Big Tobz

Building his fan base organically in the 2010s, London rapper Big Tobz found his first major break with the 2014 single "Winning," uploaded to key U.K. rap hub Link Up TV. Inhabiting genres from trap to Afro Bashment, the rapper was quick to adapt to the rapidly changing sonics of the U.K. scene. Born and raised in Stockwell, South London, rapper Big Tobz (real name Oluwatobiloba Aiyeola) got his start in music during the early 2010s, starting his career with a string of singles as well as the 2013 EP Behind the Music. Influenced significantly by the booming trap of rappers like Jeezy and Rick Ross, Aiyeola's early work favored the swaggering instrumentals of his U.S. contemporaries, over which he delivered braggadocious narratives of street life. After dropping collaborative EP Jobey on the Hook (2014) alongside Jobey and Blittz, the rapper found his first major hit in 2014 single "Winning," uploaded to U.K. music platform Link Up TV. Capitalizing on the single's success, Aiyeola released the #Winning mixtape the following year, featuring a greater emphasis on grime and garage in the project's production. Momentum continued as the rapper found his two biggest hits to date in 2016's "Controlla" and "Corn," supplemented in July that year with the collaborative trap tape Case Closed (with Blittz). A further chain of singles, including "Love That Feeling" and "No Stress," carried the rapper into 2018, when he dropped his third tape Still Winning. His most substantial set, Issa Vibe, was soon to follow; arriving in early 2020, the rapper's fourth tape pulled features from Dizzee Rascal to Geko for its grab bag of contemporary U.K. styles, including further ventures into Afro Bashment and melodic trap. ~ David Crone