Tobe Nwigwe, the incredibly talented and innovative rap artist, has ventured into the world of The Transformer. “Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” is a colossal blockbuster experience. It comes as no surprise considering the Houston-born emcee has pushed Hip-Hop with his creative genius. Recognized for his distinctive fusion of music and visual artistry, Nwigwe expressed that Transformers was a completely new undertaking for him. “This is my first foray into acting,” Nwigwe disclosed. Check out this interview with Chuck “Jigsaw” Creekmur.
“Transformers: Rise of the Beasts” is in theaters now.
AllHipHop: How you doing, good brother?
Tobe Nwigwe: Oh, I’m doing phenomenal. Tobe Nwigwe, AKA Big Tobe, Transformers: Rise of the Beasts. Holler at me.
AllHipHop: Yeah. That’s what’s up, man. It’s good to see you elevating continually and creatively.
Tobe Nwigwe: Yeah. Yeah.
AllHipHop: You’ve done some acting in Mo, but this is your first feature film. How does that feel and what did you do to prepare for it?
Tobe Nwigwe: Yeah. A lot of people don’t know this. Do you know I did this before I actually did Mo? Yeah. So this is the very first-
AllHipHop: Oh, okay.
Tobe Nwigwe: Yeah. This is the very first acting thing that I ever did. Yeah. And then-
AllHipHop: I saw that, and then I did my research and I was… “Well, Mo came out first.”
Tobe Nwigwe: Exactly. Yeah. Because it ain’t blockbuster film, but it is 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, so it’s still a phenomenal project. But I definitely did this first and it was just incredible to be a part of such a massive franchise. You know what I’m saying? I don’t think that’s the norm for most people who get into acting. You understand what I’m saying?
AllHipHop: Absolutely.
Tobe Nwigwe: Yeah.
AllHipHop: Yeah. Absolutely. And you have a comedic role. So was there any special preparation for that? Or how different was that for you?
Tobe Nwigwe: Nah, I’ll be honest. I’m naturally pretty funny in real life, so I could just pull on a couple of things that make me laugh. Pause. Yeah.
AllHipHop: Okay. We pausing. All right. Okay. We going to keep it Hip-Hop then. All right.
Tobe Nwigwe: Yeah.
AllHipHop: So growing up, who was your favorite Transformer if you had one?
Tobe Nwigwe: Yeah. Because I grew up in an impoverished situation, I wasn’t really familiar with all the, you know what I’m saying, other Transformers outside of Optimus Prime and Bumblebee.
AllHipHop: Right. Yeah. I know you knew Megatron.
Tobe Nwigwe: Yeah. Exactly, 100%. Yeah. You say Megatron, Optimus Prime or Bumblebee, I’m locked in with you. You get the Arizona Rhinox, I’m like, “Oh, hold on. You must’ve had cable.”
AllHipHop: Right. No doubt, no doubt. If you were a Transformer, do you have a name you’d give yourself?
Tobe Nwigwe: Yeah, Killer Tobe. I’d be a maximal, I’d be a killer whale.
AllHipHop: Okay. Definitely, definitely. What about future plans for acting? What do you considering the possibilities now?
Tobe Nwigwe: Yeah. So I just got offered a role as, you remember Mega Man?
AllHipHop: Mega Man. Nah, I don’t. I don’t.
Tobe Nwigwe: You ain’t never played the video game Mega Man?
AllHipHop: No.
Tobe Nwigwe: Ah, man. Come on, somebody was a little bit more impoverished than me. I ain’t mad at you. Yeah. Nah, nah, nah. I was just making that up anyway. But it ain’t laying because y’all know Mega Man like that. Yeah.
AllHipHop: Right. Right. Right.
Tobe Nwigwe: Yeah. I got to just a couple of things that have been off. But you know what I’m saying? After this project comes out, and this is, you know what I’m saying, the blockbuster of the summer, I feel like the doors are going to open up a little wider. Pause. Yeah.
AllHipHop: But wait, you got to tell me. You got to tell about Mega Man.
Tobe Nwigwe: Oh, no, no, no. I was lying. Yeah, yeah, I was lying. I was making that up.
AllHipHop: Oh, yeah?
Tobe Nwigwe: Yeah. Big cap.
AllHipHop: Okay.
Tobe Nwigwe: Put the cap on that. Yep.
AllHipHop: Do you want to play in a superhero capacity?
Tobe Nwigwe: Yeah, I could see myself doing that. Yeah. I would’ve to, you know what I’m saying, drop pop probably about 20, get into, you know what I’m saying, Michael B. Jordan type shape. You know what I’m saying? Get my pectorals where they, you know what I’m saying, where they sitting up again like that.
AllHipHop: Yeah, definitely. And speaking of superheroes in film, Steven Caple Jr. hooked this up, made this happen.
Tobe Nwigwe: Yeah.
AllHipHop: How was it working with him? He’s 35. This is a massive franchise and he’s just doing amazing things. How was it working with him?
Tobe Nwigwe: Oh, phenomenal. He is a genius in his own right, a visionary to say the least. He was extremely locked in the entire time on set, saw the whole thing all the way through, every intricate detail he designed. I think all of the Transformers, all the robots, he’s very locked in. Yeah.
AllHipHop: Yeah.
Tobe Nwigwe: So it was amazing to be able to take a backseat and be able to watch. I think he was the first ever director that I got to see do that thing and shadow and watch him do it on such a grand scale at the highest level.
AllHipHop: Gotcha. And speaking of highest level.
Tobe Nwigwe: Come on.
AllHipHop: You collaborated with Nas musically.
Tobe Nwigwe: Come on.
AllHipHop: Amazing record in the spirit of Transformers. I got to ask you, where does that fit into your accomplishments as a musician?
Tobe Nwigwe: Oh, the greatest. Oh, the greatest, the absolute greatest. Come on, bruh.
AllHipHop: Yeah.
Tobe Nwigwe: It is Transformers and Nas, both at the same time, collaborating for one project it’s insane. I never in my life thought coming from where I come from something like this would happen. It’s incredible.
AllHipHop: Yeah. Definitely. You, interestingly enough, were not going to take the project if it meant you had to be away from your family.
Tobe Nwigwe: Yeah.
AllHipHop: And I just found that that was just so amazing to me as a family man myself.
Tobe Nwigwe: Yeah.
AllHipHop: Did Steven have a say so in that? I would imagine a lot of people be like, “Oh, really? Okay. Then you just missed out on an opportunity.”
Tobe Nwigwe: Yeah. I think because Steven was aware of who I was outside of the entertainment and the type of stuff that I talk about within my own music, I think he probably gave him a heads-up like, “Hey, listen, if we’re going to ask him to come, this is probably going to be a thing, a requirement for him.”
AllHipHop: Yeah. Right.
Tobe Nwigwe: And then me personally, outside of the fact that I really love being around my family all the time and I don’t want to have none of these experiences without, you know what I’m saying, my best friend who is my wife and then my children around so they can see what’s possible in life. Yeah.
AllHipHop: Right.
Tobe Nwigwe: I don’t really believe in celibacy or abstinence type stuff after you’re married. Now, after you’re married, I feel like, yeah, you shouldn’t have to go two months apart from, you know what I’m saying, the person you committed to for life. And it’s just like, yeah, I’m going to need her around because I’m going to transform in a minute.
AllHipHop: Yeah. Definitely. Musically you do amazing work and visually thank you pair it very nicely.
Tobe Nwigwe: Thank you.
AllHipHop: Very nicely. In fact, I don’t know of another artist in recent memory who does as great a job as you do. Did that play in any way to this and future musical projects?
Tobe Nwigwe: Hold on, ask that one more time.
AllHipHop: Yeah. Visually, have you been able to witness anything different or witness or just-
Tobe Nwigwe: 100%. You talking about on set?
AllHipHop: Yeah.
Tobe Nwigwe: Oh, 1,000,000%. Yeah. I didn’t have access to a lot of this type of stuff and I had never seen it, so I didn’t know it was possible because I do all my stuff myself.
AllHipHop: Appreciate you, brother man. All right.
Tobe Nwigwe: Appreciate you.
