Southern rapper Toosii’s uniquely melodic, autobiographical flow has taken him from SoundCloud star to major-label phenom. Born Nau'Jour Grainger in Raleigh, North Carolina in 2000, he grew up in Syracuse, New York before returning to his hometown to launch his music career. In 2017, the rapper dropped Why Not Now, a mixtape that found a devoted audience thanks to Toosii’s magnetic, singsong flow and willingness to dive deep into personal turmoil and trauma to propel his verses. Shortly after Toosii inked a deal with the star-making Charlotte-based label South Coast Music Group, he focused on putting together as many quality projects as he could, eventually recording 200 songs before narrowing them down to 13 for his 2020 album, Platinum Heart. “I be locked in all day, everyday. I just record. It’s my favorite thing to do,” he explained to Apple Music. That fire is palpable on incendiary hits like 2020’s “Sapiosexual” and “Right Now,” from the album’s follow-up, Poetic Pain. Toosii bears some similarities to his label mate, DaBaby, but whereas DaBaby relies on his steady double-time flow to execute his bars, Toosii brings a variety of styles, switching between singing and rapping, depending on the mood of the song. Whatever choice he makes, though, Toosii seems to be creating with his fans in mind. “I have the mindset that every song I do is gonna go crazy,” he told Apple Music. “I need to make sure they all hit in a different way.”
