Tobe Nwigwe performs onstage during EBONY Power 100 at Milk Studios Los Angeles on October 29, 2022, in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Leon Bennett/Getty Images for EBONY MEDIA GROUP)
*Grammy-nominated rapper Tobe Nwigwe recalled his failed football dreams in a new interview with Variety and Audible’s Music Storytelling Panel at South by Southwest in Austin.
The 36-year-old rapper told the SXSW audience that prior to his music career, he was an aspiring professional football player. As Variety reports, “he made it to the collegiate level of his sport” but “a major injury derailed his career,” the outlet writes.
After his football playing days came to a crashing halt, Nwigwe began working for non-profits, and that’s when he met motivational speaker Eric Thomas who encouraged him to pursue music, according to Variety.
“I did have the perspective that I gained from football. I knew how to be disciplined, consistent, persevere,” Nwigwe said. The artist explained how he got comfortable “getting up and doing what you don’t feel like doing on a regular basis for a specific goal. I had those type of intangibles and that helped me develop musically.”
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Per Variety, Nwigwe is featured on the third episode of “Origins,” hosted by author Phil Griffin and includes conversations with industry titans, including Billie Eilish, Doja Cat, King Princess, Mickey Guyton, Koffee, Flying Lotus and Camilo.
According to Audible’s executive producer of music storytelling, Preston Copley, “Origins” aims to highlight “a class of artists who deeply impact culture.
“They’re early enough in their career where they’re newly grappling with a lot of global recognition, and this is a moment for them to look back on the journey that’s brought them from where they were to where they are,” Copley explained to Variety reporter Selome Hailu, who moderated the SXSW panel.
You can watch Nwigwe’s full conversation via the clip above.
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