Tone Loc

Anthony Terrell Smith (born March 3, 1966), better known by his stage name Tone Lōc (/toʊn loʊk/), is an American actor, rapper, voice actor, and producer.[1] He is known for his raspy voice, his hit songs "Wild Thing" and "Funky Cold Medina", for which he was nominated for a Grammy Award, and for being featured in "We're All in the Same Gang", a collaborative single by the West Coast Rap All-Stars.

For the war dialing program, see ToneLoc.

Tone Loc
Birth name	Anthony Terrell Smith
Also known as	Tone Lōc
Born	(1966-03-03) March 3, 1966
Origin	Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres	Hip hop, new jack swing
Occupation(s)	Actor Rapper Producer
Years active	1987–present
Labels	Delicious Vinyl Rhino Entertainment
Website	http://www.toneloc.com

Early life

Anthony Terrell Smith was born March 3, 1966, in Los Angeles, California, the son of Margaret, who managed a retirement home, and James Smith.[2]

Career

Mainstream success, (1989–1991)

Tone Lōc's debut album, Lōc-ed After Dark, was released in January 1989. The video for the first single, "Wild Thing," became a staple on MTV in the US. The song rose to No. 2 on the US Hot 100, and the top twenty in Australia. The second single, "Funky Cold Medina," also became a hit. It reached the top 5 in the US, peaking at No. 3; the top ten in Australia; and the top twenty in the UK.[3]

Lōc-ed After Dark reached No. 1 in the US. Since its release, has been certified 2x platinum there.

Tone Lōc's second album Cool Hand Lōc was released in November 1991. The album's first single was "All Through the Night", which found moderate success, reaching #80 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #16 on the Rap Songs chart. It received frequent airplay on MTV and BET.

Ace Ventura Pet Detective franchise, and other endeavors (1994–2004)

Tone Lōc's song "Ace Is in the House" (which samples the Beastie Boys song "No sleep till Brooklyn") is featured in the films Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994) and Ace Ventura Jr: Pet Detective (2009).

He provided vocals for Fefe Dobson for the track "Rock It 'Til You Drop It" on her first album, 2003's Fefe Dobson.

Tone Lōc also voiced "Fūd Wrapper", the host of the animatronic show Food Rocks. This was played at Epcot from 1994 to 2004. In this latter role, he sang the song "Always Read the Wrapper", a parody of his second hit single "Funky Cold Medina".

He appeared as Albert in Touched by an Angel, season 2 episode 8, which aired November 11, 1995.

Television, film and voice acting (1992–present)

Tone Lōc has performed in several feature films, including Poetic Justice, Blank Check and Posse.[4] As a voice actor, Tone Lōc has voiced characters in several television cartoon series such as King of the Hill and C-Bear and Jamal,[4] and was featured in the animated film Bébé's Kids, playing the wise-cracking baby Pee Wee.[5] He voiced the character Lou the Goanna in the 1992 film FernGully: The Last Rainforest.[6] He has also provided his signature voice for episodes of Uncle Grandpa, and Chowder, both airing on Cartoon Network.

I Love the 90s Tour (2016–present)

Currently, he is among the list of performers on the I Love the 90s tour which has performed worldwide from April 2016 to the present,[7] as well as having featured appearances on the I Love the 90s: The Party Continues tour from July 2017 to September 2017. Both tours invite attendees to reminisce about the trend-setting decade with some of the most iconic figures in rap, hip hop and R&B.[8]

Personal life

Legal issues

In December 2010, Lōc was arrested for an alleged DUI. He was released on bail claiming a medical condition had caused a seizure.[4]

On June 18, 2011, Tone Lōc was arrested for felony domestic violence and felony possession of an assault weapon (a Colt AR-15 Sporter rifle,[9] restricted by California law,[10] but not involved in the domestic incident)[9] after an altercation with the mother of one of his children.[11] He was released less than three hours later after posting $50,000 bail.[12][13] On October 3, 2011, he entered a plea of no contest to both charges, and was sentenced to one day in county jail, three years of probation, 52 weeks of anger management counseling and 30 days of community service.[9]

On March 23, 2019, Tone Loc was detained by the Midland Police Department in Midland, Texas.[14]

Health problems

Tone Lōc has collapsed onstage multiple times since 1995; some if not all of these collapses have been due to seizures, according to at least one report.[15] On May 29, 2009, he was rushed to a Florida hospital[16] after collapsing during a concert in Pensacola.[15] The rapper cut his elbow when he fell and was released the same day.[16] On October 15, 2011, he was hospitalized for exhaustion after collapsing onstage during a concert in Atlanta. He was taken to a local hospital where he was intravenously rehydrated.[17] Another similar incident occurred in 2012.[18] On March 16, 2013, he collapsed onstage, at a performance at the Bridge Bash in Des Moines, Iowa,[18] but he refused hospital care.[15] He collapsed onstage on December 6, 2013, during a performance in San Francisco, California, and collapsed again on November 26, 2016, during a performance in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, but he later returned to the stage.[19] He wears his signature sunglasses at every performance to help reduce the likelihood of a seizure.

Discography

Studio albums

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions								Certifications (sales threshold)
		US [20]	US R&B [21]	AUS [22]	AUT [23]	NZ [24]	SWE [25]	SWI [26]	UK [27]
1989	Lōc-ed After Dark Release date: January 23, 1989 Label: Delicious Vinyl	1	3	11	10	11	31	30	22	US: 2× Platinum[28]
1991	Cool Hand Lōc Release date: November 19, 1991 Label: Delicious Vinyl	—	46	—	39	—	—	—	—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Singles

Year	Single	Peak chart positions									Certifications (sales threshold)	Album
		US [29]	US Rap [30]	US R&B [31]	US Dan [32]	AUS [33][34]	AUT [35]	NZ [36]	SWI [37]	UK [27]
1987	"On Fire"[38][39]	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		single only^[A]
1988	"Wild Thing"	2	2	3	1	15	—	1	23	21	US: 2× Platinum[40] AUS: Gold[41]	Loc-ed After Dark
1989	"Funky Cold Medina"	3	3	7	8	8	13	3	13	13	US: Platinum[42] AUS: Gold[41]
	"I Got It Goin' On"	—	18	59	—	52	—	27	—	55
1991	"All Through the Night" (featuring El DeBarge)	80	—	16	—	—	—	—	—	—		Cool Hand Loc
1992	"Cool Hand Loc"[43]	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1993	"Posse Love"[44]	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		Posse (Soundtrack)
1994	"Ace Is In The House"[45]	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—		Ace Ventura (Soundtrack)
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Notes

• A ^ a remix of this song was later included on Loc-ed After Dark

Featured singles

Year	Single	Artist	Peak chart positions		Album
			US	US R&B
1990	"We're All in the Same Gang"	West Coast Rap All-Stars	35	10	Non-album song

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Nominated work	Result
1989	MTV Video Music Awards	Best Rap Video	"Wild Thing"	Nominated
1990	Grammy Awards	Best New Artist	Himself	Nominated
		Best Rap Solo Performance	"Funky Cold Medina"	Nominated
	American Music Awards	Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Artist	Himself	Nominated
		Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Album	Lōc-ed After Dark	Nominated
		Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop New Artist	Himself	Nominated
		Favorite Dance New Artist		Won
1991	Grammy Awards	Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group	"We're All in the Same Gang"	Nominated

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1990	The Adventures of Ford Fairlane	Slam the Rapper
	The Return of Superfly		uncredited
1992	FernGully: The Last Rainforest	Goanna[46]	voice
	Bébé's Kids	Pee-Wee[46]	voice
1993	Posse	Angel
	Poetic Justice	J Bone
	Surf Ninjas	Lieutenant Spence
	A Cool Like That Christmas	Marvin	TV movie
1994	Car 54, Where Are You?	Hackman
	Ace Ventura: Pet Detective	Emilio
	Blank Check	Juice
1995	Heat	Richard Torena
	Crosstown Traffic	Keiser	TV movie
1996	Spy Hard	Gangster #1
1997	Fakin' Da Funk	Frog
1998	Freedom Strike	Tyler Haynes
2000	Whispers: An Elephant's Tale	Macho Bull[46]
	Titan A.E.	Tek[46]	voice
	Space Cowboys	Photographer	uncredited
2001	Deadly Rhapsody	Jelly's Cousin
	They Crawl	Clarence
2002	Storm Watch
2004	Jack and The Beanstalk	Ray
2006	Totally Awesome	Himself	TV movie
	Dreamweaver	Sandman	TV movie
2011	White T	Jerry	voice
2014	Not Cool	Pedestrian #2	uncredited

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1990	The Earth Day Special	Himself
1992-1994	Roc	Ronnie Paxton	7 episodes
1994	Aladdin	Magma	Episode: "Smolder and Wiser"
1995	Touched by an Angel	Albert Turner	Episode: "Operation Smile"
	NewsRadio	Security Guard Lorenzo	Episode: "Friends" Episode: "Xmas Story"
1996–1997	C-Bear and Jamal	C-Bear[46]	Lead role
1996	Living Single	Lester Tate	Episode: "School's Out Forever"
1997	Happily Ever After: Fairy Tales for Every Child	The Giant / Desmond Bear	Episode: "Jack and the Beanstalk" Episode: "Goldilocks and the Three Bears"
	Martin	Himself	Episode: "Ain't That About a Ditch"
	Dangerous Minds	Mr. Summers	Episode: "To'e Me Up, To'e Me Down"
1999	Early Edition	Derek 'D.J.' Johnson	Episode: "Number One with a Bullet"
2000–2001	Rude Awakening	Lenny	2 episodes
2001	Thieves	Special Agent Al Trundall
2002	The District	JT Betancourt	Episode: "Twist of Hate"
	Static Shock	Hyde[46]	Episode: "Static Shaq"
2004	The WB's Superstar USA	Panelist
2005	King of the Hill	Bouncer	Episode: "Smoking and the Bandit"
	Yes, Dear	Dave	Episode: "Barbecue"
2008	Chowder	Chestnut[46]	3 episodes
2014	Uncle Grandpa	Moon Man	Episode: "Bezt Frends"

See also

• List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart
• List of number-one dance hits (United States)

References

1. "Tone Loc". IMDb. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
2. "Tone-Loc Biography (1966?-)". FilmReference.com.
3. Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 561. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
4. Kaufman, Gil (July 15, 2011). "Tone Loc Pleads Not Guilty To Domestic Violence Charges". MTV.com. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
5. Tone Lōc on IMDb
6. "Update: Ferngully: the Last Rainforest (1992) Acting Credits". NYTimes.com. The New York Times Company. April 10, 1992.
7. Spanos, Brittany (March 29, 2016). "Salt-N-Pepa, Vanilla Ice to Headline 'I Love the '90s' Tour". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
8. "I Love The 90s". ilovethe90stour.com. Retrieved 2018-08-15.
9. "Rapper Tone Loc pleads no contest to domestic violence charge". CNN. October 4, 2011. Archived from the original on October 10, 2011. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
10. "California Firearms Laws" (PDF). ag.ca.gov. Office of the Attorney General, California Dept. of Justice. 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2014. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
11. Duke, Alan (June 19, 2011). "Police: Tone Loc arrested after fight with his child's mother". CNN. Archived from the original on July 28, 2011. Retrieved June 19, 2011.
12. "Tone Loc arrested in domestic violence case". MSN.com. Associated Press; TMZ.com; TODAY news services. June 19, 2011. Archived from the original on June 23, 2011. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
13. Martinez, Edecio (June 20, 2011). "Rapper Tone Loc arrested on domestic violence charge". CBSnews.com. Archived from the original on August 25, 2011. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
14. Harrison, Haley. "FIRST ON CBS7: Rapper Tone Loc detained by Midland Police". www.cbs7.com. Retrieved 24 March 2019.
15. Newson, Kelly (March 17, 2013). "Lil Wayne, Tone Loc and Morrissey all under the doctor's watch". Guardian Liberty Voice. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
16. Langhorne, Cyrus (May 29, 2009). "Update: Tone Loc Recovering After Concert Seizure, Released From Hospital". sohh.com. Archived from the original on December 12, 2013.
17. Grossberg, Josh (October 17, 2011). "Tone Loc collapses after playing 'Funky Cold Medina'". MSN.com. Archived from the original on October 20, 2011.
18. "Tone Loc collapses onstage at Bridge Bash". Des Moines Register; USA Today. March 17, 2013. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
19. Dexter, Christopher; Ferguson, Danielle (November 26, 2016). "Tone Loc collapses on stage at Premier Center, later returns". Argus Leader. Retrieved January 24, 2017.
20. "Tone-Loc Album & Song Chart History - Billboard 200". Billboard. Retrieved December 26, 2010.
21. "Tone-Loc Album & Song Chart History - R&B/Hip-Hop Albums". Billboard. Retrieved December 26, 2010.
22. "Australian charts portal". australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 26, 2010.
23. "Austria Top 40". austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 26, 2010.
24. "New Zealand charts portal". charts.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 26, 2010.
25. "Swedish charts portal". swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 26, 2010.
26. "Die Offizielle Schweizer Hitparade und Music Community" [The Official Swiss Hit Parade and Music Community]. hitparade.ch. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 26, 2010.
27. "The Official Charts Company - Tone Loc". Official Charts Company. Retrieved December 26, 2010.
28. "RIAA - Gold & Platinum - December 26, 2010: Tone-Loc certified albums". riaa.com. Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 26, 2010.
29. "Tone-Loc Album & Song Chart History - Hot 100". Billboard. Retrieved December 26, 2010.
30. "Tone-Loc : Allmusic : Billboard Singles". Allmusic. Retrieved December 26, 2010.
31. "Tone-Loc Album & Song Chart History - R&B/Hip-Hop Songs". Billboard. Retrieved December 26, 2010.
32. "Tone-Loc Album & Song Chart History - Dance/Club Play Songs". Billboard. Retrieved December 26, 2010.
33. "Top 50 peaks: Tone Loc". australian-charts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 26, 2010.
34. "25 Years Ago This Week: October 8, 1989". chartbeat.blogspot.com.au. Retrieved September 16, 2015. I Got It Goin' On
35. "Austria Top 40". austriancharts.at. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 26, 2010.
36. "New Zealand charts portal". charts.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 26, 2010.
37. "Die Offizielle Schweizer Hitparade und Music Community" [The Official Swiss Hit Parade and Music Community]. hitparade.ch. Hung Medien. Retrieved December 26, 2010.
38. "Tone-Loc - On Fire / I Got It Goin' On". Discogs.com.
39. "Tone-Loc - On Fire / Cheeba Cheeba". Discogs.com.
40. "RIAA - Gold & Platinum - December 26, 2010: "Wild Thing" certified awards". riaa.com. Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 26, 2010.
41. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988-2010. Mt. Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
42. "RIAA - Gold & Platinum - December 26, 2010: "Funky Cold Medina" certified awards". riaa.com. Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved December 26, 2010.
43. "Tone-Loc - Cool Hand Loc". Discogs.com.
44. "Tone-Loc - Posse Love". Discogs.com.
45. "Tone-Loc - Ace Is In The House". Discogs.com.
46. "Tone Loc - 9 Character Images".

External links

• Official site
• Tone Lōc on IMDb