Toosii Sets St. Pete Ablaze at the First Stop of his Third Headlining Tour
On Thursday, August 17th, multi-platinum recording artist Toosii kicked off his 26-city, third headlining tour in superb fashion. The self-titled tour, named after Toosii’s birth name “Nau’jour”, is the culmination of four distinct projects that has magnetized an audience and garnered a fanbase akin to that of an artist seasoned through years in the hip-hop realm. Hailing from North Carolina but cultivated in the urban environment of New York City, Toosii artfully treads the boundary between songster and lyricist, weaving mellifluous tunes that summon forth the anguish and heartache of his existence, accompanied by commanding basslines that define his sonic landscape. At a mere 21 years of age, Toosii has amassed an eclectic assemblage of adolescents and youthful adults, and his stopover at Jannus Live in St. Petersburg, Florida was more than proof.
Commencing his performance with offerings from his most recent opus, aptly titled Thank You for Believing, Toosii held the crowd in a state of captivation, his rhythmic cadence and mastery over his breath akin to the seamlessness of a leisurely album listening session. Each lyrical bar emanated with precision and swiftness. Attendees remained engaged the entire show as they craned their necks to capture every nuance, as he engaged in sprawling sections of his auditory assembly, traversing the stage from one extremity to the other. Following the initial sequence of songs like “Favorite Song” and “What it Costs”, Toosii proclaimed amidst the elation of adoring young women, “Tampa holds a special place in my heart.” After, he swiftly transitioned into crowd-rousing favorites from his preceding album, such as the lively “Right Now”, which kindled fervor throughout the entire assemblage. Each musical composition was a resounding hit, rendering nonexistent any passive observers in the gathering. Toosii had his supporters literally falling out as he personally recognized a multitude of fans.
A creator deeply invested in the holistic concert experience, as much as his own artistic presentation, Toosii demonstrated hands-on involvement in curating the precise lighting ambience for his performance. Throughout the night, he directed both the audience and the illumination technicians, summoning crimson hues in synchrony with the aptly titled “Red Lights” – the track that ignited his trajectory – and orchestrating audience participation, as they brandished the glow of their mobile devices in harmony with songs like the crowd-favorite “Euphoria”. Though his stage set-up adhered to simplicity, its impact was profound, featuring a structure reminiscent of the pink and blue dwelling known as 2 Chainz’s Pink Trap House in Atlanta – an homage to his amalgamation of Southern hip-hop elements with his urban upbringing in New York.
This structure also served as his changing room, where he emerged for the latter half of the show, shirtless and devoid of his customary chains, executing a well-defined plan: to woo the female contingent. The silk-like lyrics of “Sapiosexual” were succeeded by the fervent emotions of “Poetic Pain”, culled from an album he describes as, “musical agony, yet redolent of poetic verse.” Uniquely, Toosii took the effort to climb through the sea of supporters, perching himself on a tree in the center of the venue as he continued to interact with the crowd on a level that most artists just will not do. The evening reached its crescendo with his chart-topping track featuring R&B sensation Summer Walker, “Love Cycle”, leaving the audience yearning for more as he receded backstage.
Toosii’s visit to St. Petersburg achieved nothing short of solidifying his trajectory as an impending luminary in the realm of hip-hop, endowed with an abundance of narratives yet to unfold. He captivates the younger demographic with verses that lay his soul bare, cultivating an impression of camaraderie, fraternity, and romance all within a singular persona. The enigma that is Toosii, is poised to unravel further along the eastern coast, with only the passage of time and the accumulation of life experiences poised to reveal his next artistic endeavors.
