Photo Credit: Gunner Stahl
Today, Toosii released NAUJOUR, his debut album, via South Coast Music Group/Capitol Records. The 19-track album includes the Platinum-certified “Favorite Song,” which is No. 1 at Rhythm radio and is currently top 5 of the Billboard Hot 100 chart, subsequent versions of “Favorite Song” with Khalid and Future. Download / stream NAUJOUR HERE. Hailed by Complex as one of “music’s brightest stars,” Toosii will support the album with an extensive summer headline tour. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster.com. See below for itinerary.
Born NauJour Lazier Grainger in Syracuse, NY, Toosii began focusing on music after he moved to Raleigh, NC, as a teen. He says, “I had always told myself that when I dropped my debut album, it would be a self-titled album. I feel like there is a difference between NauJour and Toosii and with this album, I am actually giving people the real in my life.”
On NAUJOUR, the 23-year-old artist oscillates between disarming tenderness (“Favorite Song”) and jagged cool. He trades bars with 21 Savage on “Pull Up” for an effortless blend of menace and machismo. On “Rich Ridin,” he coasts over insistent percussion as he lets loose emphatic flexes and implicit warnings for his enemies. The slow burning “FWLM” blends raw lyrics with elegant instrumentation as Toosii swings from brash and confident (“Backseat, Double R, let me set the bar”) to vulnerable (“Brought her to the studio / Just for her to break my heart and play me like a Yu-Gi-Oh!”). Toosii shot the immersive, atmospheric official video for “FWLM” in downtown Los Angeles with frequent collaborators Joan Pabon and Logan Fields (Rod Wave, Syd). Tune in tomorrow afternoon for the video premiere HERE.
Named by Billboard as an early contender for “Song of the Summer 2023,” “Favorite Song” has amassed over 260 million combined global streams while the audio has been featured in over five million global TikTok creations, earning more than three billion combined views. XXL Magazine put “Favorite Song” (feat. Future) [Toxic Version] on its list of the best new hip-hop songs and Brooklyn Vegan observed, “It’s a syrupy slow jam that Future is perfect for.” Praising the remix with Khalid, HYPEBEAST said, “An R&B song reflecting on the woes of heartbreak, the resulting collaboration is a series of layered, drawn-out vocals, subtly punctuated with the tapping of drums.”
Toosii recently performed “Favorite Song” during the two-hour live season finale of Season 23 of NBC’s four-time Emmy Award-winning competition series “The Voice” and on “The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.”
After releasing a stream of projects between 2017 and 2019, Toosii solidified his emerging star with his South Coast Music Group debut, Platinum Heart, which included fan favorites “Love Cycle” and “Red Lights.” Poetic Pain followed, which injected Toosii into the national consciousness and earned him a spot in the 2021 XXL Freshman class. From there, he kept up his momentum with efforts like Thank You for Believing and Pretty Girls Love Toosii, which combined his sensual vocals with understated soundscapes. Released after the birth of his son, 2022’s Boys Don’t Cry saw Toosii reach even deeper into his emotions. “It’s alright as a man to tap into that emotional side,” he said at the time.
NAUJOUR is further proof of Toosii’s willingness – and his power – to succumb to the emotional compulsions the world says Black men shouldn’t acknowledge. With this comfort, he writes more earnestly while singing more passionately, signifying his total artistic control. “I want NAUJOUR to be a classic, timeless project,” Toosii says. “I want people to understand who I truly am and recognize that I am an artist that’s going to be around forever and not for the moment.”
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Photo Credit: Gunner Stahl
With pleading melodies and unbound emotions, Toosii renders personal tales of street strife and romantic yearning in an elegant, soulful style. Since emerging in 2019, the Syracuse-born, Raleigh-raised performer has mined memories and sensations for songs that are raw and intimate, and in the process, he’s become one of the most affecting crooners of his era. He reaffirms that status with his debut album, NAUJOUR, a sleek constellation of smoky warbles, dexterous raps, and immersive anthems for lovers.
For NAUJOUR, Toosii oscillates between disarming tenderness and jagged cool. On “Rich Ridin,” he coasts over insistent percussion as he lets loose emphatic flexes and implicit warnings for his enemies. Meanwhile, for “Pull Up,” he trades bars with 21 Savage for an effortless blend of menace and machismo. And yet he can sink into his feelings just as easily. The confident “FWLM,” is a reflection on a life of luxury and the attention he’s able to attract as a result. On “Favorite Song,” Toosii serenades a lover who’s been damaged by a broken romance: “Wash your back while y’all sit in the shower / Someone to tell you, ‘You’re beautiful,’ someone to tell you and mean it / Someone to tell you ‘I love you’ every day and don’t got a reason.” As vivid as it is unabashedly warm, the track’s resonated with fans in a major way, inspiring a TikTok virality before landing at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. It’s as personal as the new album he titled after himself—a gesture of honesty and vulnerability, a way of welcoming the public into his world.
“When I dropped my debut album, I always knew it would be self-titled,” says Toosii. “I feel like there is a difference between Naujour and Toosii, and on this album, I’m showing people the difference—showing them the real.”
Toosii’s journey to NAUJOUR began in Syracuse 23 years ago. As a child, he remembers seeing his mother work constantly to keep himself and his siblings out of trouble. “That’s where my hustle comes from,” he says. Inspired by his brother and father, Toosii began focusing on music after relocating to Raleigh as a teen. It took a while, but by 2017, he’d gotten traction with Why Not Now, his debut EP chronicling his transition from the street to the studio. Imbued with metallic crooning and block memories, the EP crystallized his knack for trenchant mood music—and from there, his level-up has only continued.
After releasing a stream of projects between 2017 and 2019, Toosii solidified his emerging star with his South Coast Music Group debut, Platinum Heart, which included fan favorites such as “Love Cycle” and “Red Lights.” Poetic Pain followed, laced with diverse sounds and uninhibited feelings, the album injected Toosii into the national consciousness, positioning him to be named an XXL Freshman in 2021. From there, he kept up his momentum with efforts like Thank You for Believing and Pretty Girls Love Toosii, which combined his sensual vocals with understated soundscapes for playboy theme songs that are as blunt as they are seductive. Released after the birth of his son, 2022’s Boys Don’t Cry saw Toosii reach even deeper into his emotions. “It’s alright as a man to tap into that emotional side,” he said at the time. “This is something that we were taught all our lives, but it’s just not true.”
For Toosii, truth comes in symbolic lyricism that pulls you into whatever emotion he’s looking to isolate. For “Favorite Song,” it’s the passion that comes with undying affection, a feeling that’s only doubled down upon when Khalid jumps on the track for the remix. For “Sinking,” it’s painful introspection: “Only looking for peace, crying myself to sleep/How a ni**a so shallow but, the water get so deep?” Fused with emotive vocals, Toosii’s tales of a weary heart have only grown more refined, a testament to the openness and sincerity that’s always characterized his music. Now, it’s even more potent. Additionally, Toosii collaborated with his stylistic forebear, Future, on the toxic remix for “Favorite Song.”
NAUJOUR is further proof of Toosii’s willingness—and his power—to succumb to the emotional compulsions the world says Black men shouldn’t acknowledge. With this comfort, he writes more earnestly while singing more passionately, signifying his total artistic control. “I found my niche,” he says. “With this album, I locked in with the exact people I wanted to work with and took more time to really craft it and put it together.”
Looking ahead, Toosii wants to reach more listeners, folks who found strength in vulnerability. “I want NAUJOUR to be a classic, timeless project,” he says. “I want people to understand who I am and recognize that I’m going to be around forever and not for the moment.”
“This phase of my career is personal,” he adds. “I found what I love to do and love to create.”
Photo Credit: Gunner Stahl
