Special thanks to Tabi Bonney for making time in his busy schedule.
He’s a rapper/singer, photographer, entrepreneur and much more.
His latest business venture is Itadi Coffee & Itadi Body.
Both companies use resources from his family’s cacao farm in Togo, West Africa.
The products are named after his late father Itadi Bonney, who was also a popular musician in Togo.
Tabi was born in Lomé Togo, West Africa and raised in Washington, D.C.
He now lives in Los Angeles, CA.
Q&A with Tabi Bonney
Anna-Lysa Gayle: How are you holding up amid the pandemic?
Tabi Bonney: “It’s up and down mentally with everything going on in the world. Just these swings week to week, when you think ‘this is a lot’ then more comes and more comes. It’s truly testing our mental, with a lot of us and how much we take on, especially if you’re an empath. Outside of that…been safe, healthy.”
How many things have you had canceled this year?
For me, it was more so the photography, I had just got back from an exhibit in Amsterdam, supposed to have my biggest one in L.A., so obviously that didn’t happen. It’s ok, it will be pushed back until next year or the year after that.
I didn’t have any music scheduled. I have businesses. The businesses have been doing well, fortunately enough for me, with the skin care and the coffee.
You travel often between Togo and D.C., what is that like for you?
It’s amazing, I grew up going between Togo and D.C. I started school there. I love the switch up, where you don’t get too inundated with one culture. You get a global culture, a different view on life. I love it.
What do you appreciate the most?
For me, it’s the people, it’s the environment. We’re fortunate enough to have a lot of land, so we’re up in the mountains, from our farms…we’re down the street from a waterfall. In the mountains, you don’t have as much internet and contact with the world. I get to just be…be with the people, be on the farm.
How did you transition from being a rapper, to now to taking on all these roles?
The photography, I always shot, because I had a clothing line before I started rapping. It was an easy natural transition. The business part, as far as the coffee and the skin care was definitely tougher, but I love it because I love a challenge and a creative challenge.
Listen to the full interview on Apple podcasts, Google podcasts, Spotify or here on the site (just click play above).
