Toosii – the New York-bred, Raleigh-raised wunderkind who has taken the industry by storm – has assuredly cemented his position within North Carolina’s divergent music scene.
After releasing his debut studio album, Platinum Heart, back in February, the self-proclaimed Big Steppa has since continued to redefine the term savvy as it pertains to the lyrically gifted. His pellucid remembrance of a troubled past warrants understanding in order to identify with Toosii’s introverted frame of mind.
He’s not emotionally unavailable or mentally detached from society. In actuality, it’s the exact opposite, Toosii is highly aware of the emotions of those around him. “You can come around and I can feel the type of aura you give off. If you down, I’ll know,” he admits. “Everything that I do is for people, cause I’m an empath. Other people’s happiness makes me happy,” he continues.
Shortly after signing with South Coast Music Group (DaBaby, Blacc Zacc, Big Mali and Tia Corine), it was full speed ahead. Toosii launched into the next chapter of his professional career as a recording artist with newfound elation and a stacked tour calendar, kicking things off alongside big bro, DaBaby – or at least that’s a common familial misconception. No, DaBaby and Toosii are not blood-related, just label-related, but the family oriented nature behind the Syracuse native’s relationship with SCMG is intrinsic. “I don’t want y’all to feel like this is business with me, we a family,” Toosii recalls the conversation he had with Arnold Taylor (South Coast Music Group CEO) before signing.
But don’t get me wrong, when you’re deconstructing Toosii’s narrative, family is essential and must be mentioned. We all go through shit, withstanding the inevitable dismay behind life’s unprecedented losses, but it’s imperative that you grow through what you go through – especially when you’re holding onto something. “What happened with my grandfather taught me to never take life for granted and that things can happen at any time,” Toosii candidly admits while we briefly discussed his life growing up. “I feel like everybody in life has something that they hold onto dearly,” he continues.
From playing high school football, to amassing millions of digital streams and charting on Billboard with a featureless debut project, Toosii’s stats are gripping, on and off the gridiron.
He’s a hopeless romantic with a lot of love to give and has become a formidable force amongst many like-minded creatives in his respective profession, but the difference is – Toosii’s heart was platinum long before his debut album came into existence.
Platinum Heart (Deluxe) is imbued with frenetic production and crafty innuendos. Toosii’s storytelling dynamic balloons overtop a mix of trap-heavy chords and heartfelt mentions, allowing listeners to live vicariously through the eyes of a Big Steppa.
The untimely death of George Floyd has subsequently led to a significant level of social unrest that has catalyzed a worldwide movement. Change is warranted and long overdue, but sometimes it takes two i’s to see the vision.
My full conversation with Toosii follows below.
When exactly did Toota Butt become Toosii?
Hahaha, growing up, my whole life – I used to play football. My mom used to call me Toot and Toota Butt when she was on the sideline yelling my name.
It was one dude on my team, he couldn’t say my name, so he used to call me Toosie and ever since then we just took it and ran wit it.
The two i’s on the end of my name stand for you need two i’s (eyes) to see the vision.
With you originally being from Syracuse, NY, what do you feel like was the most challenging dynamic about growing up?
I was just in a bad environment.
I was growing up in a place where nobody ever made it out. You can’t really point to nobody and be like “he did this for the town.” It’s crazy cause people don’t know the biggest person from our town is Post Malone.
People don’t even know Post Malone from Syracuse cause he don’t claim it.
Growing up, we never really had nobody to look up to. The people that we were looking up to were drug dealers, gangbanger’s, things of that nature.
Your life has been filled with its fair share of hardship and turmoil alike. At just 13 years old, you spent time helping raise your sister’s three kids while she was incarcerated. Moreover, you’ve dealt with the mental strain associated with your grandfather’s untimely passing. To be frank, you epitomize what it means to grow through what you go through. All things considered, how have these experiences helped shape your mindset, not only as an artist, but as a man?
In life, they say everything happens for a reason. What happened with my grandfather taught me to never take life for granted and that things can happen at any time.
As far as my sister, raising her kids, my nieces – that just taught me patience.
I feel like I was so young while learning patience that once the time was over for me to not have them no more, I kind of lost patience. So recently, I just bought a dog. With me having my dog, it’s teaching me a lot more patience.
I’m not patient wit nothing, and time is very important.
Everything that happened taught me something.
It’s evident that you’re very family oriented, almost like you’d give your last just to see your loved ones smile. How do you find the balance between being a Big Steppa and a big brother?
Honestly, with that, it’s like this – Ion live for the negative and I don’t believe in bad luck.
When I say I’m a Big Steppa, I don’t mean it in the same way that other people mean it.
Usually, when people say they a Big Steppa, it got something to do wit the streets. As far as I’m concerned, wit anything I do I’ma Big Steppa, I step big. So say for example, I just bought my new house and my new car, I’m a Big Steppa. If you just graduated from high school, you a Big Steppa.
Anything that you do, we big step no matter what. I’m 2X (two-times) and the definition of two-times is working two-times as hard as the next man.
Everything that I do is for people, cause I’m an empath. Other people’s happiness makes me happy.
The way that I balance that is by working for other people, by big stepping for my family and my loved ones.
Speaking of being an empath, you’re so emotionally intact with the music. Does that ever feel overwhelming?
Yeah it do. I can’t be around a lot of people because people’s spirits jump on me.
You can come around and I can feel the type of aura you give off. If you down, I’ll know.
I don’t really like that because I allow stuff like that to ruin my day and hinder how I feel.
I like to be alone.
What does it mean to have a Platinum Heart?
When I came up with Platinum Heart, it was just letting people know that my heart is bigger than the music.
You know how they say “keep your heart three stacks”, I feel the same way, but in a sense how I mean it – the same way you treated me the first day you met me, always treat me like that.
Even if I come around you and catch a bad vibe, I won’t treat you differently. I could be wrong, I’m human.
I got people till this day that treated me wrong the first day they met me. They never thought I was gone be what I was gone be, do what I was gone do, they just thought I was another person.
I just feel like even if my music wasn’t as good three years ago, my ambition, grind and my work ethic, you should’ve known I was gone be something. You should’ve known, like aight “I might not like his music, but he gone be something” or “he keep doing what he doing, I know he gone – ya know.”
Cause at the end of the day, my heart was platinum before my music was, and now it’s time to go platinum wit the music.
From Leah doing you dirty but feeling like you need it, to thinking you might love Mercedez, as mentioned towards the end of the ‘Love Cycle’ music video, you’re giving off real hopeless romantic vibes. Curious minds can’t help but wonder, what’s love got to do with it?
I’m a hopeless romantic.
I believe in stuff like walks on the beach. I like drive-in movies, all types of stuff like that. I ain’t afraid of romance.
The type of music that I make, I make music for everybody. I make music for the dudes that aren’t scared to show their feelings. The dude that’s going through something, the girl that’s going through it.
I make music for the kid in the suburbs to the kid in the projects.
What’s love got to do wit it? Love is essential.
Before I can find love with someone else, I gotta find love within myself.
Personally, I feel like the creative direction behind your ‘Love Cycle’ music video helps establish a personal connection with your fans, because it’s so relatable. By today’s standards, it appears as though relationships are more problematic than pleasant. What do you feel like is the key to having a lasting relationship?
Space. Not constantly being up under each other, boo’d up.
You gotta give each other space to grow. You gotta remember, we still live in a world where consistency is key. You talking about a person going from being by themselves everyday to being with someone else everyday.
You gotta gradually work with their schedule, because at the end of the day, if you not bringing nothing to the table and you not teaching a person something, you not giving them any room to grow.
I feel like space is essential. I feel like honesty is essential. I feel like loyalty is essential.
At the end of the day, it ain’t nothing like having one person. You can go through a 1,000 females tryna find what you found in one shorty. Whole time, they don’t bring nothing to the table compared to what she brought.
The Hip-hop culture has had this tendency to glorify drug usage as a coping mechanism or creative stimulus for others. It’s almost like drug dependence and overcoming depression go hand-in-hand at this point. A lot of people may not know this, but you choose to abstain from drug use for your own personal reasons. Point in my saying, how have you managed to grow through pain with a sober mind?
When my granddad was murdered, the three things that I promised him was that I’ll always take care of the female that I’m with, I’ll always take care of my mother and the females in my family, and I’ll never drink or smoke.
I feel like everybody in life has something that they hold onto dearly.
That’s one thing for me that I hold onto.
Speaking of pain and healing, the black delegation as a whole has just experienced yet another tragic loss at the hands of those that “serve and protect”. Riots, protest and peaceful demonstrations erupting all around the world, and here you are actively participating in the movement. Was your involvement in the Raleigh protest for George Floyd a conscious decision that you made on your own or do you feel like the court of public opinion would’ve held you accountable for not using your platform to speak out?
I went out there because I come from a place where police brutality and people of my color are frowned upon. I felt like I had to go out there.
I’m put into a position where it’s a lot of people who look up to me, and I’d be a fool to not use my platform for the right thing.
We’re talking about something that’s been going on for 400 plus years.
If I gotta go through hard times for the generation behind me to be okay, I’m willing to do that, and that’s just what it’s gone be.
In one of your past interviews, you alluded to Arnold Taylor and King Carter almost having to virtually run you down in order to get a hold of you. In a time where signing to a record label can be more taxing if anything, what was it about South Coast Music Group that made you feel like it was a good fit?
They treat me how my manager treats me. I do more business than just music. I wanna invest in a real estate license, invest in property, condominiums, all that.
Any business that I go into, it’ll always be more than just business with me.
When I went into it with Arnold, I’m just telling him, “like yo, honestly – if y’all not treating me like what this dude right here (Toosii’s manager, Marcel Homes) is treating me like, I can’t do it. I don’t want y’all to feel like this is business with me, we a family. If y’all not gone treat it like that, then I don’t even wanna do the situation.”
From there, it was nothing but love, real genuine.
Soon as I signed to the label, it was like aight bet – boom, we finna put you on tour wit Baby (DaBaby) and the rest was history.
