TUMI THE BE

TUMI THE BE

Tumi The Be and Simmer Town present “TUMI THE BE ”,The poetic, flow switching rapper brings a thought provoking selection of hip hop tracks in his debut, self-titled album “Tumi The Be”.

“Tumi The Be” has been an eight year journey, from recording tracks in friends’ closets to repping the chill vibes of Brunswick in “3056”, (the debut single from the album) to the thought provoking “Ocean Plastic” which takes a critical look at the millennial view of the world with a laid-back, sampled beat. “Woop Woop” which sees Tumi trying his hand at producing, looks at the balance Tumi is working to achieve in a world full of distractions “The Woop Woop is voodoo”. Tumi is a dexterous, multilingual rapper, his sharp, progressive style is showcased on “Zwagala”, meaning to come here or come along in Tumi’s mother tongue Setswana.

Raised in Botswana listening to gangsta rap, Tumi related little to the lyrical content of his favourite rappers (Dr Dre, Xzibit and Jay-z) but the musicality and cadence of their raps (combined with a gentle nudge from his college sweetheart) inspired him to weave his thoughts, anxieties and experiences into hip hop. The playful boom bap rapper has carved out a sound which is steeped in rich musical, spiritual and poetic tradition, honing in his skills in curbside cyphers at Melbourne bar Horse Bazaar and on stage with many of Melbourne’s hip hop legends.

The album was produced by Simmer Town producer, and longtime friend, Mikiyas A Gebru (Bizz Oh) with a selection of beats diligently curated by or created for Tumi.