March 29, 2026
Toosii was honored in Baton Rouge after leaving a platinum rap career to chase his dream of playing college football as a walk-on at LSU.
Toosii just got the recognition he deserves from Baton Rouge officials, who honored his journey from platinum-selling rapper to college football hopeful.
The Metro Council and Mayor-President Sid Edwards welcomed the 26-year-old to the capital city earlier this week, celebrating not just his presence but his bold pivot from the music industry to pursuing athletics at LSU.
This moment represents something bigger than a ceremonial welcome; it’s validation for an artist willing to risk everything for a second chance at his childhood dream.
Before landing in Baton Rouge, Toosii’s path to LSU was anything but smooth. He’d originally committed to Syracuse University, his birthplace, with plans to play wide receiver for the Orange.
But things fell apart when head coach Fran Brown publicly suggested Toosii would be a walk-on rather than a scholarship athlete.
Toosii fired back on social media, calling Brown a “bozo” and insisting the coach had promised him full funding.
“That was never the conversation,” Toosii said, “The conversation was, ‘Y’all paying for my school.’ That’s what it was. If you lie, I’ve got receipts.”
The dispute ended his commitment to Syracuse, and he eventually landed at LSU instead.
What makes this story resonate is the context behind his decision to leave music in the first place.
Toosii’s “Favorite Song” became a cultural moment, earning double platinum certification with over 330 million YouTube views and 262 million Spotify streams.
Yet despite that success, he revealed that rap wasn’t enough to sustain his college dreams. The financial reality of being a student-athlete while maintaining a music career proved impossible, forcing him to make a choice.
At 5’8″ and 26 years old, Toosii’s athletic journey defies conventional logic. He barely played high school football in North Carolina, yet he’s committed to competing at the Division I level.
Now training as a walk-on wide receiver at LSU, he’s proving that reinvention isn’t just possible, it’s necessary sometimes.
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