For Washington D.C. rapper Tabi Bonney, music was always his blood, even if he deviated that path for a few years. The son of a prominent African musician, the Togo-born, D.C.-bred rapper has made a name for himself the past few years as one of the next voices to come from what is rapidly become a hip-hop rich city, which includes Raheem DeVaughn and Wale, both artists whom Bonney has produced videos for.

As a child of the boom-bap era (for those of you who don’t know, that’s ‘80s, New York-driven hip-hop of groups like Gang Starr) and whose main influence is Big Daddy Kane, Bonney has taken elements of this minimalist sound, combined it with D.C. go-go music and indie-dance music to carve out his own unique sound. As informed as he is about music, he wasn’t always planning on becoming a rapper.

Though he dabbled in music while in high school and college (he had 2 songs reach #1 on local radio stations), Bonney put his creative ambitions aside and went to school with the goal of becoming a doctor. He graduated from Florida A&M University with a major in biology and completed his Master’s in biology at George Washington University, which is for us non-science people out there, is quite an accomplishment.

“The graduate level was way easier for me than undergrad,” the rapper reflected. “In undergrad, I had organic chemistry, physics and stuff like that and it was just a whirlwind to me. So focusing primarily on biology, with small class in graduate school was much easier to handle.

After graduating from GW, however, Bonney’s gave up on biology, which included a two-year stint as a high school teacher on the topic, and followed his dreams and music became his full-time career. “I didn’t really take it seriously until college,” he said. “It was more of like a hobby and until people were like ‘wow, this is good,’ is when I realized I needed to look at what I’m doing again.”

Shortly thereafter, in 2006, he released his first album, the acclaimed A Fly Guy’s Theme via independent label Organized Rhyme. With colorful use of D.C. slang and a unique delivery that radiated with people, the rapper’s voice became one of the first to breakthrough in the emerging go-go scene of D.C.

Despite this project being almost entire DIY (Bonney produced, directed and conceptualized many of his own videos), word about the artist spread quickly and eventually, were aired on MTV Jams and VH1 Soul due to the video’s intelligent factor, which the artist labels as “original and cool…As opposed to the same ‘you’re in the club poppin bottles.” He continues, “D.C. is a multi-layered city, and has so many cultures and nationalities that live here, that there are multiple ways to maneuver through it,” Bonney says.  ”So having these videos where I’m traveling through the city in different ways is a metaphor for that.”

In September, and two albums since his debut, with the help of legendary producer Ski Beatz, Bonney released his latest record, The Summer Years on Sky Republic Records. Unlike his earlier material, the rapper has a heavy hitter helping with this release: former Jay-z and Roc-a-Fella Records impresionado, Dame Dash. He was introduced to the mogul in a way that could happen in the 21^st century: via social media. Believe it or not, a person who Bonney didn’t know was the one who connected the exec and artist via Facebook. “If not for social media, I have no idea how else that situation would have happened.”

Once Ski and Dash were on board, the artist went to work on what in his opinion, is his most complete body of work to date.  “When Ski and I started out, we were hoping that he’d do the whole album,” Bonney acknowledged. In hip-hop, it’s rare that an artist uses a single producer for an entire album, but the chemistry between two was so strong that there didn’t need to any other sound on the record. “It got me out of my comfort zone because I wasn’t able to write in the studio on the spot, that was a first for me and I completely enjoyed it.”

When the record was finally finished, Bonney knew he had accomplished what he set out to do.

“The growth on this album is tremendous,” he said. “I’m a much better songwriter and I feel like I’m finally getting to my actual true sound. Though it’s become a career for me, only now I know exactly what I want to do.”

The title The Summer Years has significant meaning as well. “I always look forward to summers,” he explained. “I was born in the summer and I feel like that’s when most people’s best memories are and the time that everyone has the most fun. Summer is a time that most people hope last forever, and why I used the plural ‘years’ meaning that it’s continuous with the good times and good memories.”

In support of The Summer Years, Bonney went on an extensive two-month, 46-city tour, criss-crossing the country, and a stop in Toronto as well. With the power of the Internet and with a growing following, this emerging artist is on the cusp, yet at the same time understands how important it is to connect with his fans

“It’s great to be able to tour and actually see and touch the people that you only know through social media outlets like Twitter,” he said.  “I enjoyed every moment of it. It’s great going to cities you’ve never been to before and see people who you’ve never met singing words to your songs, which can be such an overpowering emotion. It’s a blessing to do what I love.”