Southern Plug Magazine: Leaders of the New School ft Remy Ma Volume 2 Issue 1 C | Page 51

A sharp dresser, singer, and rapper with geographic connections ranging from
Nigeria to U.S. cities like Oakland, Atlanta, and New York, Jidenna Mobisson
arrived in 2015 with a hybrid R&B/rap sound he called swank. The son of
pioneering Nigerian scientist and educator Oliver Mobisson, he cited Nat King
Cole, James Brown, and OutKast among his many inspirations. The Stanford
graduate signed to Janelle Monáe's Wondaland label and debuted with "Classic
Man," where he delivered boastful, foul-mouthed rhymes and a neat vocal
hook over a sparse, street-level beat. Released in February 2015, the single
took a while to gain traction, possibly received a nudge from Monáe's March-
issued "Yoga" (which featured her new signing), and reached the Billboard Hot
100 three months later. It eventually went double platinum. The Eephus, a six-
track showcase for the Wondaland crew, was released in August 2015 with the
original "Classic Man" and a version featuring Kendrick Lamar. Mobisson gained
further exposure performing his song "Long Live the Chief" on a season one
episode of the Netflix Marvel series Luke Cage in 2016. A Grammy nomination
for "Classic Man" and several stylistically varied singles, including "Little Bit
More," "The Let Out," and "Bambi," led to the February 2017 release of The
Chief, Mobisson's first album. The well-received album debuted at number 38
on the Billboard 200 and peaked at number 16 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop
Albums chart.