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In 1997 a young gospel singer
from San Diego released his third CD. Recorded
in his home and distributed out of the back
of his car "pronounced
toe-nay" instantly became one of the most
talked about (and argued over) CDs in contemporary
gospel music. Filled with honest lyrics, an unwavering
faith in God and grooves that fused hip-hop to
R&B to funk, "pronounced toe-nay" straddled
the gulf between old school and new school gospel,
both delighting and enraging the gospel community.
With his dynamic sound and
a live show that drew comparisons to Prince,
Michael Jackson, D'Angelo, and Kirk Franklin,
Tonex reigned as an anointed warrior of hip-hop
and R&B who
used his music to not only touch the faithful
but to take gospel music to a new audience.
Now three years after "pronounced toe-nay" made
him a star, earned him fans like Missy Elliot
and Timbaland, and became an underground classic,
Verity Records is bringing those who haven't
heard a most holy and soulful noise in the form
of it's re-release.
"I feel like my record was a classic of
it's time," Tonex offers, "and even
now, I think it sounds fresh and contemporary.
I mean there has been this buzz over the past
three years so, I wanted to give people what
they wanted."
What the people wanted is
a brand of gospel that Tonex describes as eccentric
and unique. "pronounced
toe-nay" is a complete musical vision, starting
off with hip-hop and segueing into electro funk,
sliding in some laid back mellow grooves and
then ending up with old time gospel/soul. One
listen and it's clear that Tonex, who wrote and
produced the whole album, has the chops to crossover
but he is firmly dedicated to his beliefs and
that devotion shines throughout the CD.
"I had many offers to do pop and R&B," Tonex
offers modestly "but I never went through
with it. There are a lot of people who do similar
things to what I do in R&B but I wanted to
use gospel lyrics. I address issues that many
other Christian artists don't' address. For instance
in a sexual context, I don't sing about what
I'm going to do to a woman. I sing about what
I've already experienced and the pain that it
caused me. So, on a song like "Taxi," I'm
talking about the downside of premarital sex,
but it's still a pop song."
On the sizzling "One Good Reason" Tonex
sings about those who question his faith. "As
a child I was spared from a lot of sadness because
of the faith my parents instilled in me, and
so I say in the song give me one good reason
why, I can't praise God. I mean there are people
my age dying of AIDS and honestly if it hadn't
been for God's mercy it could have been me. I
could be another black brother statistic... in
jail or on crack. So how you gonna hare on me
when I'm doing what I do, for the right reasons?"
Another song close to Tonex's
soul and also tinged with controversy is "Real With You", "Sometimes
with Christianity, people are so busy trying
to convince others that they are saved that they
do not deal with the real issues that happen
when you leave church. I don't want to do this
because it looks right, I wanna do this because
it is right but I need God to help me and that's
what the song speaks about."
Tonex was born into musical
family. His father played saxophone for James
Brown and Jackie Wilson and his mother sang
in various girl groups. "I'm
the youngest of six boys," Tonex laughs, "so
I guess if I had been born with our talent my
folks would have been like what's wrong with
him?" Along with music, Tonex's life was
shaped by faith. Both his parents are ministers
and head up the Truth Apostolic Community Church
in California .
Although his parents beliefs
deterred Tonex from listening to much secular
music (although Tonex admits he did check out
his older brother's funk records on the low),
Tonex's father made sure that his children
had a knowledge and appreciation of genres
other than traditional gospel. "Although
I'm sure he didn't like the messages in some
songs, he made sure I was open to classical,
jazz... and music in general."
When Tonex was 10 he recorded
a gospel record with his family and when he
turned 13 he decided to venture out on his
own. Dubbing himself Tonex he began to hone
his craft, working on songs in his family's
basement. By the time Tonex was 18 he he'd
released his independent debut "Silent
X 516: the Self Confrontation." The following
year he released "Damage," also an
independent release.
Then, two short years following
the release of "Damage," Tonex would release his
third CD "pronounced toe-nay" and the
buzz would grow to such an audible level that
it was only a matter of time before this exciting
performer was signed to a major label.
In an age where music often doesn't represent
anything much more than good times and materialism,
it's refreshing to hear songs that work on the
mind, body and spirit.
Those are the songs contained
on "pronounced
toe-nay" and bringing faith and funk to
the masses is Tonex's mission. This, his Verity
Records debut, this musical prodigy accomplishes
that mission. Ask Tonex what he wants fans to
derive from his music and he is characteristically
open.
"I'm not flawless. I'm not trying to be
some daily scripture. I'm trying to be real with
people and I have no intention of only preaching
to the converted, so to speak. Why heal the sick
if they are already healed? If people wanna get
into my music cause it has a dope beat... cool. "Cause
eventually you will listen to what I have to
say. The beat is the bait but the words will
hook you in." |
