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- Toosii (b. Nau’Jour Lazier Grainger on Jan. 9, 2000) is an American rapper best known for “Favorite Song.”
- He has accumulated over one billion combined global streams since releasing his first song in 2018.
- Toosii is set to perform on the season 23 finale of The Voice.
In a short amount of time, Toosii (pronounced ‘too-see,’ “like the number two and the letter C,” he says in a video) has become one of the hottest rappers in the game. The prolific 23-year-old rapper has released a handful of mixtapes, nearly as many EPs, and two studio albums (2020’s Poetic Pain peaked at No. 17 on the Billboard 200 chart) while also scoring his first top-10 hit with 2023’s “Favorite Song.” At the start of 2022, he crossed over the billion streams mark.
“It’s a good feeling,” he told Revolt of the accomplishment. “I don’t know, bro, I be taking every day one step at a time. But, it’s crazy because I can remember being an upcoming artist and ain’t nobody know who I was. So, for me to have a billion streams is like alright bet, I’m doing something.”
Toosii has experienced some greater mainstream success thanks to his song “Favorite Song.” His previous releases – “Sapiosexual,” “Love Is…” “Head Over Hills” – have built up a buzz, but “Favorite Song” can be considered his breakthrough. He performed the song on The Tonight Show in April and is scheduled to perform it on the season 23 finale of The Voice.
Before all that goes down, here’s what you need to know about Toosii.
Toosii Considers Himself The Best Of Both Worlds…
Toosii was born in Syracuse, New York, and he lived there until he was a teenager. He relocated to Raleigh, North Carolina, which offered a complete change of pace compared to the Upstate New York city. However, he seems to have blended the two different vibes to create his distinct style. I consider myself to be the Arnold Palmer of hip-hop, a mix of both cities,” he told American Songwriter in 2023, referring to the drink made of lemonade and iced tea. “New York is a little bit more fast-paced and living down South is a little bit slower. So that’s where the mix comes in.”
“Honestly, growing up in Syracuse, there wasn’t really much around,” he said to Flaunt. “Small town, everybody knows everybody. Everybody thinks it’s the suburbs, but really it’s one of the worst parts of New York. It was fast living and nobody to look up to. Till this day, it’s still the same way.”
…In More Ways Than One.
“I listen to country music in my free time,” Toosii told American Songwriter when asked about how he’s been able to bridge rap with Southern trap and country music. “I listen to a few country artists, like Tim McGraw. And similar to country songs, I write about love and heartbreak too.”
When asked about how he’s been able to be so prolific, he said it’s because he’s not working with any pressure to conform to what he “should” or “should not” make. “I would say being able to step in my own lane. Musically, I can create whatever I want. I am having fun with it and not really trying to impress anyone. Just living my truth.
His First Love Was Music.
“When I moved to North Carolina, I fell in love with music,” he told Flaunt. “I really started paying attention to it. Things finally started settling down, and I was still going through stuff, so I used music as a way to cope with everything I was going through.”
Toosii told American Songwriter that he “first found music when I was about thirteen. Music was a coping mechanism. I used to write songs in my closet. I would lock myself in there and just get away from the world and write in the dark when I was going through stuff.”
He Was Homeless At One Point.
Like many Americans today, Toosii and his family were faced with economic uncertainty and left without a home. “Shoot, 3 or 4 years ago,” he said to Flaunt when discussing the situation. “We were sleeping out of a motel. When my mom was able to get back on her feet. My family stopped struggling two years ago. Even then, everybody did what they had to do, played their parts so we could live a better lifestyle. At this point, nobody has to ask for anything.”
“I used to be homeless,” he tweeted in April 2020. “I know how it feel. I ain’t always have money that could’ve been my grandad, I just wish somebody would’ve looked out for him the way I looked out for OG.”
I used to be homeless. I know how it feel. I ain’t always have money that could’ve been my grandad, I just wish somebody would’ve looked out for him the way I looked out for OG. https://t.co/M1oLtYXXS6
— Toosii (@toosii2x) August 17, 2020
In 2021, he made headlines for paying kindness forward. While driving around, he spotted a man with a cardboard sign on the side of the road while it rained (per HipHopDX). Toosii pulled over and gave the man a yellow puffer jacket from Drake’s official Nike sub-brand NOCTA. At one point, the jacket was going for over $1600 on StockX (as of May 2023, it was down to a more “reasonable” price of $774.)
Confidence And Gratitude Are His Guides
“Honestly, man, I kinda always knew I was going to be where I am today,” he told RapTV in April 2022, a year before he even blew up with his “Favorite Song” hit. “I feel like that is what is so special about my story and the way everything happened. It was like it was all written in stone. Before anybody else knew about it, I knew about it. You know, I gave up everything to be where I’m at today. So, I always knew it was gonna happen. It was just about when was it going to happen….Staying patient was the biggest thing. When I had seen you, and I was like, ‘I’m just livin’ life,’ honestly, I’m just livin’ what is already set in stone bro. Ain’t nothing else changed, you know? I’m just livin’ what is set in stone. I’m livin’ life. I’m just here, having a good time.”
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This story originally appeared on Hollywoodlife
