american rapper actor and producer anthony terrell smith better known by his stage name
tone lok was born in los angeles california after his father died when he was around the
age of six tone and his brothers were raised solely by their mother his musical influences
growing up were some of the biggest players in the hip-hop game such as redman curtis blow run dmc
and ll cool j tone has reluctantly admitted that he was once a [ __ ] gang member his
crew were also the ones responsible for giving him his street name tony loco which shortened
turn into his stage name tony came from his real name anthony and loco meaning crazy in spanish
the unique raspy voice he would become so well known for actually came about accidentally tone
told the phoenix new times in 1989 that during his first year of high school he
drank a scalding cup of tea with brandy that his mother gave to him after developing strep throat
instead of the mixture providing a soothing remedy it burned him
throughout his teens he joined a couple of rap groups that didn't go anywhere
but the experience did inspire him to continue inventing lyrics shortly after graduating high
school tone found himself out of work and trying to figure out what next step to take in his life
when he was approached by his cousin he knew that tone had dabbled in rapping in the past
and asked him if he was interested in giving it another go hooking up with some people he knew
that were actively trying to break into the music industry tone jumped at the opportunity his debut
album looked after dark was released in january 1989. three months prior his first single and
subsequent hit while thing dropped and shot all the way to number two on the billboard hot 100.
one sore spot among the celebration though was the fallout from the unauthorized use of a guitar riff
from van halen's song jaime's crying of course the popular rock band wasn't gonna let that violation
go and sue tone the case was eventually settled out of court tone success continued with the
album's second single funky cole medina it reached number three on the hot 100 and just like wildfing
also achieved major success worldwide his work would also score him two grammy nominations for
best new artist and best rap solo performance for funky cool medina he'd get another nod
from the recording academy in 1991 for his contribution on the west coast rap all-stars track
we're all in the same gang locked after dark went to number one on the albums chart and eventually
reached double platinum status fellow rapper young mc also deserves a special shout out for
tone lopes accomplishments since he wrote both of the album's hit tracks tone's follow-up album cool
hand lock was released in november 1991 the first and only single all through the night
found only moderate success on the charts his second album would also be his last as of the
making of this video according to what he told the phoenix new times just after the release of
his debut it's no surprise why i never really intended on being a rapper professionally i've
been into the rap game for money plain and simple i never intended on being the best rapper maybe
the wealthiest not the best i'm a businessman pretty much this is a foundation for me to make
10 to 20 times as much money in one year than i would have made in 10 years in another job
that sentiment probably also explains his venture into the acting world on the big
and small screen after his stint at the top of the music charts tone secured roles in several feature
films including poetic justice blank check and ace ventura peck detective and on the television shows
rock touched by an angel martin and living single tone also took full advantage of people's love of
his outstanding voice and began securing gigs as a voice actor he can be heard voicing characters
in several television cartoon series such as king of the hill and sea bear and jamal
and was featured in the animated films bay based kids and fern gully the last rainforest he also
voiced food rapper the host of the musical stage show attraction food rocks at epcot in the walt
disney world resort for 10 years from 1994 to 2004. in the midst of tone lok's success
he's also had to deal with some major health issues that at times have affected his ability to
fulfill his work obligations according to reports many of these incidents have been due to seizures
in may 2009 he was rushed to a florida hospital after collapsing during a concert in pensacola
he was treated and released the same day then in october 2011 he was hospitalized for exhaustion
after collapsing on stage during a concert in atlanta other similar incidents occurred
in 2012 2013 and 2016. he's continued to wear his signature sunglasses at every performance
to help reduce the likelihood of a seizure tone's bad behavior behind the music over the years has
had him experiencing several run-ins with the law in december 2010 he was arrested for an alleged
dui his manager however told tmz that his client doesn't drink and his observed erratic driving
was due to a seizure he was eventually released on bail the following year tone was arrested for
felony domestic v******* and fell any possession of an assault weapon after an altercation with
the mother of one of his children he was later released after posting fifty thousand dollars bail
four months later he entered a plea of no contest to both charges and was sentenced to
one day in county jail three years probation 30 days of community service and 52 weeks of
anger management counseling in march 2019 tone was detained by the midland police department in texas
after confronting a teen and then his parents over his wearing of a confederate flag hat the heated
altercation started in the baggage claim area and continued outside authorities were later called to
the scene where they separated both parties and detained tone once the situation de-escalated
the handcuffs were removed and tone was permitted to leave no criminal charges were filed in 2022
tone had a hilarious feature as the singing voice of penny proud in the revival animated television
series the proud family louder and prouder currently the father of six continues to perform
on the isle of the 90s tour which has been going strong since 2016. the tour invites attendees to
reminisce about the trend-setting decade with some of the most iconic figures in rap hip-hop
and r b including vanilla ice all for one color me bad coolio young mc sir mix-a-lot and many more
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