The Brockton-based R&B prodigy gears up for a Boston Calling set just one year after the release of her debut EP, but make no mistake—her pedestal has been a lifelong project.
Nearly six months ago, R&B sorceress ToriTori hosted her first event at Warehouse XI—an open concept event space in the heart of Union Square. BBQ catering, local visual artist booths, and opening sets from an all-women cast of DJ WhySham, Aura, and Zed Kenzo fostered an atmosphere of warmth and comfort, setting the scene for ToriTori to cap off the night with an electrifying mix of a live band with a looper to perform her 2023 EP, Pocket Knife. The evening stamped ToriTori as a flourishing act to rally around—not only as a vessel of sinuous vocal runs, but as a community harmonizer.
In a full circle moment, Warehouse XI owner Peggy Morrissey greets ToriTori as she reenters the space now utilized as our interview location. “Peggy didn’t charge me for that show,” ToriTori articulates with the utmost gratitude as Peggy dusts the floors in preparation for a Sofar Sounds concert later in the evening. To state that businesspeople in the creative market like Peggy are fundamental to the growth of local talent would be an immense understatement.
To classify ToriTori as a growing local talent would also undersell her. With three Boston Music Award nominations (winning R&B Artist of the Year) and one New England Music Award for New Act of the Year—interspersed among a slate of intimate venue shows all leading to a Boston Calling invitation—“skyrocketing” would be a more apt adjective.
The outpouring of love and backing for Pocket Knife may have felt sudden for ToriTori, but the clay did not mold into a brick foundation overnight. Raised in a family of musicians (two of her five siblings, Latrell James and Lilah!, are also active artists in the local scene), she credits her parents for having nurtured and supported her passion for singing. “Since I was seven years old, my mom got me into talent shows and never turned down Whitney Houston when I would blast it and scream over it,” she recalls animatedly. “Thank God she just let me do my thing.”
While the sonic roots of Pocket Knife sprouted from the family tree, the seeds of subject matter sewn across the EP can be traced back to a more recent past of 2019—a year demarcated by drastic forces knocking ToriTori off her axis. Ending a seven-year relationship in tandem with needing a massive surgery uprooted her life in Brooklyn. With significant changes compiling at light speed, her preconceived notion of needing someone else to instill confidence in her vanished once reality struck: she did not have time to waste. “Seven years have come and gone, and I still don’t have what I want,” she expresses with the same urgency that subsumed her then.
Previously stifled by the breakup with her partner (a guitarist who would create music alongside ToriTori in her Brooklyn days), in tandem with the overwhelm of a flooded music market, one solution moved the needle above the rest: release the music. This reckoning came with the understanding that treating her craft as a side gig to the ol’ 9-5 would not cut it. “If you’re a true artist, something will call to you, and you can’t fight that,” she voices with conviction. “That’s what pushed me to release this project: there wasn’t another option. This is what I was supposed to do.”
Just over a year since the release of Pocket Knife, ToriTori now finds herself in the driver’s seat of preparation for what guarantees to be a spellbinding set at Boston Calling this Saturday at the Allianz Blue Stage. When asked to recount her first reaction to the invitation, the inner fangirl and audience member from within the past couple of years lets loose: “I’m on a big ass STAGE! I’m on Avril Lavigne’s STAGE! I’m on Paramore’s STAGE!”
Those familiar with the aesthetics and ambience of her shows may think they know how the Blue Stage will become ToriTori’s STAGE once Saturday is etched in the history books… and yet a singular experience awaits. A nine-piece band, dancers, and features will appear alongside her, unleashing previously untapped dimensions within her arrangements. Added components will include the layering of horns and vocals with the support of creative director David Alexis, as well as the interweaving of dance and movement—something she has always sought to implement in a live setting, yet has been fearful to execute—until now. “You won’t see me doing a whole lot of Beyoncé stuff,” she declares upfront, “but I’m gonna give you visuals, and I’m gonna give you movement and excitement through my music.”
Though a production of this magnitude may serve as a nonpareil in her resume thus far, ToriTori has a decorated track record of breathing new life into each performance of Pocket Knife. Whether delivering a stripped-down rendition accompanied by guitar and vocals, or dialing it back even more with just her and her looper (she may or may not possess a looped version of Pocket Knife to eventually be released on Instagram), she prioritizes these alterations to keep it fresh with every reincarnation.
This dynamic, ever-evolving facet of ToriTori’s artistry operates as her greatest source of liberation when compared to the confines she has felt when releasing music. “I think about my favorite songs and how I listen to every detail, know every little ad lib, every little guitar part… and you have one opportunity to get that right,” she elaborates. “But when you take that project and perform it live, you get to recreate it endlessly. Knowing that I have that autonomy is what’s kept me going.”
In shifting her mindset and viewing her output as a series of commas rather than a period, however, ToriTori is less wrapped up in the pressure of permanence. She cites Emily King as a paragon of this practice, explaining, “She doesn’t sound like her first project at all; it’s okay to not sound like what you want to sound like yet, and you will if you continue to put the time, energy, and effort into what you love and being authentically yourself.”
Once the curtains have closed and the ovation has stood at Boston Calling, there is no shortage of priorities for ToriTori: releasing the aforementioned looper project, remaining active in the local performance circuit, and manifesting features from the eclectic likes of Thundercat, Kendrick Lamar, and Fleetwood Mac. What tops her list, however, is a desire to not rush into the next batch of songs: “I just want to commit to my freedom of not being pressured by what people think I should be producing, or what time it should be produced, or how it should be produced—just listening to my gut and trusting my gut.”
With an unrelenting grip on her own reins, ToriTori will undoubtedly continue to shatter ceilings; it’s in your best interest to observe the unobstructed sunshine this weekend.
Catch ToriTori’s Boston Calling debut on Saturday, May 25 at the Allianz Blue Stage. Tickets may be purchased here.