Big Tobz

During the 2010s, London rapper Big Tobz cultivated his audience through grassroots efforts, securing an initial breakthrough when the 2014 single “Winning” landed on Link Up TV. Drawing from trap through Afro Bashment, he swiftly adjusted to the evolving textures of the U.K. rap landscape.

Stockwell-born Oluwatobiloba Aiyeola began releasing music in the early 2010s, issuing a series of standalone tracks before unveiling the 2013 EP Behind the Music. Early recordings reflected the heavy trap sound of Jeezy and Rick Ross, pairing booming American-style beats with boastful accounts of street existence. The 2014 collaborative EP Jobey on the Hook, recorded with Jobey and Blittz, preceded the arrival of “Winning,” which became his first notable success after its Link Up TV premiere.

Building on that momentum, Aiyeola issued the #Winning mixtape in 2015, shifting the project’s sound toward grime and garage elements. Two of his strongest tracks to date, “Controlla” and “Corn,” surfaced in 2016, joined that July by the joint trap release Case Closed alongside Blittz. Additional singles such as “Love That Feeling” and “No Stress” sustained his profile through 2018, the year he presented his third project, Still Winning. His fourth tape, Issa Vibe, followed in early 2020, gathering contributions from Dizzee Rascal to Geko across a mix of current U.K. sounds that again explored Afro Bashment and melodic trap.