Gravel voiced greats # 3.5. Tone Lōc

"A lot of rappers got flavour, and some got skills/But if your voice ain't dope then you need to chill"

THE MUSIC














After experimenting with various folk ensembles, young Anthony's life settled into the deep groove that hip hop provided and the world came to know him through his music. It was party music, a feel good sound with a sweetness to counteract the sour themes NWA, Ice-T and the like were exploring at the time. If West Coast rap was a bowl and gangsta rap some natural yoghurt, Tone was the much needed honey to complete the scene. Legend has it that super-producer Dr. Dre learnt how to makes beats over at Tone's house. No Lōc? No Dre, no G-funk, no Snoop, no Eminem, no 50 Cent, no Game. Game over, in fact.

He was a unifying force, a rapper for everyone. He wanted to make hip hop whole. He is a man of the people: "Whether I'm in a shoe box or performing for the Queen of England, it doesn't matter, I make it sound the same." Liz loved his show and so did the shoes.

The tune that launched Tone Lōc into super-stardom was the aforementioned 'Wild Thing' in 1989. While Public Enemy, the Beastie Boys and Run DMC had flirted with a fusion of rap and rock, Tone was the first to make it shiny for the masses. While white people were afraid of or appalled by most hip hop, they now found their pasty limbs moving uncontrollably to Lōc's easy access beat, their brains familiar with the track by 60's rock band The Troggs that Tone was name-checking. While 2 Live Crew were getting into legal trouble for their use of samples, Tone was laughing as he liberally took the guitar riff and drums of Van Halen's 'Jamie's Cryin'. The band didn't sue. Point is, if you're as cool as Lōc, you don't have to pay royalties, motherfucker.

The booty shake classic had a clever video too, Tone aping the 'girls with guitars' theme seen in the vid for Robert Palmer's smarmy sex anthem 'Addicted To Love'. Tone did it with more taste though, opting for a super-cool black and white look. What's more, it only cost $340 to make. Holler. Lōc was an astute cultural remixer with a gift for iconic images and sounds. A hip hop Tarantino, you might say.
If you need further evidence, check the sleeve of his '89 debut album, Lōc'ed After Dark. In showing the influence of legendary jazz artwork, Tone attained an untouchable West Coast cool. He took hip hop by the hand and guided it into the future. Tone Lōc is a post-modern hustler.

For me, the icing on his first album is the colossal banger 'Funky Cold Medina'. These days showy rappers wear diamonds and drink Cristal and spend thousands to entice women. Why pour your money down the drain? They should be calling up Tone to get the recipe for Funky Cold Medina. You see, the tune is all about a magic love potion guaranteed to give the horn and have people fighting to get in your shorts. Tone doesn't need to drink it (it's made from his essence), but he's telling all listeners to look inside and find their inner pimp juice, that crunk juice that'll make you get up on the dancefloor and grab a girlie. It's a torch song to self-affirmation. That and he gets to rhyme Medina with wiener.

In another classic promo, Lōc gets up to all sorts of havoc with the mystical green elixir. He feeds it to his dog (and has all the dogs coming over to his house, a charming little metaphor), he turns down transvestites (while making you irresistible, sadly a Funky Cold One still gets you fucking wrecked). "Ain't no plans with a man/this is the 80s and Lōc is down with the ladies..." he quips. Tone likes to crack jokes but has to state for the record that he ain't gay - thus establishing a rap archetype. He also has to turn down a marriage proposal - the Medina has backfired! Girls, Lōc doesn't want wedded bliss, he just wants to fuck. Another hip hop staple? Check. So remember, if you're a single 40-something and you're worried you'll die alone, get the Medinas in. Not too much though, or you'll end up pouring it down the drain like Lōc at the end of the video. Clearly Lōc doesn't care about the environment. I'm not mad at the guy. At least it ain't money, right?

Check these pictures - this guy is rocking some kind of portable mixer/turntable device, evidence that Tone was a pioneer in electronics, too. He then defied conventional thought and went one better, adding a fucking fret board! What became of this device and why isn't it on a wall at the Hard Rock cafe? Rumour says a device labelled 'Lōc-SP550' surfaced at an auction in 1996, but quickly disappeared into the hands of a shadowy bidder. It is a mystery as intriguing as that of Lōc's name, forever shrouded in a laid-back mist.

You might say Tone Jōke if you find him laughable, or Tone Crōak because of the frog in his throat, or Tone Brōke because you saw him on Celebrity Fit Club. Mock all you want. He'll be back. Not in some apocalyptic storm cloud of hail and fire, no. One bright summers day, he'll be walking down a street in your neighbourhood...

YOU: Hey, Tone
TONE: Hey, man
YOU: Where you been? When's the new album coming out?

Tone will smile and hand you a record. You'll watch him walk off into a mirage on the horizon. You'll go home, drop the needle to the groove. As you listen, you'll cry a single sepia coloured tear. It will be the best album you've ever heard.

~Landon Garrett