TOBi Wrestles With Pain and Confusion on New Banger “Hoodwinked”
With Spotify Wrapped season here at last (also known by its government name of “Winter”), many of us are ready to pack things up and leave 2022 behind. Some artists, however, are deadset on ending the year with a bang, and nobody knows how to leave an impression like Toronto-via-Nigeria artist TOBi.
Though he’s been around for a minute, TOBi has had quite the year, dropping countless singles, releasing his own COLORS performance, and he’s even set to perform at Afrochella this year. Preceded by tracks like the soulful “Flowers” and the dreamlike “She Loves Me,” TOBi’s latest offering “Hoodwinked” is a minimalistic banger deserving of both your eyes and ears as the holidays come around the corner.
“Hoodwinked” is an in-depth exposé exploring the impact that tension and trauma have on children, altering not only how they perceive the world around them but how they understand it too. Over thunderous bass signals and mechanical percussion, TOBi delivers cleverly-written and tightly-woven bars from the perspective of a child plagued by familial issues. He notes that the song’s protagonist "has a general distrust for systems and adults. What happens when the veil is lifted? As he gets older he starts to see things for what they really are. He’s on a quest for truth—a very challenging quest.”
Though some artists have already checked out for the holiday season, TOBi maintains his grasp on 2022 right until the year's final moments. Sporting a performance whose dexterity is just as skillful as it is understated, “Hoodwinked” sees TOBi hitting both his musical and creative stride. Luckily, with an album set for release in 2023, fans will not have to wait long for new music from the young artist.
Check out the new visualizer for “Hoodwinked” below:
