Motolani Ojo-Bello, popularly known as “The Inglorious M.O.B”, is a Nigerian-born rapper, a Kogi State native, raised in Port-Harcourt, Nigeria. He spent his tertiary institution years in Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), where he recently acquired a degree in Electronics and Electrical Engineering. M.O.B is currently an independent artist. He released his latest project, “Psychí II”, a seven-track project in which he talks about his dreams, self-assurance, personal views on addiction, writers block and a lot more.
49th street: It’s a pleasure to have this session with you. Let’s start with a brief introduction, shall we?
M.O.B: I am Motolani Ojo-Bello; M.O.B are my initials. I grew up in Port Harcourt city, but I hail from Kogi state. I’m a relatively easy going guy, who fell in love with Hip-Hop music quite early on and now that scenario has kinda gone full circle with me creating Hip-Hop music right now.
Outside the music, I’m a recent Electronic and Electrical Engineering graduate from OAU and a huge football fan. GGMU!
49th street: Tell us what your journey has been like so far, starting from the moment you decided to take this music thing seriously to how you arrived at where you are right now.
M.O.B: I probably started writing raps around the same time I became an avid music listener, which was when I was in year 8. During TV time in school we’d watch MTV base, Trace etc. And around that period I gave myself a rap name T-black. I remember T-Pain was big at the time and T-black was just an imitation of his name. So in school, I would write verses to the big records out then and anytime I was home I would record with my laptop and earpiece. At the time I was uploading those tracks on hulkshare. In year 10, I moved to a day school and I started spending a lot more time on music. Eventually, I started to create my own material and rapping those songs for friends at school. Fast forward to university days in OAU, by this time I was now M.O.B. Part 1 in Angola Hall of residence, my bunk mate was a gospel rapper and two of my other room mates were big Hip-Hop fans. In fact, one of them put me on to Reminisce at the time.
One day, my roommates found out that I rap somehow and that led to us having freestyle sessions in the room. Guys from other rooms would come listen as well. So, when I went home at the end of the session I recorded my first mix tape “King Since birth.” I came back the next year with the mix tape and it was well received, at least within my bubble of friends and acquaintances. That mix tape was enough to start getting me slots to perform on campus. The next year, I recorded another mix tape “Mantis.” By the time I was rounding up with part 4, I created my third mixtape “Psychí”, which had the song “Welcome to the OAU” on it. That particular record was relatively well received in school. Around this time, I got together with my manager, who would help me get shows on campus. I was already considering the possibilities of doing music professional, but I officially started out in 2019, with the release of a single “Rise.”
I’d say I’ve made some good progress since then, obviously more people are aware of The Inglorious M.O.B right now and I was able to put out an EP this year, so it’s looking good for now.
49th street: Wow, that’s quite a journey you’ve had there T-black.
As you mentioned, those that were rocking with you from your OAU days probably remember you as just M.O.B, how did you come about this new name you go by?
M.O.B: So like you said, until 2019 I went by just M.O.B. Starting out with the music thing officially, I wanted something that stood out a bit more.. My first idea was to imitate The Notorious B.I.G’s moniker, because he’s one of my personal favorites. Why Inglorious though? A few purely have said it’s like a negative name and all but I guess I just felt at the time that I wasn’t where I wanted to be with life and all. Maybe I’ll take the inglorious off if I reach a certain threshold. It sounds cool though, so maybe not.
49th street: It sounds cool actually—sort of menacing too, with an antihero feel to it.
How do you stay motivated despite the obvious difficulties facing acceptance of rap music in our industry?
M.O.B: To be honest, this is a discussion I’ve had a lot with my people. There are a couple of points that I’ve taken on board from all these discussions.
Firstly, it’s not about being the best rapper. There’s this line on Logic’s final album “the best rapper is prolly somewhere stacking produce.” The way I interpreted that is, the guys at the top aren’t there cos they’re the best at rapping. There’s more to it, whether that’s promo, release strategies, public image whatever. There are different aspects that need work besides the music
Secondly, music is the ultimate. Personally, I would probably still rap as long as I make music, but I recognize that it’s ultimately Hip-Hop music that I’m creating. So, it has to be appeasing musically whether that comes through features or me singing personally on hooks and all, it’s fine. Overall, I’m only going to do what I feel but I’m fully aware that it’s music at the end of the day and that’s something I keep in mind when I’m creating.
Lastly, just being true to self. I feel like this goes a long way. My music is influenced by what I grew up on and it’s not just Hip-Hop. I listened to a lot of RnB and Punk Rock growing up as well. I feel like the culmination of all the influences within and without music is the basis for everything I create which truly represents who I am and that’s what I want to portray to my audience. So in a nutshell, I’m staying true to self.
These three are sort of the basis of my operation to try and break the perceived lack of interest in Nigerian Hip-Hop.
49th street: Insightful point of view there, very well said.
Let’s dive into the head of the Inglorious MOB for a bit, what’s your creative process like?
M.O.B: It’s usually one of two things, sometimes I’ve had an experience or I’ve seen something and I want to put it into a song. For example, my situation with a girl which formed the basis of “How To Love” and “Do You” or the time I witnessed an attempted Robbery on the express and created “Highway Robbery.” There was even a time I was really ill and I wrote a song which I unfortunately lost the lyrics to, titled “Plasmodium.” Other times, I just listen to beats and write whatever and just go with the flow. Overall, I see myself as a project-focused guy, so most of the time I’m creating, the objective is to try to make a cohesive body of work.
49th street: You recently put out a tape “Pyschi II” that got positive reviews and reception. What inspired the name of the project and the songs on it, and what will you say was the highest point for you, following its release?
M.O.B: On Psychí II, psychí is Greek for Soul. Basically, it’s a short trip through my state of mind at the time. It’s also a sequel to a mixtape titled “Psychí” that I dropped in 2018. On Psychí II, I talked about my dreams, being assured in myself, my takes on addiction, writers block and a lot more across the seven songs.
Well, I’m just grateful for how well the release went. I was blessed to get some decent media coverage, play listing and most importantly, new listeners. That’s enough push for me to get to work on new material.
49th street: Congratulations on the win. It’s definitely a project worthy of the love it got and will still get. There’s more to come.
There’s a lot of talk about “finding your sound.” Do you feel like you’ve found yours? If yes, could you tell us about your sound?
M.O.B: I think the sound is more determined by production when it comes to Hip-Hop and although I produce and have close collaborators, I try to work with new producers and ultimately that leads to variation. One thing I can say though, is that I know how I want to rap and I’ve known that for a while now.
49th street: What should we be expecting from you in the coming months?
M.O.B: Without giving any timeline, I’m currently working on what could become a full length project, so yeah look out for that. I also have songs with some great people that could drop anytime in the coming months. And I shot a little video for “Black President II” with Crave. That should come out soon.
49th street: Who do you look up to in the industry?
M.O.B: Firstly, Jay-Z. He’s basically the blueprint. Besides him, I’d say The Notorious B.I.G and Mos Def. More recently, there’s Kenny, Cole Wale.
49th street: Who do you hope to work with soon?
M.O.B: A lot of people to be honest. Just to name a few: SVTK, Dante, tGM. Also, I’d love to rap on J Hus and Burna Boy hooks. A song with Joey and/or Jay-Z would be a blessing.
49th street: How has this Corona Virus pandemic period affected your hustle and craft? (Positively and/or negatively: Has it given you more time to create, affected promotion of your new tape, e.t.c.)
M.O.B: Initially, it was all good. I was in the zone writing new music and all but eventually just being home got to me and I somehow ended up stuck doing nothing. Thankfully (Hopefully), things are getting back to normal. As for promotions, I can’t really gauge how impactful Covid has been, ‘cos I didn’t really have any physical promo planned, but it would’ve been nice to try and perform at some events, now that I’m back in Lagos, after University.
49th street: You talked about your previous projects, are there any of them you plan to re-release as a whole? Or maybe some songs on them you feel are still worth hearing, now that you have a wider reach?
M.O.B: Back then, I was rapping on any beats I could find really; remixes and covers mostly, but I definitely have plans to recreate the few original songs I had, albeit on different production because I don’t have access to those beats anymore and I didn’t even have the rights to some of the beats in the first place. I feel records like “How to Love” and “Highway Robbery” definitely deserves more attention than they had back then, so I’d definitely recreate those two at some point.
49th street: How important do you think it is for a creative to have a core group of friends that blindly support them?
M.O.B: For me, it’s grand. My guys were obviously my first set of fans and it’s nice to have them with me on this journey and even beyond rocking with me, I turn to these guys for opinions on the records I’m creating and that’s also very helpful to me. Yeah, so shout out to Shrapnel, Big Veenz, Roadman Phil, Musoch, Pyramid Fox, Sound House, Biyyat, Sammy and Ribz.
49th street: What’s your experience being a creative with the WeTalkSound community?
M.O.B: Being on WTS has been awesome, man. I’ve been on there for over a year now and I’ve been privileged to meet, work with and learn from other creatives. Also, featuring on “LOFN3” and “Right Back” brought more traction to my work as a whole. Most importantly, it’s a safe space, where I can share ideas, seek opinions and just generally have fun, even beyond the music.
49th street: Let’s take a quick detour. What else do you have passion for besides music?
M.O.B: Football, Anime, Technology and Gaming. Yeah, basically.
49th street: Lastly, what’s your advice for rappers trying to cut it in an Afro beat-centered industry like ours?
M.O.B: Man, I can’t say I have the answers, but I’d just say, focus on the quality of the music. You can’t go too wrong if the product is tight. So, yeah.