Conscious lyricism is so unavoidably the most key element to any hip-hop record that displays it successfully. And Nigerian-Canadian rapper, TOBi has no trouble doing so with new single, City Blues. The man is a powerhouse of penmanship, never failing to deliver not just good music, but meaning in equal, if not greater measure. Pulling into the fold Toronto production duo, Free-N-Losh, City Blues develops into an anthemic, mellow, and poignant track the likes of which hip-hop, music, and society as a whole could use more of.

 

A lot of its reach comes from the fact that TOBi is much more than just a rapper, but also an incredibly versatile vocalist, blending the two together seamlessly in a way that modern, transcendental artists are almost required to do. But, in doing so, he’s still incredibly unique and so is City Blues.

 

With what feels like a myriad of stories crisscrossing the breadth of his lyricism, he seamlessly works through verses that culminate in expectedly jazzy Free-N-Losh-produced choruses where Tobi himself exhibits his vocal prowes. Though meaning itself is not our grounds to express, simply know that there is plenty of it here, and that TOBi among even the most poetic in hip-hop, is as meaningful of a storyteller as anyone else.