Words By: Jordyn Kieft

After releasing his EP The Outside last year, indie rapper ToBy has finally unveiled his first full-length album L’Esprit via Magnetic Moon Records. An ode to his late grandmother, L’Esprit showcases ToBy’s versatility as an artist, bouncing from different genres and moods effortlessly, while also remaining cohesive. A blend of modern rap, introspective pop, and indie rock, ToBy gets personal in this 11-track album, detailing specific instances of ToBy’s life where he has experienced depression, anxiety, grief, lost romance, and self-doubt.

Wanting to connect with listeners, ToBy explains: “I believe in unity through specificity; by sharing our unique nuanced specific experiences we stand to become much closer to one another because we are not as different as we want to believe. The more specific we can get with our lives and our stories, the more it will resonate with a community because all of our lives are pretty specific. I think by encapsulating my specific experience and journey as a person and an artist who thinks heavy shit, I can connect with someone who may need that and who might feel a little more alone because they are trapped in their head and believes no one else thinks like them.”

The album opens with “Let It Go-Winter.” There is a cut of a tape recorder and a conversation in French between ToBy and his grandmother with a soft, indie beat graces the background. ToBy comments on how his grandmother influenced L’Esprit — which means ‘The Spirit’ in French — and his decision to include her voice in the album: “What was really hard about this album is that I named it before my Grandma passed away. A lot of it was coming together while my Grandma’s health declined from the cancer, so it was a way for me to anticipate the inevitable. I recorded a conversation between my grandma and I and it was about six minutes. I took a look at the songs I did have done already and I sequenced them in an order to tell a story that loosely mirrored my own experience with relationships, anxiety, and depression. I used her recording to narrate that journey. There’s a narrative through-line through the record and she is the guide so to speak for the listener, kind of like how she was mine in real life.”

45 seconds later within “Let It Go-Winter,” the track shifts gears as a fast beat is introduced, accompanied by personal lyrics about letting go of past negative experiences. After the first chorus, however, the song shifts once again, trading the fast beat and rapping for a much slower, calmer beat paired with soothing vocals, giving the illusion of two songs in one. “Boyfriend” jumps back to the fast beat with lyrics that highlight a range of emotions from ToBy as he discusses his lost relationship with the audience of the song.

“Day By Day” follows “Boyfriend” with more reflective and emotional lyrics through bombastic bursts of rap but complimented with melodic vocals. This track is a perfect representative of the versatility ToBy is able to showcase within the album and the four-minute song itself. The song wraps up with another tape recorder segment of ToBy’s conversation with his grandmother, guiding us back into ToBy’s journey. The middle of the album slows even more from the beginning tracks, switching from indie rock and modern rap to introspective pop with lo-fi beats similar to artists such as Nujabes.

Originally released as a single on September 17th as the first taste of L’Esprit, “Are We Ridin” brings back the modern rap and indie rock that ToBy is known for. The track is a combination of an industrial-inspired beat that is driving and energetic, brash flow, braggadocios lyrics from ToBy, and a catchy chorus. Flipping back to the soft lo-fi and pop, the album concludes with “40 Miles”  — displaying an honest look into the emotions ToBy has personally experienced throughout his life, including pain. “40 Miles” closes with ToBy’s grandmother once more, ending not only the album but also the conversation ToBy has with his her and ToBy’s journey through life thus far.

ToBy’s debut full-length album L’Esprit is a great addition for fans of Post Malone, The Weeknd, or Bazzi.

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