Dear Tobechukwu,

If you're reading this, then you've just turned 24, we are now 43 and I wanted—needed to let you know that we've lived such a colorful life. I'm so proud of how far we have come, but I also feel humbled by how much we have learned. I feel grateful for the opportunities and the people who have supported us, and feel responsible for the impact and the legacy that we have created. I'm happy about the achievements and the recognition that I have received, but I also feel challenged by the expectations and the standards that I have set for myself.

Tobechukwu, we were born and raised in Enugu Coal City (popularly known as 042). A little peaceful town, where everyone knew everyone, via school, church, the markets etc. very family-oriented.

As a creative, we didn’t have too many options and tools for nurturing our talent. You had always wanted to be in a space where you could chase and attain your dreams. Where you could compete. There wasn’t a lot of room for rap so naturally when we finished our degree at UNN, we moved to Lagos for NYSC with a lot of fire in our belly. We came to Lagos with the hunger and resilience synonymous with our Tribe.

You will feel blessed. Even now, I feel very blessed. Your moments will always be big and redefining. You will always say you are blessed differently. You will learn to cherish these moments because none of them ever came handed down easily. You will work tirelessly and somehow keep a good level of self-esteem and belief. Our mum and our older brother will give you all the support you need in music, so don't worry about it. Since primary school, everyone in school and the neighborhood knew your gi of rhyme. They too will support you and build your confidence. You’ll see a cult following when you're at University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), and you will be thoroughly respected for the gi of a fire tongue.

There you will meet your big homie B-Elect, who is of blessed memory now. You admire his skills—an astute and well-informed lyricist. He will help nurture your interest in Hip-hop culture. You will also meet Amaka Chief Rocka, who will tell you about her younger brother ElaJoe, another lyricist, alongside Obiwon, with whom we formed a duo called Coal City’s Finest (CCF) in Enugu. The family will be called Thoroughbreds.

Despite the support from home, our parents will make it clear that music isn’t an option for university. So, you will follow the path, and hone your skills as a rapper, doing shows frequently while staying in class to ensure you graduate with an Upper. You will make it work, music won’t distract you. You will keep your eyes on the grades, all thanks to God. Our move to Lagos was nowhere near easy, but we did it. You will take the Ifesinachi Night Bus to Lagos. B-Elect houses you as you write a series of aptitude tests, and you get a job in a bank on Victoria Island where you will serve under the Oil and Gas Unit, (Corporate and institutional Banking). You will make many life decisions on the go, just trying to survive with little or no guidance, the die-hard Eastern spirit will not let you give up. You will work in the banking space for four years and move through three banks. You will rise quickly from trainee officer to assistant manager in these years. The music scene is also growing, so you write songs on the staff bus on your way to and from work, record during the weekends, and struggle with the radio interviews. They keep clashing with your marketing calls, you were being two persons at the same time, Tobechukwu the Banker, and Illbliss the Rapper. In 2004, The Thoroughbreds recorded an album titled “Home Grown” and released a single called “StreetHop”. The Thoroughbreds will become unarguably the freshest yet most revered collective between 2003-2005. Unfortunately, the album gets shelved and will never be released due to lack of funding. Here's some bad news; the bank you worked at gets liquidated by the CBN. Offers from other banks were lesser pay and roles, they took advantage of you coming from a distressed bank. You will get frustrated and decide to travel to the UK to take a break, reboot and return but life has other plans for us. By the way, this move also slows everything with The Thoroughbreds. Your first year in the UK will be tough, you will do menial jobs from industrial cleaning in a coffee factory in Hayes x Harlington to tunnel guard at the Arsenal stadium in Highbury to security in Uxbridge etc to keep the lights on.

You get a little room in a shared house in Middlesex, due to the multiple jobs, you will barely be at home. You try to keep your head above water. You pick up a fourth job and save all of the wages to fund your studio sessions. You keep making music and record your debut album titled “Rebellious” while in England. You will get homesick, I know. England can be too cold and sometimes depressing. You are also engaged to your girlfriend Muna. You needed to come home and marry your sweetheart. You met her through her younger brother, Chuka Obi, whom you paid him a visit, as he was part of The Kaliphate, a dope Hiphop crew you had met back in Lagos. You will meet Obi Asika the founder of Storm Records during the Nottinghill Carnival, he will encourage you to go home and be part of the new emerging Nigerian music scene. You will feel it, you know it is time to go home and you will be happy you made that decision. You had been studying the music business and kept in touch with people thanks to the internet. Ayodele Banjo, a close friend of yours will introduce you to Clarence Peters & Suspekt. Clarence had just returned from film school and he is working with the video director DJ Tee, while trying to float his label and production while we are still trying to break into the music scene. You will always meet up at Lagos Television premises in Ikeja. You and Clarence will share similar perspectives on so many things and will build a great friendship. You two will partner up and that will lead to the birth of Goretti-CAPital. We chose the name Goretti, because your wife's name is Maria-Goretti. You wanted to build a company that would serve as the umbrella for our music hustle and also develop artists under the same imprint. When we started rapping purely in English, you always understood how crucial cultural identity was. As Hiphop grows you will notice the strong role that language plays in building a long lasting connection and affinity with the streets. This is when we will make the transition in that direction as dialectical infusions have always been part of my style. You need a moniker, a name that bridges the gap, Illbliss is a mouthful for many, so we will introduce “Ibo Boy”. You will re-christen us, becoming “IllBliss Dat Igbo Boy”. You will try to get their attention. For your standard, you will dumb down your re-introductory singles “dat Igbo boy” and “you go wound” KEL x suspect. You will get mainstream access. As we build up our artist portfolio, you will get back to 9-5, to keep body and soul together while hustling music. Marketing and account conversion in banking built up the hustler in us. You will have tough targets that have to be met. You will crisscross Lagos, looking for new accounts and deposits around the clock. It will make you a go-getter. It will take a lot of no’s to break your will and resolve. With music, we hustle your way through, make the records, print promotional cds and posters, shoot viral videos and keep knocking on every door. We will meet an incredible artist, you had heard his RnB records before his street anthems, you could tell that he was gied. You will reach out to him and go to his studio in Fagba, Iju. You have an idea for a record called “Enuf Space”, you share it with him, he brings it to life, he sends you the beat and the rest is history. His name is Terry G.

That record will introduce us to the game, commercially. We've always had underground rap repute before then but this is our first commercial record as IllBliss and it is Huge!!. Show promoters will hit us up from the UK to Europe, etc off just one record. Then, Tobechukwu, will understand how pivotal commercially viable records are. You never wanted to make albums. But having released singles that had yielded acceptance and massive results for an indie artiste with no real financial backing will change your perspective.

The debut album will take a lot of work, sacrifices and tough conditions. You will record the album in Ogba with the help of Ven and Big Foot. You will go there aer office hours, write and record on the spot.

At the time, Big Foot was a Youth Corper serving at UAC. He will come home between 10/11 PM, rest for an hour or two then wake up to produce. We will work till 4am in between topping the generator with fuel from the jerry cans. The album will be fueled with hunger and sheer will to make it, we believed in that project with our entire soul. You will go to Alaba with the finished project to get a distribution deal with the marketers.

You will work with two amazing artists, Chidinma and Phyno. Chidinma will be signed to Goretti for manager and talent development aer she wins MTN Project fame season 2. Mr Raw will refer Phyno to you and by your second album “OgaBoss”. With records like "Anam Achi Kwanu Phyno”, “Emi ni baller Chidinma x Suspect” etc. You will realize you are making a significant impact on music in Nigeria.

You will go through 12 nominations for the Headies before winning in 2016 with your third album “#Powerful”. We knew it would happen. It was only a matter of time and consistency. You will end up winning two more. The music industry will transition to more of Afropop, but do not second guess your style. Hip hop is an expression for you, keep evolving and balancing it all. Keep seeing it as a blend of art and business. Thanks to our upbringing, you will stay true to your roots. You will see many people lose their heads the moment they dri, you know fame is a drug so you will learn to treat it such, As long as you remain spiritual and you meditate, you will not lose your authenticity as it will help you stay guarded and directed. Be proud of the longevity attained and the doors opened for younger artists. As I write this to you, I want to be remembered as the dude who effected an incredible degree of social change through his art. The dude who also inspired the youths to keep believing and hustling towards greatness. You're young now, but believe me, your time will come.

You will have two daughters, SochiKaima and KachimSideh; they are tender and fragile, you will try not to show how much of a mess you are to them. You will manage to stay stern and playful but ultimately you will learn to listen, teach, guide, build their confidence and love for God as you help out with homework. On weekends you will watch Arsenal with Kaima, she will always hug you when Arsenal scores and will cheer you on when they lose, she will say “Do you feel better now Papa?”.

Sideh is picky about food, she will request for apple juice refills. You will work for these girls and it will make you happy. They can draw and paint, they got that skill from Wifey. On an early Saturday morning, you come downstairs to see them with your sunglasses and headset, they look so cool, you will take a picture, the thought about writing a record about them will cross your mind, then you will make a decision to build an album around them. The picture ends up being the Cover Art of your Album “Sideh Kai”.

You still have a lot of music left in you, but you will stretch your reach. As I speak, we are currently working on the TV series “FreeMEN” as an executive producer. A show about the Igbo apprenticeship system is about to go live on Showmax.

Tobechukwu, here’s what you will learn about the highs and lows of music and life. You will learn resilience, tenacity, and success is the best defeat. My advice? Triple your hustle and take more risks young man. With Love, You (from the future)