Tobe Nwigwe

Tobechukwu Dubem Nwigwe, who also goes by Tobe Nwigwe, (born March 8, 1987) is a Nigerian-American rapper and singer. He is from the Alief neighborhood of Houston, Texas.

Life

Nwigwe is of Nigerian descent, and hails from the Igbo ethnic group.

He played high school football and then college football at the University of North Texas.[1] He was being considered for draft by the NFL. However, a Lisfranc Ligament Tear left him unable to continue to play football.[2] He then founded the nonprofit TeamGINI, a name derived from “Gini Bu Nkpa Gi?” which translates to “What’s your purpose?” in the Igbo language. TeamGINI aims to help families in need by giving them gifts that aid them in gaining financial literacy and independence.[3] After encouragement from the motivational speaker Eric Thomas, Nwigwe began focusing on music in earnest.[4]

Music career

Since August 2016, he has posted an original song and video every Sunday across social media.[2] He began to gain a following through his Instagram and YouTube posts and videos.[4]

Nwigwe collaborates with his wife, Fat (born Martika Ivory Rogers), and friend and producer/rapper LaNell "Nell" Grant, also known as The Originals.[5][6] The three came together while working with Nwigwe's nonprofit TeamGINI.

Nwigwe appeared on the BET Hip Hop Awards 2018 Cypher.[7] He is a featured artist on Paul Morton's album Paul, released on August 9, 2019 by Morton Records and Empire Records.

In 2019, Nwigwe and The Originals performed on NPR's Tiny Desk Concert series with a backing band.[8] His music has garnered a lot of attention, including Michelle Obama, who put his song "I'm Dope" on her workout playlist.[9] In 2020, Nwigwe went viral on digital platforms for his song "I Need You To (Breonna Taylor)".[10] He said God gave him a vision to do the song as a public service announcement.[11] He performed his songs "Try Jesus" and "Eat" at the 2020 BET Hip Hop Awards.[12] "Try Jesus" reached No. 4 on the Billboard R&B Digital Song Sales chart.[13]

Nwigwe has collaborated with many other artists, including television host Anthony "Spice" Adams,[14] Paul Wall,[15] Duckwrth,[16] Big K.R.I.T.,[17] D Smoke,[18] Black Thought, Royce Da 5'9"[19] and more.

Nwigwe's The Pandemic Project was released in 2020.[20]

References
  1. "Tobe Nwigwe - Football". University of North Texas Athletics. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  2. "Tobe Nwigwe twists himself into Houston's next big star". HoustonChronicle.com. October 11, 2019. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  3. John, Caroline (October 28, 2020). "Tobe Nwigwe Wiki: Facts about the Houston Rapper". Earn The Necklace.
  4. Pariseau, Leslie (August 13, 2020). "Tobe Nwigwe Never Planned to Go Viral. Then He Rapped About Breonna Taylor". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  5. "Tobe Nwigwe And The Originals Discuss Love, Erykah Badu, Breakthroughs & More! [EXCLUSIVE]". YouTube.
  6. MTV News Staff. "Tobe Nwigwe Is The Transcendent Rapper Making Purpose Popular". MTV News. Retrieved December 26, 2020.
  7. "BlocBoy JB, YBN Cordae And More Spit Some Fire | Hip Hop Awards 2018 Cypher". YouTube.
  8. "Tobe Nwigwe: Tiny Desk Concert". NPR.org. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  9. https://twitter.com/michelleobama/status/1218931040598798336
  10. "TOBE NWIGWE | I NEED YOU TO (BREONNA TAYLOR)". YouTube.
  11. "Artist Tobe Nwigwe hopes viral song will reinvigorate calls for justice for Breonna Taylor". NBC News. July 15, 2020.
  12. "BET Hip Hop Awards 2020 Performers | BET | Hip Hop Awards". www.bet.com. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  13. "R&B Digital Song Sales Chart". Billboard. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
  14. "Tobe Nwigwe | SPICE. feat. SPICE ADAMS (The Originals) #getTWISTEDsundays". YouTube. November 11, 2018.
  15. "TOBE NWIGWE I JUICE ft. PAUL WALL". YouTube. September 15, 2019.
  16. "TOBE NWIGWE | WILDLINGS FT. OLU OF EARTHGANG + DUCKWRTH". YouTube. November 15, 2020.
  17. "TOBE NWIGWE | BOZOS FT. BIG K.R.I.T." YouTube. November 22, 2020.
  18. "TOBE NWIGWE - HEADSHOTS FT. D SMOKE". YouTube. December 6, 2020.
  19. "TOBE NWIGWE - FATHER FIGURE FT. BLACK THOUGHT + ROYCE DA 5'9". YouTube. November 29, 2020.
  20. "Tobe Nwigwe Bites Into 'Eat,' 'Try Jesus' at 2020 BET Hip Hop Awards". Billboard. Retrieved December 9, 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.