Tone Loc

Anthony Terrell Smith (born March 3, 1966), better known by his stage name Tone Loc (/ˈtoʊn ˈloʊk/), is an American rapper, 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, as well as 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.[2]
== Career ==
=== Mainstream Success, Lōc-ed After Dark and Cool Hand Lōc(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 and 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 heavy airplay on MTV and BET.
=== Surf Ninjas (1993) ===
=== Ace Ventura Pet Detective franchise, and other endeavours (1994 - 2004) ===
Tone Lōc's song "Ace Is In The House" (which samples The Beastie Boys's song "T.N.T.") 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 Fud Wrapper, the host of the animatronic show Food Rocks, which 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".
=== Television, film and voice acting (1992–present) ===
Tone Lōc has performed in several feature films, including 'm ' (Heat)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 ==
=== Family ===
Tone-Lōc has five sons and one daughter. He currently resides in Burbank, California.
=== 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]
=== 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.[14]On May 29, 2009, he was rushed to a Florida hospital[15] after collapsing during a concert in Pensacola.[14] The rapper cut his elbow when he fell and was released the same day.[15] 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.[16] Another similar incident occurred in 2012.[17] On March 16, 2013, he collapsed onstage, at a performance at the Bridge Bash in Des Moines, Iowa,[17] but he refused hospital care.[14] 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.[18]He wears his signature sunglasses at every performance to help offset the likeliness of a seizure.
== Discography ==
=== Studio albums ===
Year 	Album details 	Peak chart positions 	Peak chart positions 	Peak chart positions 	Peak chart positions 	Peak chart positions 	Peak chart positions 	Peak chart positions 	Peak chart positions 	Certifications
(sales threshold) 	 	 	 	
Year 	Album details 	US
[19] 	US R&B
[20] 	AUS
[21] 	AUT
[22] 	NZ
[23] 	SWE
[24] 	SWI
[25] 	UK
[26] 	Certifications
(sales threshold) 	 	 	 	
1989 	Lōc-ed After Dark
* Release date: January 23, 1989
* Label: Delicious Vinyl	1 	3 	11 	10 	11 	31 	30 	22 	
* US: 2× Platinum[27] 	 	 	 	
1991 	Cool Hand Lōc
* Release date: November 19, 1991
* Label: Delicious Vinyl	— 	46 	— 	39 	— 	— 	— 	— 	 	 	 	 	
"—" denotes releases that did not chart	"—" denotes releases that did not chart	"—" denotes releases that did not chart	"—" denotes releases that did not chart	"—" denotes releases that did not chart	"—" denotes releases that did not chart	"—" denotes releases that did not chart	"—" denotes releases that did not chart	"—" denotes releases that did not chart	"—" denotes releases that did not chart	"—" denotes releases that did not chart	"—" denotes releases that did not chart	"—" denotes releases that did not chart	"—" denotes releases that did not chart	"—" denotes releases that did not chart
=== Singles ===
Year 	Single 	Peak chart positions 	Peak chart positions 	Peak chart positions 	Peak chart positions 	Peak chart positions 	Peak chart positions 	Peak chart positions 	Peak chart positions 	Peak chart positions 	Certifications
(sales threshold) 	Album 	 	
Year 	Single 	US
[28] 	US Rap
[29] 	US R&B
[30] 	US Dan
[31] 	AUS
[32][33] 	AUT
[34] 	NZ
[35] 	SWI
[36] 	UK
[26] 	Certifications
(sales threshold) 	Album 	 	
1987 	"On Fire"[37][38] 	— 	— 	— 	— 	— 	— 	— 	— 	— 	 	single only[A] 	 	
1988 	"Wild Thing" 	2 	2 	1 	1 	15 	— 	1 	23 	21 	
* AUS: Gold[40] 	Loc-ed After Dark 	 	
1989 	"Funky Cold Medina" 	3 	3 	7 	8 	8 	13 	3 	13 	13 	
* AUS: Gold[40] 	Loc-ed After Dark 	 	
1989 	"I Got It Goin' On" 	— 	18 	59 	— 	52 	— 	27 	— 	55 	 	Loc-ed After Dark 	 	
1991 	"All Through the Night"
(featuring El DeBarge)	80 	— 	16 	— 	— 	— 	— 	— 	— 	 	Cool Hand Loc 	 	
1992 	"Cool Hand Loc"[42] 	— 	— 	— 	— 	— 	— 	— 	— 	— 	 	Cool Hand Loc 	 	
1993 	"Posse Love"[43] 	— 	— 	— 	— 	— 	— 	— 	— 	— 	 	Posse (Soundtrack) 	 	
1994 	"Ace Is In The House"[44] 	— 	— 	— 	— 	— 	— 	— 	— 	— 	 	Ace Ventura (Soundtrack) 	 	
"—" denotes releases that did not chart	"—" denotes releases that did not chart	"—" denotes releases that did not chart	"—" denotes releases that did not chart	"—" denotes releases that did not chart	"—" denotes releases that did not chart	"—" denotes releases that did not chart	"—" denotes releases that did not chart	"—" denotes releases that did not chart	"—" denotes releases that did not chart	"—" denotes releases that did not chart	"—" denotes releases that did not chart	"—" denotes releases that did not chart	"—" denotes releases that did not chart	"—" 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	Peak chart positions	Album
Year	Single 	Artist 	US 	US R&B 	Album
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
1990	Grammy Awards 	Best Rap Solo Performance 	"Funky Cold Medina" 	Nominated
1990	American Music Awards 	Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Artist 	Himself 	Nominated
1990	American Music Awards 	Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Album 	Lōc-ed After Dark 	Nominated
1990	American Music Awards 	Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop New Artist 	Himself 	Nominated
1990	American Music Awards 	Favorite Dance New Artist 	Himself 	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 	
1990	The Return of Superfly 	 	uncredited
1992	FernGully: The Last Rainforest 	Goanna 	voice
1992	Bébé's Kids 	Pee-Wee 	voice
1993	Posse 	Angel 	
1993	Poetic Justice 	J Bone 	
1993	Surf Ninjas 	Lieutenant Spence	
1993	A Cool Like That Christmas 	Marvin 	TV movie
1994	Car 54, Where Are You? 	Hackman 	
1994	Ace Ventura: Pet Detective 	Emilio 	
1994	Blank Check 	Juice 	
1995	Crosstown Traffic 	Keiser 	TV movie
1995	Heat 	Richard Torena 	
1996	Spy Hard 	Gangster #1 	
1997	Fakin' Da Funk 	Frog 	
1998	Freedom Strike 	Tyler Haynes 	
2000	Whispers: An Elephant's Tale 	Macho Bull 	
2000	Titan A.E. 	Tek 	voice
2001	Deadly Rhapsody 	Jelly's Cousin 	
2001	They Crawl 	Clarence 	
2002	Storm Watch 	Ray 	
2006	Totally Awesome 	Himself 	TV movie
2011	White T produced & written by Blake Phillips	Jerry 	
=== 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"
1995 	NewsRadio 	Security Guard
Lorenzo 	Episode: "Friends"
Episode: "Xmas Story"
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 	Episode: "Jack and the Beanstalk"
Episode: "Goldilocks and the Three Bears"
1997 	Martin 	Himself 	Episode: "Ain't That About a Ditch"
1997 	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"
2002 	Static Shock 	Hyde 	Episode: "Static Shaq"
2004 	The WB's Superstar USA 	Panelist 	
2005 	King of the Hill 	Bouncer 	Episode: "Smoking and the Bandit"
2005 	Yes, Dear 	Dave 	Episode: "Barbecue"
2008 	Chowder 	Chestnut 	3 episodes
2014 	Uncle Grandpa 	Moon Man 	Episode: "Bezt Frends"