Tobe Nwigwe
Black Wall Street Legacy Fest, Historic Greenwood Lawn
May 31, 2025
“Tobechukwu Dubem Nwigwe is my correct name,” rapped the Grammy-nominated Houston artist and headlining act of the fifth annual Black Wall Street Legacy Festival. It was the perfect setting for an artist who knows all too well about legacy and how to honor it.
Nwigwe is more than just another Houston rapper. He is also a Nigerian-American whose pride in his heritage is woven deep into the lyrics of his songs; in his videos, which usually include Nigerian attire; in his choreography; and in his approach to his entire career. Nwigwe has been known to take his whole family everywhere he travels. On stage in Greenwood, he joked about the troubles of lugging his kids around airports on his international tour legs. But that’s part of his own legacy: showing up in the music industry as an unapologetic family man who takes his wife, Fat Nwigwe, and their kids to work.
And when Fat Nwigwe comes to work with her husband, she doesn’t sit in the background. Tobe might be the one who’s used to getting the shine, but when Fat raps, her light shines the brightest. She stole the show with her energy and her relatable verses, stirring up the crowd with lines like, “I'm 'bout to be on a first name basis with Beyoncé.” It was dope to see Tobe turn into her hype man as he rapped ad-libs to his wife’s raps. He hinted that she might be making a solo album, saying he’d been begging her to do it. Add me to the list of people who’d love to see that happen.
Tobe justified his headliner status with a stage presence and performance that literally took me into his world. In his music videos, he often performs in front of a mint green apartment complex; Tobe brought this “Live at da partMints” scene to the Legacy Fest stage as a projected image of that same complex. He brought a familiar couch, too, on which his family sat while he performed. The kids had their headphones on for safety reasons, or possibly to listen to one of the cartoons that Tobe raps about in his songs. The lyrics were projected onto a huge middle screen so that people unfamiliar with his music could fake it till they made it. Some songs I faked it. But other songs were like familiar sunsets.
Those projections were one of many impressive production elements in this year’s Legacy Fest headline show, which also included a massive stage raised high enough that the concertgoers sitting on the hill a football field away were almost eye-level with Nwigwe, as well as two LED screens that made him seem like a giant. Tulsa definitely knows how to put on a concert.
Other elements of the festival’s big music night felt a little less grand. Free shuttle service was available, which was good since payment was required to park in the nearby Drillers and OSU-Tulsa lots. The “preferred seating” option introduced in 2024 went up from $50 last year to $100 this year, giving those who could pay for it access to an area closest to the stage (with chairs on a first come, first served basis), sectioned off by an iron gate, and to a VIP tent that served drinks. In general, the music, which felt like a driver of festival programming in years past, seemed to take a back seat this year, with limited space for local acts, hardly any of whom were announced beforehand. All of this somewhat took away from the community feeling of the show.
But even though the ground was still a little soggy on Saturday night from the week’s rain, those of us not in “preferred seating” were still able to find solid dry places and sit on blankets and lawn chairs. And even though the crowd for this free event was smaller that what you’d see at a ticketed show at Cain’s Ballroom, I appreciate the time and effort that goes into making the concert happen. Do I know how to say or spell Tobe Nwigwe perfectly each time? No, but I’m a lot closer now than when I first heard of him. After seeing him live in person, it’s not only his acting or music that I appreciate. It’s his unapologetic celebration of heritage, family, and legacy.
