Multi-platinum rapper Toosii started recording music around 16 years old, and has since made a name for himself with his signature sound blending hip-hop and melodic rap with R&B lyrics and viral songs on TikTok. But despite his mainstream success, the artist just made a surprise switch from music to a completely different career that has some folks online baffled.
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Nau’Jour Grainger— better known as Toosii— announced he’s pausing his music career to instead play college football at Syracuse University on Monday (Dec. 1). The Atlanta based rapper, who averages 3.8 million monthly listeners on Spotify and has 4.6 million followers on Instagram, is a part of the university’s 2026 recruiting class.
Before committing to Syracuse, the 25-year old had taken visits to Duke University and Sacramento State, but ultimately decided to return to his roots as he was born in Syracuse.
“For every kid who ever had a dream, make it reality. God’s will is the way and no one can stop it not even the devil,” the rapper posted on X. “I wanna thank my lord and savior Jesus Christ for even giving me the strength to chase what I believed when so many people told me I couldn’t.”
Despite appearing in multiple videos doing drills and working out, many football fans and former players are struggling to understand how he could earn a spot on the collegiate level.
“I’ve been playing football my whole entire life. Just to find out that Toosii just committed to Syracuse. Bro, what? I wasn’t good enough to go to a P4 [Power Four] school? Now look at me, working a Walmart job,” said TikToker @theelvinfofanah.
“Bruh is 25 years old and hasn’t touched a real football field. This clearly proves that money, clout, and influence rules the world. I feel like they’re disrespecting the game of football right now,” said TikToker @ jlc13_.
On the other hand, some social media users acknowledged the publicity the rapper could bring to Syracuse. With the program sitting at 1-7 and last in the Atlantic Coast Conference, his commitment may be less about immediate on-field impact and more about pushing some much-needed notoriety into the program.
“People weren’t really talking about the Browns, until Shedeur Sanders, which is Deion Sanders son, went to the Browns. So, by Toosii going to Syracuse, it brings a lot of attention to Syracuse’s season. As we all know, they probably didn’t have a good season, so that brings a lot of motion to their name,” said TikToker @cbfromva.
Toosii is reportedly the first multi-platinum recording artist to go back to school and play Division I football.
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