Don't get it twisted. T.O.N.E is no new jack to this Hip Hop thing. The One No one Expected has seen first-hand how Hip Hop has gone from battling in the parks to luxury cars and MTV Cribs.
Hip Hop is a family thing for T.O.N.E, formerly known as Toney Tone, as he first made noise ghostwriting for his older brother T La Rock. "I wrote half of his album 'Lyrical King,' which was on Sleeping Bag Records," said T.O.N.E. in an interview with The Cavalier Daily.
The rhyming genes don't end there. Another of T.O.N.E's older brothers is Special K, a member of one of the most influential Hip Hop groups ever, the Treacherous Three. "K is the reason I started rhyming. He's part of the biggest rap group to come out, with Kool Moe Dee. He'd come in around three or four in the morning from doing shows. Back in the day, when they used to just throw parties, before making records became the thing to do, I was infatuated with it because he'd come home and play tapes, and they'd have Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five, Kurtis Blow, Disco Four, Fearless Four, Spoonie G. I was just infatuated with them, I'd never heard anything like it. I used to sneak up into his room, and he'd have his equipment up there, I'd use it. T had the DJ equipment, and K was more on the technical side with the 4-track and the mic. I learned how to DJ in T's room, and sharpened my skills in K's room. I used to DJ for T when Jazzy Jay from the Zulu Nation couldn't show up."
T.O.N.E had to prove that he could do things on his own, and he got his chance when he signed to Select Records in 1990. He teamed up with DJ Hollywood Impact, who was making a lot of noise in the dance music scene and working with groups like New Kids on the Block.
"Hollywood is my brother from another mother. I got genuine love for that dude. He's the one who heard the potential in me when I as 16 years old. He heard a demo that I recorded at Power Play Studios with DJ Doc, who produced Boogie Down, Just Ice, Eric B and Rakim, D-Nice...And Doc and Quincy Jones III did tracks for me. Hollywood heard it and he immediately called me. He worked for a company called Center Field Productions, and they had a studio so he wanted to record me. At the time, he was working with Twin Height out of New Jersey, and me and him recorded an album, and we shopped it. There was a bidding war between Profile Records, Select Records, and Wild Pitch Records. I signed to Select because they gave me the most money, 90 grand, which was a lot for that time, which was 1990. I changed my name from Toney Tone to Style, because that's what they wanted me to do and I was caught up at the time with the bullshit. We released the first album, 'In T.O.N.E. We Trust.' 'What A Brother Knows' was the first single, and the second one was called 'The Assassinator' and 'Who Do You Love.'"
Hollywood heard it and he immediately called me."
After "In T.O.N.E We Trust," dropped, Hip Hop began to enter the "Puffy Era," or the "Bling Bling Era," or one of many various names. T.O.N.E, who's been compared to a gangsta version of LL Cool J, talks about the evolution of his style.
"Back then, it was early-90's, so my style was similar to Rakim, KRS, and I guess it never got out of me. Then when Onyx, Puff, Craig Mack, all the cats running shit around '95. I tried to go into their styles, but I wasn't comfortable with it. People were feeling it, and I was trying too hard to flow with the times. When I got into Wu-Tang, I realized that there were more MC's out there aside from Canibus and Nas and all those underground cats that had lyrics."
With Select Records going through some of the same problems that most indie labels experience, T.O.N.E needed to get out of his deal and keep his career going.
"It took awhile to get out of that deal with select. I put out a lot of 12" singles, but they stayed underground. I also did a comedy album 'Calls from the Hood.' I was in 'Philadelphia' with Tom Hanks and Denzel. To stay on and get back, it's hard. There's too much politics, you're not allowed to show your skills. I know a lot of MC's out there reading this can feel this."
For a minute, things seemed to be at a standstill for T.O.N.E. But he never stopped grinding, and eventually everything started looking up again. "Now I realize that I was on the right track all along, staying on the streets, and relating to people that respect Hip Hop, as opposed to people are more into "the game' because the game and Hip Hop are two different things."
The trials and tribulations that T.O.N.E's been through in the industry are similar to what a lot of MC's trying to come up will experience. T.O.N.E. has a message for them.
"Try not to worry too much about what's on the radio, unless that's where you want to go. Don't get caught up listening to the artists out now, because they won't be around for long. learn Hip Hop History, from Grandmaster Flash's days to the Public Enemy Days, to the Bad Boy Era, to now. Know that Hip Hop is more than just a culture, it's a being, a state of mind. Try not to worry about giving the consumers what they want, rather what they need."
Recently, T.O.N.E has been getting major radio play in NYC, as well as many other spots including Miami, Salt Lake City, and Virginia. His street mix-tapes have been doing very well. "The Streets Need This" sold over 10,000 units.
The sequel to that mix-tape dropped six weeks ago, and he's moved over 3,000 units of that mix-tape nationwide. Currently, T.O.N.E is working through a couple deals already on the table, besides an animated flick "Feretina"
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