Mega digital music service, Spotify joined Hulu to host an evening celebrating the highly anticipated original docuseries, RapCaviar Presents.
XXL Freshman Toosii is no newcomer to fame and attention. After moving to Raleigh, North Carolina from his birthplace, Syracuse, New York, he struggled with the transition at first, but over time through sports and the stage he found a place where he belonged. Both Toosii’s father and brother were rappers, and he credits them as being the main reason why he started making music. By 15 Toosii was the youngest member of a group called Vest. Albeit the youngest rapper in the group, Toosii was still one of the best rappers, if not the best and eventually generated his own buzz. After leaving the group, he began to seriously pursue a solo career in music.
Toosii faced many challenges on his road to success, but stayed on his path eventually signing to South Coast Music Group and then subsequently Capitol Records. Recently Toosii released his deluxe project Thank You For Believing (The Manifestation) with features from Latto, Fivio Foreign, Hotboii, Key Glock and many more. In support of his latest project Toosii is also on his first headlining tour, selling out nearly every tour date and upgrading venue sizes to accommodate fans. In addition to his own tour, Toosii’s been killing the festival circuit including Rolling Loud Miami, Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits, Day N Vegas and up next it’s Rolling Loud Los Angeles. Toosii also made XXL’s Freshman list earlier this year and went platinum with his hit “Love Cycle” featuring Summer Walker. It’s safe to say 2021 has been Toosii’s year, but he doesn’t plan on slowing down in the fourth quarter. In our exclusive interview Toosii fills us in on his upcoming project dedicated to the ladies, upcoming collaborations, how he got started in music and his favorite tracks off his latest project.
The Knockturnal: How long have you been making music?
Toosii: I have been taking music seriously for the last 3-4 years.
The Knockturnal: At what age did you start experimenting with music?
Toosii: Probably like 13.
The Knockturnal: Did you have a musical family? Did they support your career?
Toosii: Yes, my brother and my dad were rappers. Yeah, they’re the reason I started making music.
The Knockturnal: When did you know you want to pursue music as a career?
Toosii: Probably like 17 that’s when I found out music is what I wanted to do. When I have 15, I was in a group called Vest. I was the youngest in the group, but I really use to know how to rap. I was probably one of the best rappers in the group at 15 years old. I used to just go to the show and be the young dude who used to get in the show with them. I used to watch them do their thing and it just got to the point where I had a buzz for my name, and they would perform and then bring me on stage, and I would perform with them. My name just started to buzz, and then I ventured out and started to do my own thing and became who I am today. It was just a matter of getting a buzz in the city first.
The Knockturnal: What are the three biggest highlights of your career so far?
Toosi: Going on tour, going platinum, and signing my deal to my major.
The Knockturnal: How does it feel to be a XXL Freshmen?
Toosii: Blessings. It feels good word up. It’s one of those steps you gotta go through to be where you want to be. Not gotta go through, but a lot of greats went through it.
The Knockturnal: How did it feel going platinum with “Love Cycle”?
Toosii: It’s crazy cause I just got my plaque the other day. When I went home, I just got my plaque but it feels good. They say when you get your first plaque, many more start to come. So, I’m just ready for the rest of them to start bubbling.
The Knockturnal: Can you talk about releasing the deluxe for Thank You For Believing (The Manifestation)? What was the inspiration behind the title?
Toosii: The title behind Thank You For Believing came from just the people who helped me get to where I am today. They really pushed me to go harder every day and become who I am. So, this project is just dedicated to the people who helped me get to where I’m at. Thank you for believing in me. It was my first time recording a project in a studio instead of an in-home set up.
The Knockturnal: What’s your favorite track off the project?
Toosii: “Dats Real,” “5’5,” “Greater Storm,” “Icky Vicky.”
The Knockturnal: Why Those songs?
Toosii: “Icky Vicky” there was so much thought behind that, I actually sat and created the beat with the producers and told them exactly what I wanted and how I wanted it to sound as far as the guitar acoustics in the background, I told the guitarist how I wanted it to be played, there was a lot of thought put into it that, that’s why that’s probably one of my favorites and with the whole Toosii Skylark thing.
The Knockturnal: How is the tour going? How does it feel to be back outside and see your fans again?
Toosii: It’s a blessing. It’s a blessing just to see how many people support. I have been going to all of these shows and selling them out. It’s just crazy. The show was sold out. My favorite city so far between DC and Boston. But they all been crazy.
The Knockturnal: What are you currently working on? What do you have on the way?
Toosii: Right now, I’m working on a capsule project called Pretty Girls Love Toosii, it’s going to come out this month. Something short and sweet, nothing too long. Short and simple. Not too many songs. I got a collaboration with Jacquees on it. It’s dedicated to the women.
The Knockturnal: I hear you’re a gamer too! What game you would you want to see your music on?
Toosii: I would love to see my music on Warzone, Call of Duty, Fortnite.
The Knockturnal: What are your thoughts on NFTs and crypto? Do you want to release your own NFT like Tory Lanez did earlier this year?
Toosii: I’ve got some Ethereum and you know what’s crazy Tory’s actually the one who put me on to it. Yes, most definitely we’ll see what happens in the future.
Powerhouse 2021 was definitely an exciting show this weekend! Hosted by Power 105.1 at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ; the show featured artists B-Lovee, Capella Grey, Fivio Foreign, Bobby Shmurda, Rowdy Rebel, Moneybagg Yo, DJ Spinking, Polo G, Roddy Ricch, Saweetie, Migos, and headliner Lil Baby. Each set was filled with surprises that the audience did not expect.
Bronx rapper B-Lovee opened the show with his TikTok smash, “My Everything” getting the audience warmed up for an exciting night. Capella Grey performed his mega hit “Gyalis” as the audience danced and sang to his music. To the pleasant surprise of the crowd, he brought out upcoming Bronx artist Swave HMG to perform his rising single “Blue Faces.” The crowd of over 60,000 people became excited as Polo G entered the stage, many fans held their phone flashlights as they prepared for him to enter the stage. He performed hits such as “Rapstar” and “Martin and Gina.” Fivio Foreign brought an exhilarating energy as he performed drill hits such as “Big Drip” and “Wetty.” He brought out rapper DreamDoll to perform their hit single “Ah Ah Ah.” The crowd went crazy watching them perform together!
The self proclaimed ‘Icy Girl’ Saweetie performed and had the audience jumping out of their seats. She went around the crowd complimenting the “icy girls” in the audience as fans screamed and danced. She performed hits such as “My Type” and “Best Friend.” DJ Spinking had audience members speculating who he would bring out to perform on stage. The surprise performers included Sleepy Hallow, Fetty Wap and A Boogie. The audience members jumped out of their seats as Sleepy Hallow entered the stage, the crowd started to utter “Free Sheff G” as he performed hit single “2055.” It was a pleasant surprise seeing Fetty Wap perform. This performance was Fetty’s first performance since his release from his arrest at Rolling Loud in 2021. He brought nostalgia to the arena performing classic hits such as “RGF Island” and “Trap Queen.” A Boogie performed hits such as “Timeless” and “Look Back at It.”
Moneybagg Yo brought his southern charm to the stage, performing hits such as “Time Today” “Said Sum” and “Wockesha.” Bobby Shmurda ignited the stage with fellow GS9 members Rowdy Rebel and Fetty Luciano. They performed “Computers,” “Hot Boy,” and “Beam Jawn.” Bobby got the crowd excited by jumping into the crowd, crowd surfing, and doing his infamous dances. The performance was one of the most exciting of the night, the entire crowd could be heard singing the songs with Rowdy and Bobby.
Roddy Ricch performed hit singles “The Box” and “Late at Night.” The catchy melodies of his music could be heard echoing through the entire arena. Migos had an electrifying performance, performing classic songs such as “Hannah Montana,” “Motorsport,” “Fight Night” and newer singles “Need It” and “Straightenin.” Lil Baby brought the show home at the end of the night. He had a thrilling performance, performing singles like “We Paid” “Drip Too Hard” and “Errbody.” His energy was invigorating and fans were excited to see him. The cheers and screams from the audience could be heard as he performed throughout the remainder of the night.
Overall, Powerhouse 2021 was a great experience. The fans seemed to enjoy it and the lineup of artists put on an entertaining show that will be remembered for years to come!
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