Tonedeff

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Tonedeff
Birth name Tony Rojas
Origin Newport News, Virginia, United States
Genre(s) Hip hop
Occupation(s) Rapper, producer, visual artist
Instrument(s) Vocals, piano
Years active 1993 to present
Label(s) QN5
Associated acts CunninLynguists, PackFM, Extended Famm, Immortal Technique
Website www.tonedeff.com

Tonedeff (born Tony Rojas) is an American rapper, producer, and singer-songwriter from Queens, New York City.

Known for his breathless vocal performances, rapid-fire delivery, which is alleged to be among the fastest in hip hop history at 13.5 syllables per second[citation needed], he is said by critics as having "the best flow" of the current generation of emcees[citation needed]. Having developed a reputation as a self-sufficient artist who has been known to design his own album covers and edit his own videos[citation needed], he is also known to sing and play piano on his tracks, as well as self-produce them.

Tonedeff first gained national recognition on the underground hip hop scene after winning a string of distinguished rap battles (i.e. "Braggin Rites"), opening shows for Common, Rahzel, The Beatnuts, Royce Da 5'9", and Brand Nubian. He also appeared as a guest artist on several 12" releases, including the controversial Nelly dis-record "Clear Em Out" featuring KRS-ONE.[citation needed]

He has appeared on each of the Cunninlynguists albums, including Will Rap For Food, SouthernUnderground, and A Piece of Strange. He appeared on Immortal Technique's "Peruvian Cocaine" (on the album Revolutionary Vol. 2), playing the role of an American drug distributor in an elaborate drug trade conspiracy. He has also provided comedic skits for artists such as Masta Ace and Pumpkinhead.

Tonedeff founded the QN5 Music label in 1997 and releases music independently, with a roster that includes CunninLynguists, PackFM, and Extended Famm as well as a production roster that includes Kno, Domingo, Deacon The Villain & Elite. He continues to perform and release music internationally today.

Contents

[edit] Early life

Born to a Cuban mother and a Colombian father in Newport News, Virginia, Tonedeff wrote his first songs at the age of nine. He formed a group named "The RBM Crew" in 1989 with three schoolmates shortly after relocating to Miami, Florida, from Chicago and began recording and performing locally at talent shows and showcases.[citation needed] In 1993, The RBM Crew was offered a development deal by Warner Black Music and began recording the ultimately uncompleted Calligraphy. They disbanded when the label folded in 1995.

[edit] Arsenio Hall Show

At the age of sixteen, Tonedeff appeared on The Arsenio Hall Show as a performer, taking the grand prize of the show's national talent search called "Flava of the Future".[citation needed] He alludes to this event in his song "Morethanthis".

After fielding offers from several major labels,[citation needed] Tonedeff decided instead to pursue a college degree in illustration and multimedia - taking a break from his music career until taking up recording of his debut solo project The Monotone EP during his time at Full Center for the Recording Arts in Orlando, Florida.[citation needed]

[edit] QN5 Music

Upon moving to New York City, Tonedeff founded the record label QN5 Music in 1997 as a multi-genre outlet for different artists. After a rocky start with the release of The Monotone EP, the label was put on hold for several years until refocusing as a hip hop specialty imprint in 2001 by recruiting artists such as CunninLynguists and PackFM and production teams, which boasted the talents of hip hop producers Domingo & Elite.

On March 5, 2005, Tonedeff's QN5 Music was the first hip hop label to release its own podcast. It claims to be the first record label podcast ever, but there is some debate as to if major label Virgin beat them to the punch. The show, called WQN5, featured commentary from label artists Session, PackFM, Substantial and Tonedeff as well as guest appearances by Wordsworth.

[edit] Extended F@mm

In 2002, Tonedeff joined with QN5 artists Substantial, PackFM, and Session to form Extended F@mm, which released the album Happy Fuck You Songs. The group described the album as an exercise in "conceptual posse cuts" with songs ranging from the Tetris-themed "Line Drop" to bad cell phone connections in "Celly".

On the success of the Happy F*ck You Songs, he made his first appearance in The Source with Extended Famm in 2003 and appeared in a commercial for Hip Hop Week on MTV. He has also been featured in magazines such as Mugshot, Rime and Scratch.

[edit] Archetype

After nearly six years of false starts and botched distribution deals, Tonedeff's debut LP Archetype was released in April 2005. The anticipation for the album was perhaps its biggest downfall, especially after many years of build up and missed release dates. Tonedeff's album was met with polarized reviews, with many critics expecting an album more akin to his previous efforts with Extended famm than the musically challenging and melancholy songs that permeated the record.

Although rooted in traditional East Coast-style boom bap, many of the album's songs take on atypical time signatures, heavy instrumentation and entirely-sung piano ballads with string quartet arrangements. This seeming disregard for the underground hip hop genre's stylistic conventions is attributed to "The New Hip Hop" movement instigated by the QN5 Artists in 2005.

Archetype was shipped in a double-CD case which included a self-produced and edited DVD documentary entitled Archetexture. It featured a live performance and behind the scenes footage of the creation of the album as well as interviews with underground luminaries such as Wordsworth, DJ JS-1, PackFM and Immortal Technique.

[edit] Lollapalooza

Tonedeff received national recognition when selected to perform at the August 2006 Lollapalooza festival in Chicago. He earned his nomination by garnering some of the highest vote totals throughout the "Last Band Standing" competition and finally selected as the winner after four rounds of celebrity-panel judging (which included Lollapalooza founder Perry Farrell of Jane's Addiction) and a live-performance round. Other performers at the event were Common, Kanye West, and Gnarls Barkley.

Music journalist Jon Pareles of The New York Times wrote about Tonedeff's performance at Lollapalooza, noting that Tonedeff "has so many variations of rhythm and tone that his songs are enjoyable even without a rewind button to find out what they meant."

[edit] Chico & The Man

Tonedeff's next project is rumored to be a joint-collaboration with the hip hop producer Kno (of CunninLynguists) tentatively titled Chico & The Man. On this project, Kno is expected to handle the entirety of the production duties with Tonedeff to focus on the rapping portions.

The song "No Hope (f/ Deacon)" was released on the QN5 Music mixtape Asterisk:Three in 2004. The solemn track is supposedly a dedication to a friend of both artists who was murdered in a store robbery in 2004 in Lexington, Kentucky. The duo released their second official song, "My Lady", on the Asterisk:Four mixtape in March 2007.

There is no word as to the theme of this project, but the projected release date is 2008.

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

  • The Monotone (EP)
  • Extended F@mm - Happy F*ck You Songs
  • Chico & the Man
    • Released: TBA 2008
    • Label: QN5 Music

[edit] Singles

  • "Ridiculous"
    • Released: 2000
    • Label: Tru Criminal Records
    • B-Side: "Head's Up"
  • "Politics"
    • Released: 2005
    • Label: QN5 Music/Freshchest
    • B-Side: "Disappointed"

[edit] Awards

  • 2000: Braggin Rites MC Battle Champion
  • 2000: Hookt (aka Da Cypha) Battle Champion
  • 2001: The Source Unsigned Hype Battle Finalist
  • 2006: Lollapalooza's Last Band Standing Winner

[edit] References

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Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (June 2007)

[edit] External links

Interviews