring yourself into the process is the closest thing there is to guaranteeing any form of result.
The most important revelation you had, regarding music
The most significant revelation that I have had in connection with music is one I believe is becoming more present. Asides from its emotional and entertaining components, I’m realizing more and more that music is a spirit worthy of a fanatically religious reverence. It is POWERFUL!
From way back in the bible when Kings needed the harps to tame their demons and trumpets being responsible for bringing down the walls of Jericho, to the modern stories of lives saved from cancer and depression, to the burning love we feel for songs sang in languages we don’t even understand, the only justification I find for this inexplicable gift I’m living in real time is embedded in the spiritual power music has.
It gives life to everything and every day I get the opportunity to live and be part of a process that births something so powerful, boy oh boy…. Whew. Nu mai zic nimic.
How do you see the musical spectrum in Romania
I believe the industry is going. I feel privileged to have worked with most of the top labels in the country. I’m sure there are many things that can be developed to further grow the industry, but I’ve learnt to let business men do their business and just focus on the art. I believe its the most valuable way to contribute to the growth of the music industry.
Which of the songs you released you feel represent you the most
Fortunately… or not, I’m one who doesn’t have favourites and as such I can’t say I’m attached to any song. I just enjoy the blessing of being able to express myself in such a beautiful way. I enjoy the process of feeling, thinking, processing, analysing and just pouring out intense emotions in melody.
Songs that were doing good internationally
What can I say, this much I don’t know to predict. Sun with Sasha Lopez and Diotic has been the most satisfying song yet from an international stand point. Over 8 million streams on Spotify alone, Over 4 million on YouTube… It feels good to know people enjoyed our work so many times. Jaleen with Eneli also scored us the first million views on my YouTube channel and just under a million streams on Spotify. Truly proud of the progress I’ve made over the years.
Technically speaking I don’t know how that would work, but I believe this is the dream. With the help of social media and streaming platforms, I no longer have to be physically present for music to get to as you would call it “the west”. The world they say is a global village and it would be the joy of my life for the village to fall in love with what I have to give. How is the only thing I really don’t know how to achieve, but between this dream and a hard working team, I’m certain we will get there.
What's next
For the past 5 years, I’ve been working on my debut album. Earlier in the year, we finished the musical production of the album. It is mixed and mastered and ready for release. As a matter of fact we have released the first single titled Harvest. The album is titled Fear to Freedom. It is a musical summary of the past ten years of my life and I reckon that’s why it has taken so long for it to be made. At many different points where I felt like it was ready, something else would happen that would give me a new story to share or change the story that had already been written. I fondly remember the transformation of track 11, which was initially titled “Miracle”. However, after the passing of my sister in-law, God rest her soul, “Miracle” became “November” and is now dedicated to her memory.
It’s been a wonderful process so far and I have thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it. It is earmarked for release mid November.
