Tobi ‘Phella’ Alli

Tobi ‘Phella’ Alli was born in Landover, MD on August 9th, 1987 and is a recording artist, songwriter, actor, and entrepreneur. He is the founder of Da Fam Inc, a Washington D.C. based entertainment company that develops, brands, and markets creative and talented individuals.

Phella spent his early years living in Nigeria with his younger brother, a military father and homemaker mother. It was there a young Phella developed a strong love for all things music and sports. He took a liking to R&B especially; citing Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson and Boyz II Men as some of his earlier influences.

In 1997 at the age of 9, young Phella, his mother and brother moved to Riverdale, MD (a small town minutes away from Washington D.C.) and it was there he was exposed to rap music, among other things. It was during this period that he began to evolve into what he describes as “an old soul”. Once outgoing and playful, a more introverted and observant Phella emerged.

In 2001, after several listens to Jay-Z’s “Blueprint” album, Phella began to jot rhymes down on paper. Lacking any knowledge of recording or rhythm, these songs turned out to be more poetry than rap. In high school he worked up the courage to read some of these poems for audiences and was encouraged by the positive feedback.

Over the next few years, Phella would become a student of all things rap music. He studied every artist from 2Pac to Kanye West. He eventually began to save money to buy office microphones which he used to record poor quality songs in his mothers dining room. These awful recordings were ridiculed by peers. But instead of being discouraged, Phella used the ridicule as fuel to improve and eventually began to win over listeners.

Fall of 2005 landed Phella in the suburbs of Northern Virginia as a freshman at George Mason University, a far cry from Riverdale where he spent his adolescence. It was there he was exposed to different cultures and different ways of thinking. He interned with the GMU Men’s Basketball team, taking frequent road trips with the “Cinderella” team that eventually made the NCAA Final Four tournament.

Although school was a good learning experience for Phella, turmoil at home and financial issues led to him leaving after just three semesters, a move that was heavily criticized by family and friends. Phella focused solely on establishing himself and Da Fam by dedicating all of 2007 to mental and physical preparation; reading every book in sight and running close to 8 miles per day. He describes this as the “best of times and the worst of times”. That year Phella was faced with all the obstacles new artists face when trying to launch a career. His vision was clearer than ever but he lacked the experience and financial backing to get it off the ground.

In February 2008, after hearing Presidential hopeful Barack Obama speak in person, Phella decided to take control of his own destiny. Without notifying anyone but his mother he drove to New York City for a meeting with Atlantic Records A&R Sickamore. Sickamore was in the beginning stages of starting his Famous Firm label and he gave Phella an opportunity to help launch the company. Over the next 10 months Phella would go on to experience plenty of success with the company, working for the likes of Rich Hil (Tommy Hilfiger’s son), Slim of the popular R&B group 112, the then unknown Nicki Minaj and other upcoming sports and musical acts. His Famous Firm run was highlighted by performing A&R duties on Colin Munroe’s Unsung Hero album. In addition, peers were beginning to pay attention to his music.

Phella parted ways with Sickamore and The Famous Firm in April 2009 and decided it was time to re-commit to Da Fam as well as his own recording career. Now armed with a healthy understanding of how the business works and the respect of peers, Da Fam Inc was reborn.  Phella commemorated this with the release of an 8 track EP titled “Gimme A Second I Swear”, a project about exercising patience on the road to success. Now with a talented roster of athletes and artists under his wing, as well as his own career being managed by Spoilt Kid Company‘s Kunle Oki, Phella and Da Fam are more optimistic than ever about the future.

Musical Work:
Sweatpants In The Club (2008)
Gimme A Second I Swear (2009)
Winter Wonderland: Enjoying Living In A Cold World (2010)
*Also Co-written several R&B and Hip-Hop songs for other acts.

Athletic Work:
Team Manager – George Mason Men’s Basketball (2006 NCAA Final Four Team)
Coach – Goodman Summer League (Nike sponsored basketball league in Washington D.C.)
Manager – Randy “White Chocolate” Gill (Washington D.C. Basketball Legend)
Manager – Brandon “Wings B-High” Russell (Baltimore High School All-American)

Marketing/Branding:
Branding – Rich Hil (Famous Firm)
Branding – Nicki Minaj (Famous Firm)
Marketing – Slim of 112 (Famous Firm)
A&R – Colin Munroe (Famous Firm)
Marketing – 2NV Promo (European Promotion & Events Company)
Marketing – First Stop Fashions (Bronx, NY Retailer)
Marketing – Black Box Experience (Co-founded in 2010 with Kunle Oki)
Branding – Kickball with Joe Budden & Esther Baxter

Journalism:
www.iamphella.com
www.dafamink.com
www.thankgodimfamous.com
Interviews with Wale, Bobby Ray, Pusha-T, Joe Budden, and more.

Television and Film:
Family Business (Short Film directed by Virginia’s Illusive Media)
RESPECT (Hour long live TV Show on Manhattan Neighborhood Network). Air Date: August 24, 2010