Toosii
Platinum Heart (Deluxe)
Album · Hip-Hop/Rap · 2020
Platinum Heart was Toosii’s first studio album, but he operates with the polish of an established artist. The rapper-singer was born in Syracuse, New York, and moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, at age 13, and he took a decidedly solo journey into music: he cites his brother and father as his primary inspirations behind his melodic rap style, an adaptable canvas for gun-toting street raps, romantic advances and revelatory narratives about his life. His prolific mixtape presence earned him a deal with South Coast Music Group, the Charlotte, North Carolina, indie label that fuelled DaBaby’s stardom, and a joint deal with Capitol Records later on. So when it was time to record his studio debut, he had already honed in on his style.
Toosii showcases murderous gun talk, slinky sex jams and Instagram-ready relationship quotes with equal dexterity, splicing in specific references to loved ones and traumatic life experiences. "Truth Be Told" and "Sky Red" are ruthless opp-hunting anthems, with Toosii on the latter briefly reminiscing about his ascendance from a childhood job at a neighbourhood pizzeria into a music star. On "Red Lights", he recalls finding out that his best friends had unknowingly murdered his grandfather in a botched robbery. Country-tinged guitars fuel "Back from the Dead", a song that resents an old friend for betraying him before crawling back for help. This deluxe edition of the album has seven extra tracks, including the mournful “Reminiscing” and the trappy “Club House”.
Toosii is at his most potent and versatile when covering the ups and downs of romantic relationships: "Down to Ride" employs booming bass as he admonishes a former partner for taking his love for granted; "Not Easy" expresses disappointment in a woman losing herself in materialism; and "Mercedez" finds him entangled with an aspiring actress who falls victim to substance abuse. But it's not all bad news: "Love Cycle" is a sexy, lurid R&B slow jam in which he goes all in on seductive mode. The song caught sufficient fire to attract R&B star Summer Walker for a remix and would eventually earn him his first Platinum plaque. Platinum Heart isn't so much a strong start as a continuation of everything that had made him great in the first place.