Profiling Calgary’s rap superhero: Boy Wonder
Hunter Pratt, Contributor |
Where is the love for Calgary musicians? Don’t get me wrong, to be hesitant about supporting local talent can be justified when you’re looking at copycats and dupes of artists that have already made a name for themselves.
However, one local artist is stepping up to the plate, combining his positivity and boyish flow all while sharing his love for his city. Boy Wonder, also known as Tunmibi, is making the incline to achieve musical greatness all while staying true to himself. Within his music, Boy Wonder describes himself as sample heavy and his lyrics are filled with lively wit, giving you a taste of his personality. Having the chance to interview the artist, I learned a lot about where he gets his inspiration from and the game plan for his music. Tunmibi describes himself as an artist true to himself and full of honesty.
“I think my sound is very reflective of how I am as a person, sample-based, bar heavy. Sometimes I can be personable and vulnerable in my music as well.” Authenticity is key to Tunmibi’s music. He got his start making music toward the end of 2020, simply as a fun pastime for himself.
Tunmibi credits his stage name Boy Wonder from his love of comics and superheroes.
“My favorite superhero is Batman and Robin is his sidekick, the boy wonder, he’s the first to step in and eventually fill Batman’s shoes so I feel like that in myself. I kinda wanna take the place of the generation above me and represent our generation in rap, and represent our city” A captivating story behind the artist’s name only brings more curiosity towards him. It sparks more interest in listeners to hear someone attempt to be one of the first to rep their city the way Tunmibi does.
What makes Calgary so important to him?
“I think that every city deserves representation even if it’s not renowned or known for anything significant. I feel like it’s the responsibility of the people that live there to put a name to their city. You should be proud of where you are from. The way to make yourself proud is to do things that people in your city can be proud of. I thought that Calgary not being the biggest city in Canada, I wanted to take that initiative myself and paint Calgary in a good light to everyone”
Indeed, by trying to put Calgary on the map, other artists and creatives are only to follow in the footsteps of Boy Wonder. If you listen to his music, you’ll hear Tunmibi name-drop his city within almost every song he releases. It’s refreshing to hear music made from the sounds of our own YYC backyard. Tunmibi is treating his city with as much liveliness as he can, turning YYC into his playground that will invite other artists to play.
What does this mean for the future of our city? As Calgarians, we’ll have to be patient and let the local artists in our community find the rest of our sound. With authenticity and our unique northern backgrounds, Calgarians like Boy Wonder are comparative to a chinook, ready to heat up the city.
