Chef Tone
| Chef Tone | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Tony Scales |
| Born | June 13, 1983 |
| Genres | Hip hop , R&B |
| Occupations | Songwriter, Producer |
| Instruments | Keyboard |
| Years active | 2008–present |
| Labels | Atlantic |
| Associated acts | R. Kelly, Jamie Foxx, Trey Songz, The-Dream, Justin Bieber, Drake, Nicki Minaj, T.I, Flo-Rida, Mario, J.Holiday, Wiz Khalifa, Roscoe Dash, Plies, Ludacris, Trina, Lloyd, Sean Paul, Juicy J, Maejor Ali, 2 Chainz |
Tony E. Scales, Jr (born June 13, 1983), professionally known by his stage name Chef Tone, is an American song-writer, and producer. With his first placement in 2008, Chef found immediate success delivering a U.S. Billboard Top 10 Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs with "Please Excuse My Hands for "Plies" ft. "Jamie Foxx & The Dream". Chef then inked a deal with Atlantic Records in 2008, going on to write, co-write, & produce hit records such as Trey Songz's "Invented Sex" ft. Drake, "Say Aah" ft. Fabolous, "Bottoms Up" ft. Nicki Minaj, "Love Faces" & Ludacris's "Sex Room" ft. Trey Songz . Chef contributed works' on Trey Songz Ready album in 2009, which went on to receive a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary R&B Album. In addition, Chef has written & produced records for Lloyd, Trina, T.I., Flo Rida, Mario, Roscoe Dash, & Jamie Foxx which in 2010 led 'Foxx' to rename his album "Best Night of My Life" after the single "Best Night of My Life ft. Wiz Khalifa" written by Chef. Chef alongside Trey Songz also penned the theme song "Mojo" for Trey Songz : 'My Moment' which aired on BET 2010.[1]
Early life
Chef Tone was born in Chicago, IL and raised on the city's south side. He grew up in a single-parent household, & was introduced to a life of crime at a very young age. Like most male adolescents, Tony had an interest in basketball, and would often play with his cousin Sean Dockery, who was an All American basketball player at Duke University. Tony occasionally wrote raps, and had an identifiable talent, but never desired a career in music. As destiny would have it, Grammy Award winning R&B Super-Star R. Kelly was a fan of Tony’s basketball playing cousin, and the young men were invited to a friendly basketball competition. Chef & R. Kelly formed an immediate bond on the court after a pick-up game put them on the same team. Chef would then play with R. Kelly for the next few years, but it was this chance meeting that gave Chef the opportunity to play a few records for R. Kelly, who in turn told the songwriter/producer, now known as Chef Tone, “you are going to be very successful, you understand the music.” From that moment on R. Kelly took Chef Tone under his wing and began to mentor him by developing his signature writing style. "It was really a blessing being discovered & mentored by R. Kelly, I look at him as my big brother". "He kept me around him so I wouldn't get into any trouble", says Chef. Chef then linked with an entertainment manager in 2007 & moved to Atlanta, Ga. This link proved valuable as Chef was immediately delivered to Atlantic Records in 2008.[2]
Career
Destiny is defined as the inevitable or necessary fate of a particular person or thing; one’s lot. Multi-Platinum songwriter, Chef Tone, is destined for greatness as the music industry’s go-to-guy for timeless R&B records. His list of who’s who collaborations include Trey Songz, Jamie Foxx, J. Holiday, Mario, T.I., Ludacris, Plies, and Flo Rida to name a few. There’s much more in store as Chef Tone builds an empire by launching the next big song-writers & producers through Aye Girl Music Group in which he is the CEO.
Chef Tone’s first songwriting placement was with Atlantic Records signed rapper, Plies for “Please Excuse My Hands,” featuring Jamie Foxx. This placement led to Chef signing a long-term deal with Atlantic Records. Lyor Cohen, North American Chairman and CEO of Warner Music Group, specifically constructed the deal to mimic the success of the Motown-era with Chef Tone at the helm. Chef Tone’s manager at the time submitted several songs to Craig Kallman, Chairman and CEO of Atlantic Records, who then passed them onto to Mike Caren, Executive Vice President of A&R for Atlantic Records. Caren speedily flew Chef Tone to LA for a meeting, offered him a deal and matched him with R&B recording artist, Trey Songz, based on Chef Tone’s previous mentorship with R. Kelly. This proved a perfect match giving Trey Songz his first #1 record with “Invented Sex” on the Gold-certified Ready album, which debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200, and peaked at #2 on the Top R&B/Hip Hop albums chart. Chef Tone also penned the singles “Bottoms Up,” “Love Faces,” “Say Aah,” “Yo Side of the Bed,” and “LOL :-),” which he wrote and produced, along with several more album tracks for the crooner.
The success with Trey Songz created a snowball effect garnering placements with numerous recording artists including, Ludacris “Sex Room,” Jamie Foxx “Best Night of My Life” and “Gorgeous,”[3] Flo Rida “Respirator,” Justin Bieber "Heartbreaker," Sean Paul "Entertainment" featuring Juicy J and 2 Chainz, Maejor Ali "Lolly" and more. Chef Tone hopes to collaborate with fellow Chicago-native Kanye West, Chris Brown, Beyoncé and Kid Cudi in the near future.
Chef Tone got his name because he was known on the basketball court for serving good passes also known as “dishes” to his teammates. Now, he serves the music industry with what he’s cooking in the studio.
Musical Influences
Chef acknowledged various influences including Mentor R. Kelly, Marvin Gaye, Baby Face, Sean Combs, Dr. Dre, Michael Jackson, Berry Gordy, Quincy Jones
Discography
- Songwriting and production credits
| Year | Single | Chart positions | Album | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Hot 100 | US R&B |
US Rap |
US Pop |
UK | |||
| 2008 | "Please Excuse My Hands" (Plies (rapper) featuring The-Dream and Jamie Foxx) | 66 | 8 | 9 | – | – | Definition of Real |
| 2009 | "I Invented Sex" (Trey Songz) | 42 | 1 | – | – | – | Ready (Trey Songz album) |
| "Say Aah" (Trey Songz featuring Fabolous) | 9 | 3 | – | 16 | – | Ready (Trey Songz album) | |
| "Yo Side of the Bed" (Trey Songz) | – | – | – | – | – | Ready (Trey Songz album) | |
| "LOL :-)" (Trey Songz (featuringGucci Mane and Souljah Boy) | 51 | 12 | – | – | – | Ready (Trey Songz album) | |
| 2010 | "Kitty Kitty" (Plies (rapper) featuring Trey Songz) | – | – | – | – | – | Goon Affiliated |
| "Best Night of My Life" (Jamie Foxx) | – | 12 | – | – | – | Best Night of My Life | |
| "Gorgeous" (Jamie Foxx) | – | – | – | – | – | Best Night of My Life | |
| "Strip" (T.I. featuring Young Dro and Trey Songz) | – | – | – | – | – | No Mercy (T.I. album) | |
| "Respirator" (Flo Rida) | – | – | – | – | – | Only One Flo (Part 1) | |
| "Love Faces" (Trey Songz) | 63 | 3 | – | – | – | Passion, Pain & Pleasure | |
| "Massage" (Trey Songz) | – | – | – | – | – | Passion, Pain & Pleasure | |
| "Doorbell" (Trey Songz) | – | – | – | – | – | Passion, Pain & Pleasure | |
| "Unfortunate" (Trey Songz) | – | – | – | – | – | Passion, Pain & Pleasure | |
| "Alone" (Trey Songz) | – | – | – | – | – | Passion, Pain & Pleasure | |
| "Bottoms Up" (Trey Songz featuring Nicki Minaj) | 6 | 2 | – | 11 | 71 | Passion, Pain & Pleasure | |
| "Made to be Together" (Trey Songz) | – | – | – | – | – | Passion, Pain & Pleasure | |
| "Red Lipstick" (Trey Songz) | – | – | – | – | – | Passion, Pain & Pleasure | |
| "Blind" (Trey Songz) | – | – | – | – | – | Passion, Pain & Pleasure | |
| "Sex Room" (Ludacris featuring Trey Songz) | – | – | – | – | – | Battle of the Sexes (album) | |
| "Dang a Lang" (Trina) | – | – | – | – | – | Amazin' (Trina album) | |
| 2011 | "Good Good Night" (Roscoe Dash) | – | 81 | – | – | – | J.U.I.C.E. |
| "Hummin" (Bobby V featuring Lloyd Banks) | – | – | – | – | – | Fly on the Wall (Bobby V album) | |
| "Be the One" (Lloyd featuring Trey Songz) | – | – | – | – | – | King of Hearts (Lloyd album) | |
| 2012 | "My Bed" (Mario (entertainer)) | – | – | – | – | – | Restoration (album) |
| 2013 | "Entertainment" (Sean Paul featuring Juicy J and 2 Chainz) | – | – | – | – | – | Full Frequency |
| "Twerk" (Justin Bieber featuring Miley Cyrus) | – | – | – | – | – | TBA | |
| "Lolly" (Maejor Ali featuring Justin Bieber and Juicy J) | 19 | 4 | – | – | – | Def Jam Single | |
| "Heartbreaker" (Justin Bieber) | 13 | – | – | – | – | Journals | |
| "Physical" (R.Kelly) | – | – | – | – | – | Black Panties | |
| "One Life" (Justin Bieber) | – | – | – | – | – | Journals | |