Why did I write TOFFY’S DIVIDE?

The simple answer is: “I needed a story for my mixtape. That’s why.”

But there’s more to it than that simple answer.

In 2016, I wanted to make a concept album. I thought it would be cool to start with a specific intention or a storyline to follow. So I thought if I had a story first, I could have a more cohesive storyline in my concept album.

Up until that point, I had never ventured into story or script writing. I had just finished my MBA. I had a background in engineering. Writing stories was not something that particularly interested me. Making music, on the other hand was a hobby that was becoming a significant part of my life.

And I needed a story for my next music project.

In the absence of a clear prompt. I thought I’d write a story about a guy writing a story.

That was it.

I thought that prompt would make my life easier. I’d just borrow from what was happening around me to tell the story.

So I went on to write a story.

It was just supposed to be a few hours of research. I thought I’d be done with my story in a day, and I’ll be back to my music in no time. I ended up writing what is now TOFFY’S DIVIDE, a 408–page dystopian novel set in the year of 2049.

I completed it 5 years after starting.

Through the process of putting this story together, I learned about the power of manifesting a path for yourself. I wrote about the protagonist, Toffy, writing a story and I ended up writing and publishing my own novel.

A lot of things influenced me along the way as I wrote this book. Everything from geographical interpretations, today’s issues, inequality, the concept of community, rapid technological advancement, human consciousness, and the creative mind.

“there’s nothing really new under the sun.”

Also personal choices came into play in my storytelling. I started my business. I was traveling between the US and Nigeria, bridging connections between international corporations and local businesses across the African continent. I continued engaging in my hobby of making music. I even published my first non-fiction book about music — PRESS PLAY. All this was possible because of the tools that are now available to us in our hyper-connected world that we live in.

This advancement in technology is a major theme in Toffy’s Divide. The changes we’ve seen in technology in the last 30 years can only make you think about the changes we’d see in the next 30 years.

Will these advancements be used for the collective good or will it be used to benefit the few that have early access to it?

One thing I’m becoming more aware of is that there’s nothing really new under the sun.

As humans, we do certain things and behave the same way regardless of our technological advances. We can examine our past to inform the future and that’s my hope — that we can learn from our past to design and build a better world.

This story was a 5-year process of personal transformation and becoming.

As I wrote Toffy’s Divide, the story became a window through which I could interpret and questions a lot of the things we are all having a collective experience in. On this planet. Together.

Questions about hierarchy, the way we treat one another, social validation, tradition, and power.

The story, in it’s transformation process of becoming, was influenced by books such as 1984, Fanreheit 451, The Wizard of the Crow, The Parable of the Sower, PIMP, and Manufacturing Consent. Other influences, such as my love for music, were also huge influences. I kept making music side by side with my writing. With three different versions until the story was complete. (Listen to Toffy’s Divide Mixtape: Coming Soon)

At the end of the day, it was all about telling a story. That was the spark. The initial inspiration was to tell a story with the music. The book and the music are now complimentary formats to pass on a message, reflect current happenings, and challenge current conventions.

I learned along the way that storytelling could just be a means to an end.

If the end goal is to communicate a message, an experience, a perspective, a truth, or just a feeling for us to feel more human and more connected, then the story and the storytelling are just products and vehicles to deliver that which needs to be communicated.

This story was a 5-year process of personal transformation and becoming. It allowed me to learn more about myself while I communicated my perspective of what was going on around me, albeit in a futuristic setting, 30 years from today.

It’s a story that reinforced to me that you can forge your own path and my hope is that the story can covey that message of self-belief and confidence — that we are all agents of transformation.

As I was on the final lap of finishing Toffy’s Divide, I started asking whether my storytelling was good storytelling. Is Toffy’s Divide a well-oiled vehicle to transport the message that our reality is not fixed and it can be molded by you and me?

Only time will tell whether that message is conveyed.

Now I’m using the themes and concepts in this book for my 405-token collection in my first NFT project - Toffy’s Domes NFT. Get on the waitlist here.

Why did I write TOFFY’S DIVIDE?

The simple answer is: “I needed a story for my mixtape. That’s why.”

But there’s more to it than that simple answer.

In 2016, I wanted to make a concept album. I thought it would be cool to start with a specific intention or a storyline to follow. So I thought if I had a story first, I could have a more cohesive storyline in my concept album.

Up until that point, I had never ventured into story or script writing. I had just finished my MBA. I had a background in engineering. Writing stories was not something that particularly interested me. Making music, on the other hand was a hobby that was becoming a significant part of my life.

And I needed a story for my next music project.

In the absence of a clear prompt. I thought I’d write a story about a guy writing a story.

That was it.

I thought that prompt would make my life easier. I’d just borrow from what was happening around me to tell the story.

So I went on to write a story.

It was just supposed to be a few hours of research. I thought I’d be done with my story in a day, and I’ll be back to my music in no time. I ended up writing what is now TOFFY’S DIVIDE, a 408–page dystopian novel set in the year of 2049.

I completed it 5 years after starting.

Through the process of putting this story together, I learned about the power of manifesting a path for yourself. I wrote about the protagonist, Toffy, writing a story and I ended up writing and publishing my own novel.

A lot of things influenced me along the way as I wrote this book. Everything from geographical interpretations, today’s issues, inequality, the concept of community, rapid technological advancement, human consciousness, and the creative mind.

“there’s nothing really new under the sun.”

Also personal choices came into play in my storytelling. I started my business. I was traveling between the US and Nigeria, bridging connections between international corporations and local businesses across the African continent. I continued engaging in my hobby of making music. I even published my first non-fiction book about music — PRESS PLAY. All this was possible because of the tools that are now available to us in our hyper-connected world that we live in.

This advancement in technology is a major theme in Toffy’s Divide. The changes we’ve seen in technology in the last 30 years can only make you think about the changes we’d see in the next 30 years.

Will these advancements be used for the collective good or will it be used to benefit the few that have early access to it?

One thing I’m becoming more aware of is that there’s nothing really new under the sun.

As humans, we do certain things and behave the same way regardless of our technological advances. We can examine our past to inform the future and that’s my hope — that we can learn from our past to design and build a better world.

This story was a 5-year process of personal transformation and becoming.

As I wrote Toffy’s Divide, the story became a window through which I could interpret and questions a lot of the things we are all having a collective experience in. On this planet. Together.

Questions about hierarchy, the way we treat one another, social validation, tradition, and power.

The story, in it’s transformation process of becoming, was influenced by books such as 1984, Fanreheit 451, The Wizard of the Crow, The Parable of the Sower, PIMP, and Manufacturing Consent. Other influences, such as my love for music, were also huge influences. I kept making music side by side with my writing. With three different versions until the story was complete. (Listen to Toffy’s Divide Mixtape: Coming Soon)

At the end of the day, it was all about telling a story. That was the spark. The initial inspiration was to tell a story with the music. The book and the music are now complimentary formats to pass on a message, reflect current happenings, and challenge current conventions.

I learned along the way that storytelling could just be a means to an end.

If the end goal is to communicate a message, an experience, a perspective, a truth, or just a feeling for us to feel more human and more connected, then the story and the storytelling are just products and vehicles to deliver that which needs to be communicated.

This story was a 5-year process of personal transformation and becoming. It allowed me to learn more about myself while I communicated my perspective of what was going on around me, albeit in a futuristic setting, 30 years from today.

It’s a story that reinforced to me that you can forge your own path and my hope is that the story can covey that message of self-belief and confidence — that we are all agents of transformation.

As I was on the final lap of finishing Toffy’s Divide, I started asking whether my storytelling was good storytelling. Is Toffy’s Divide a well-oiled vehicle to transport the message that our reality is not fixed and it can be molded by you and me?

Only time will tell whether that message is conveyed.

Now I’m using the themes and concepts in this book for my 405-token collection in my first NFT project - Toffy’s Domes NFT. Get on the waitlist here.