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Tone Loc
Houston Dash 90s Bash, 2023-10-08 (53256126868) (cropped).jpg
Performing in October 2023
Background information
Birth name Anthony Terrell Smith
Also known as Tone Lōc
Born (1966-03-03) March 3, 1966 (age 58)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Genres Hip hop
Occupation(s)
  • Rapper
  • actor
  • record producer
Instruments Vocals
Years active 1987–present
Labels
  • Delicious Vinyl
  • Rhino

Anthony Terrell Smith (born March 3, 1966), better known by his stage name Tone Lōc (/tn lk/), is an American rapper. 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.

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 who passed away in 1972. As a result, Smith and his three older brothers were raised by his mother. He was educated at the Hollywood Professional School. As a teenager, he performed with the rap group Triple A.

Career

1989–1991: mainstream success

Tone Loc'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 Billboard 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.

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

Tone Loc'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 No. 80 on the Billboard Hot 100 and #16 on the Hot Rap Songs chart. It received frequent airplay on MTV and BET. He also contributed "If I'm Gonna Eat Somebody" for 20th Century Fox's FernGully.

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

Tone Loc'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 Till You Drop It" on her self-titled debut album.

Tone Loc 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 episode 8 of season 2 of Touched by an Angel, which aired November 11, 1995.

1992–2016: television, film and voice acting

Tone Loc has performed in several feature films, including Poetic Justice, Blank Check, Heat and Posse. As a voice actor, Tone Loc has voiced characters in several animated television series such as King of the Hill and C Bear and Jamal, and was featured in the animated film Bébé's Kids, playing the wise-cracking baby Pee Wee. He voiced the character Lou the Goanna in the 1992 film FernGully: The Last Rainforest. He has also provided his signature voice for episodes of Chowder and Uncle Grandpa, both airing on Cartoon Network. In 2022, Tone Loc was featured as the singing voice of Penny Proud in The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder on Disney+.

2016–present: I Love the 90s Tour

Currently, he is among the list of performers on the I Love the 90s Tour, which has performed worldwide since April 2016, as well as having featured appearances on the I Love the 90s: The Party Continues Tour from July to September 2017.

Personal life

Health issues

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. On May 29, 2009, he was rushed to a hospital after collapsing during a concert in Pensacola, Florida. The rapper cut his elbow when he fell and was released the same day. On October 15, 2011, he was hospitalized for exhaustion after collapsing onstage during a concert in Atlanta, Georgia. He was taken to a local hospital where he was intravenously rehydrated. Another similar incident occurred in 2012. On March 16, 2013, he collapsed onstage, at a performance at the Bridge Bash in Des Moines, Iowa, but he refused hospital care. 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. He wears his signature sunglasses at every performance to help reduce the likelihood of a seizure.

Discography

Studio albums

Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales threshold)
US
US R&B
AUS
CAN
AUT
NZ
SWE
SWI
UK
Lōc-ed After Dark
  • Release date: January 23, 1989
  • Label: Delicious Vinyl
1 3 11 4 10 11 31 30 22
  • RIAA: 2× Platinum
Cool Hand Lōc
  • Release date: November 19, 1991
  • Label: Delicious Vinyl
46 129 39
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Singles

Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales threshold)
Album
US
US Rap
US R&B
US Dan
AUS
AUT
CAN
NZ
SWI
UK
"On Fire" 1987 Non-album single
"Wild Thing" 1988 2 2 3 1 15 7 1 23 21
  • RIAA: 2× Platinum
  • ARIA: Gold
Lōc-ed After Dark
"Funky Cold Medina" 1989 3 3 7 8 8 13 10 3 13 13
  • RIAA: Platinum
  • ARIA: Gold
"I Got It Goin' On" 18 59 52 9 27 55
"All Through the Night"
(featuring El DeBarge)
1991 80 16 106 Cool Hand Lōc
"Cool Hand Loc" 1992
"Posse Love" 1993 Posse soundtrack
"Ace Is in the House"
(featuring Jim Carrey)
1994 Ace Ventura soundtrack
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Notes

Featured singles

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

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 Return of Superfly Unknown Uncredited
1992 FernGully: The Last Rainforest Goanna Voice
Bébé's Kids Pee-Wee Voice
1993 Posse Angel
Poetic Justice James Paul
Surf Ninjas Lieutenant Spence
A Cool Like That Christmas Marvin Television film
1994 Car 54, Where Are You? Handsome Cab Driver
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective Emilio
Blank Check Juice
1995 Heat Richard Torena
Crosstown Traffic Keiser Television film
1996 Spy Hard Gangster #1
1997 Fakin' da Funk "Frog"
1998 Freedom Strike Tyler Haynes
1999 Jack and the Beanstalk The Giant Voice
2000 Whispers: An Elephant's Tale Macho Bull
Titan A.E. Tek Voice
Space Cowboys The Photographer Uncredited
2001 Deadly Rhapsody Jelly's Cousin
They Crawl Clarence
2002 Storm Watch Ray
2006 Totally Awesome Himself Television film
Dreamweaver Sandman Television film
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 Voice, episode: "Smolder and Wiser"
1995 Touched by an Angel Albert Turner Episode: "Operation Smile"
NewsRadio Security Guard, Lorenzo 2 episodes
1996–1997 C Bear and Jamal C-Bear 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 Voice, 2 episodes
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 J.T. Betancourt Episode: "Twist of Hate"
Static Shock Hyde Voice, episode: "Static Shaq"
2004 Superstar USA Panelist
2005 King of the Hill Bouncer Voice, episode: "Smoking and the Bandit"
Yes, Dear Dave Episode: "Barbecue"
2008 Chowder Chestnut Voice, 3 episodes
2014 Uncle Grandpa Moon Man Voice, episode: "Bezt Frends"
2022 The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder Penny Proud (singing voice) Episode: "Snackland"

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Tone Loc para niños

  • List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance Club Songs chart
  • List of Billboard number-one dance club songs
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