Tunji Ige

Philadelphia rapper, songwriter, and producer Tunji Ige, born Olatunji Ige, started making tracks as a teenager on a laptop "in a basement in Pennsylvania." His influences ranged from rappers such as Kanye West, Kid Cudi, Common, DMX, and Jay-Z to the electronic textures of Disclosure and James Blake, the soul of Donny Hathaway, and the Afro-beat of Fela Kuti, a connection rooted in his Nigerian parents. These threads converged on his breakthrough 2014 single "Day2Day," which turned a trap-influenced rap track into a progressive house anthem and quickly became a viral hit. While still enrolled at West Chester University, he placed the song on his self-produced debut mixtape The Love Project, a coming-of-age narrative exploring relationships, rebellion, and social pressure. In 2016 he released the Noah Breakfast–produced project Missed Calls (Chiddy Bang). Several months afterward came the mixtape Prince of July, issued to mark his 21st birthday. The following year he dropped the single "Why Don't You?"