When we think of Afrobeats music, we tend to immediately focus on Nigerian artists currently living or very attached to the motherland. But there are some artists like TobbyTelly who are representing us all the way from Sweden. Born Oluwatobi Oluwaseun Egbalewon, he is a Nigerian afro-singer with a unique ‘wavy’ sound. He has come a long way since he joined the church choir as a kid in Lagos, Nigeria. Now, he is in Northern Europe with four singles to his name and currently working on his full project. We caught up with TobbyTelly via email to discuss his interesting name, musical influences, and the challenges that come with being an African making afro-beats music in Sweden:
For the people who don’t know you, could you tell us a little bit about yourself?
First of all welcome to the wavy wavy side. My name is Oluwatobi Oluwaseun Egbalewon, also popularly known as TOBBYTELLY Aka EYAN BALLOTELLI’. Born April 15 1993 In Lagos Nigeria, originally hailing from Ondo state.
How did you get your name, Tobbytelly?
The name Tobbytelly is derived from my first name Oluwatobi. Tobi signifies me as a person, and the Telly depicts my life visions, journeys, music, family, wins, loses, victories and everything life has to offer me as a person. Tobbytelly is on your TV and you watching while my music connects with your soul. I always wanted to be on TV ever since I was a kid; though growing up as a stammer, such a dream seemed far fetched for a stammering kid, crazy right. People wonder how come I don’t stammer when I sing. Mann! It’s inbuilt and God-given. I would say music saved me and gave me confidence and saving grace. It propelled me forward and made me find TOBBYTELLY in OLUWATOBI.
What are some of your early musical influences?
I grew up listening to a whole lot of different music genres. Honestly, my music choice can be weird sometimes and it sure varies. As long as it’s good music, I don’t really dig much into the language barrier; I just enjoy the emotions that come along with the music vibe and enjoy the sound. Growing up I listened to Asa, she was a huge influence on my sound. I remember actually buying her Hardcover album Asa, back in 2007 and daydreaming in my room of also making and putting out music someday. I listened to Fuji, too; K1 Wasiu, Fela, Bob Marley, Evangelist Ebenezer Obey, Drake, 9ice, West life, Shania Twain. Mehn quite a lot of great influences and inspiration I get from different genres. Back then my dad really played a lot of reggae songs around the house while i was a kid so that really got rooted in me quite early, which I’m thankful for.
When did you realise you wanted to be an artist?
Music had always been rooted in me from the very start and I don’t even mean to sound cliché, but I knew I loved and wanted to do music right from an early age since I was about 9. Still, I didn’t pursue it professionally until 2020. I was in the church choir my whole life growing up, it was more of ‘yeah he sings good.’ Close people around me know about it but no one ever saw me taking it professionally considering my religious upbringing and certain lifestyle that comes with the music world. So yeah, I have been wanting to do it for a long time but I guess it wasn’t the right time. Now we on the right time and everything just keeps aligning.
You grew in Lagos, Nigeria then later relocated to Milan and London. Now you are in Sweden. Do you think moving around has affected you and your music?
Definitely did impact me in certain ways, mindset and mentally. You know travelling to different parts of the world, meeting and relating with people of different backgrounds and races compared to where we were coming from definitely had a massive impact on my reasoning level. Just the progression of how I started to envision certain things from different angles and also made me question certain things and life decisions. Thus coming to a foreign land and finding balance sure helped me go hard and want more for not just my music but also me as a person. I had to tell myself, ‘okay now it’s a mental reset.’ It’s my sound and location wouldn’t be a barrier, long as the sound is genuine and the drive is there, no limits. Currently, I’m living in Sweden and it’s a good feeling. I have my family close to me, my partner, my team and all the important things of life to me in my reach. God is good.
As an Afrobeat artist, did living in Nigeria do anything for your sound?
Growing up in Nigeria at quite a young age and getting to listen to all genres of music from Style plus, to Soul E, 2Baba, OJB; all this sure helped to shape my taste in music and the whole understanding of my sound, the culture and most importantly how I want my listeners to be able to relate with the songs and messages I’m trying to pass along to them with my music. The sound is highly influenced by Afro Beats vibes that’s for sure, but it’s wavy, different, soft, smooth and R&B alté style. So yeah, I’ll say I am a product of my environment, the things i saw growing up, certain important conversations I had back in my childhood, real-life situations that happened to someone close to me; I would say all these factors combined helped me in finding my sound and having a real-life story to tell.
We all know most Nigerian parents want their children to become lawyers, doctors or engineers. How did your Nigerian parents react to your plan to pursue music?
My grandpa used to make music with his local church bands back in his hometown while my father used to be a choirmaster in church so it wasn’t that much of a surprise to see how much support I got from my family, mostly from my Dad. He loves music just much as I do. The same goes for my elder brother. Still, it took a while to convince my mom, trust Nigerian moms and worrying. I know her intentions and her thoughts are good and coming from a good place. She worries about it sometimes, you know the late nights and the lifestyle but I’m doing what I have to do every day. Now, they are all very much aware of the program and I’m thankful for their support and blessings.
Let’s talk about making Afrobeats music all the way from Sweden, what’s that like?
Can be challenging, but it’s part of the process and though I’m based in Sweden, I’m rarely here. I tend to move around quite a bit a lot and work with other artists and producers outside of Sweden. You don’t want to be confined by your environment. Making Afro music from Sweden can be a mind trick game, but long as you know what you’re aiming for and you stick to your script, it eventually plays out regardless of your geographical location. I’m in Sweden but my sound is world global and Sweden to me is like a second home after Naija.
You describe your sound as wavy. Why? How did you get the afrobeat/wavy sound?
The wavy sound is something very special and in order for you to experience or understand it, you need to listen to my songs first, only then can you fully relate and understand them. It’s such a feeling I can’t explain, all I know is that it’s calm. My sound is a relaxed altè afro vibe, intended to ease your soul, erase the pain, take you to a wavy space. Sound so smooth I call it wavy wavy sounds from the wavy side.
You put out your first single last year just as things were going crazy all over the world? Why did you decide that was the best time to release your music?
You can’t stop time, unto everything in life there’s an appointed time. That felt like the right one. You know when you just have that feeling deep down. I actually never wrote the song with no pen. I just went on the mic and said what was on my mind at that moment in time. It was a one-take thing and that became my first single Kalamity. And right after that it just got crazy from there.
As a relatively new artist, how do you think the pandemic affected your career? How are you navigating things now that we are easing out of the pandemic?
Omo, it was crazy because at the point when I dropped my first singles. Covid got even more widespread and there were a lot of restrictions to certain things that could have helped push the release of the song like arenas, studio, etc. Felt like I had to live through that moment to learn to appreciate the little things of life and look closely at the people around me. In some way it made me reflect on the things I want to change and areas I should work on music-wise. It made me mentally sharper.
Who are your current musical influences?
Baba Fela, Bob Marley, Asa, Drake, The Weekend, Wande Coal, Burna Boy, Shania Twain, Enya, Nina Simone, the list goes on and on but top 5 I will pick these names any day anytime.
Any plans to collaborate with Afrobeats artists?
Most certainly. Having a record with Big Wiz is on the bucket list. Asa still owes me that verse. I also want to lock in with Lil5ive. He’s got the drive and I love people who are hungry for it just like I am. A lot of up-comings like myself are really bringing amazing sounds straight into the world from the motherland and if God tarries his coming I’ll definitely come back home next year and work with the great minds out there and I can’t wait for this to happen. We just getting started. Let’s keep building from here on.
So far, you’ve released four singles including your latest Lifestyle. For anyone who hasn’t listened to your latest single yet, what would you say it’s about?
Lifestyle is a very complex word and at the same time can be the easiest word. It all depends on how you balance it up. The song depicts a story of my wins, losses, trauma, all the things I had to experience. It talks about what I had to learn and go through after losing a close friend a while back in Uni. These things change you as a person and you start to see life from a whole different feel. I can tell you my own lifestyle story but I hope the listener doesn’t just enjoy this song but also relates to the gems embodied in the song. Lifestyle is life. I hope you find yours and keep living it to the fullest. It’s a lifestyle.
What would you say your best and worst moment has been so far?
My best moment is every day, every second as a matter of fact. Long as I have the breath of life in me, to me that’s the best thing that could be happening to me. I do have moments I cherish, there’s been so much lately. I’m just thankful and soaking in all my blessings. My worst moments give me even greater reason to appreciate my best moments. I live through it all too, I’m human, I cry, I laugh, I have emotions, I bleed, you understand? I don’t see no worse moments because every error is meant to take you one step closer to where you are meant to be. I appreciate every moment, both good and bad.
What’s next for you?
What’s next? I’d say God got the master plan and I trust it with him. Humanly, I have a couple of ideas I want to execute next year in 2022. I’m working on my Project titled Wavy Wavy. A lot of big and exciting things to come Godspeed.
This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.