Tobi Blaze's latest release, “TESTING,” frisks the door with the faith and apprehension of an artist out to make a mark. Presented as a thrilling hip-hop adventure, the track is more like a pressure valve being turned open, energy let loose through each beat and every bar, in every second of space. Blaze isn’t so much a song as a signal flare.
“TESTING” hits like the relentless force of someone starved to prove their development, toughness, and talent. As the song powers through the production with rampant momentum, it’s Tobi Blaze who grounds it, becoming its heartbeat. The delivery is a type of controlled chaos, with Blaze apparently bursting at the seams as it all collapses into something from which he has to fight and claw his way out. It’s this spirit of play and elevation that makes the title feel well chosen. “TESTING” is not just a song, it’s a challenge thrown into the air. Adrenaline runs through it, listeners will come away feeling that. And it’s a fast track, but it never spirals. Blaze is there, centered, patient, and sure. Every verse reads like an opportunity he’s determined not to squander, every line feeling as though it lands with the purpose of a man stamping his heel into his own legs and throwing open some brighter, louder era.
“TESTING” is not subtle. Instead, it relishes the excitement hip-hop can generate when a singer-songwriter channels its brashness as creative energy. Tobi Blaze appears here as an artist ready to be heard and eager to stake his claim in that battle on his own terms.