At any summer cookout or gathering, you’ll probably hear your brother, cousin and uncle all tell you how they would’ve gone pro if they hadn’t had a career ending injury. In many cases, the person that says they could’ve gone pro if they hadn’t injured themselves is lying. In the case of Tobe Nwigwe, it’s the truth. While playing Division 1 football at the University of North Texas, Tobe Nwigwe was nearly leading the nation in tackles before suffering a career ending injury halfway through his senior season.
After trying his hand in a few smaller pro leagues across the country, the Texas native decided to start his own non-profit organization that was aimed at mentoring youth in his home town of Houston, Texas. While attempting to grow the reach of his non-profit, the former linebacker reached out to minister and motivational speaker, Eric Thomas. From there, the rest is history. Thomas and Nwigwe linked up at an event for Tobe’s non-profit and Thomas was impressed with Tobe’s ability to relate to the youth. After watching a video of Tobe doing freestyles with his family, Thomas convinced Tobe to come join forces with him as an artist who would work with the youth through music. Since then, Tobe has been mastering and perfecting his sound.
In 2014, Tobe Nwigwe released his first project on Eric Thomas’s ETA Records called Pardon My Lateness. In the years that followed, the Houston emcee began his #getTWISTEDsundays series that featured the educator rapping over a number of beats each and every Sunday. More recently, Tobe has moved to put out visuals for these tracks and he’s also put out two full length projects, Tobe From The SWAT and The Originals. In the past three months, he’s also been featured on The Ringer, ESPN and Sway In The Morning. If you want to find out what all of the hype is about, be sure to check out his newest single, “TEN TOES.”, and his interview with ESPN’s Bomani Jones.
