Live on Ice

Born in Nigeria but raised in Chicago, tobi lou started rapping after an injury halted his minor league baseball career, though from his witty bars you’d never guess he’d ever had other plans than hip-hop. Within the first minute of *Live on Ice*, lou’s first official album, he’s already compared himself to the mythological daredevil Icarus and rapped: “I need a pet hippopotamus, I want my drink to be bottomless.” Which is to say, you rarely know what you’re going to get from lou, whose style is equal parts SoundCloud rap sad boy, Frank Ocean-esque vibe-&-B, and the soulful sounds of Chicago’s new guard. But he’s at his best when his occasionally absurdist bars get vulnerable, as on “I Was Sad Last Night I’m OK Now,” when he waxes about falling asleep hungry and dreaming of takeout.

Inspired by a love of fantasy and cartoons, the rapper’s debut full-length is simultaneously playful and sincere, confident and anxious.