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 Out The Box in 2004 Gospelflava.com: How did you assemble such an amazing band for the recording? Tonéx: Well this is what is crazy. I was at Bishop Noel Jones’ church, City of Refuge, supporting Flexx (of the TV show, One on One) and his  wife Shanice. Nissan Stewart and his brother Rapture Stewart (who’ve worked with Missy Elliiot) were there, and another musician named Marcus Hodges, whom I had never met before.Hodges was very low key and he did not hound me. A lot of times when I’m backstage, I’m bombarded with so many musicians and people giving demos, and people who want to dance for me, but this was different because he didn’t come to me that way. He came to me really cool. I said, “Hmmm, this cat is different.” So we were just vibing. He said, “You know what. If you want to come out and hang, I’m about to go see Raphael Saadiq and The Roots play at the Universal Amphitheatre.” [Tonéx coughs.] People say that stuff all the time, but he was serious. That was a test to see if Marcus “Panda Bear”, would be eligible to really work with me. He came through with the tickets and a few more with that. That opened me up to trust. So I mentioned to him that I really wanted to put a band together. He assembled people who wanted to work with me. I had Sean Martin, who plays for Kirk [Franklin]. I had people that play for Raphael Saadiq, Usher and B2K. We had the top players like Tim Stewart of 4th Avenue Jones and all these musicians just based off of people respecting what I’ve been doing. That’s how we got the best of each instrument. What was crazy is that people were flying from all over the place. They were sleeping on the floor. They didn’t care what it was. It wasn’t about money. They respected me as an artist and musician so much. They knew if they got on this album, to them it was like the equivalent of getting on the Songs In The Key of Life album by Stevie Wonder. That was a classic piece that you knew was going to change the face of a particular genre. That’s why they played like the played. They are very young, but very seasoned and versatile as you hear. I was looking for pocket players which is very hard to find. Everyone wants to be spicy and solo throughout the whole song. Here am I as the feature, trying to compete with the accompaniment. As many arrangements as there were on the album, there was no competition between the background vocals and myself. There was no competition between the rhythmic section of the band and the woodwinds. Everything was cohesive. That’s really hard to find. That’s how I got the band. They had to be able to play everything and be just as versatile as I am. They rehearsed twelve hours a day and five days a week. I am a task master. I’m very affectionate towards my co-workers, but I am no-nonsense. Gospelflava.com: How did the Peculiar People come about? Tonéx: I handpicked the top vocalists out of San Diego. They are from various denominations and various churches and various ages. I wanted to really show the unity of Christ in a piece. When people see this visually, it’s really a testament that
Music can convey one message without it even being understood as a dialect. That’s where the Peculiar People’s name came in, because it’s peculiar. When you look at it, you think, “Wow, this is weird. Who are all these whites, Blacks and Mexicans and look, they're all moving the same way. They can sing and they sound Black. What’s going on here?” It doesn’t make sense. That’s why I call them the Peculiar People. We stand out. I refer to Peter 2: 9 as well. We are peculiar. We should be. We should always have people wanting more and asking more. When we leave them asking, we can tell them more. Gospelflava.com: You are a very innovative artist, and perhaps one of only a few who could pull off making a song out of the theme song of a game show. How did you come up with concept of “Games”? Tonéx: I’m the youngest of six boys. There’s a 13 year gap between me and my brother that’s above me [Tonéx began to yawn]. A lot of times, I’d just be watching TV by myself. Even though there were six boys, I was still seemingly an only child. Their interest in me and in other things would be different because of the age difference. So there were things that didn’t include me, because it wouldn’t be appropriate for my age, so I would delve into American pop culture through television and radio. I was really into commercials, Looney Tunes and advertisements. I was learning how to change my voice into a spokesperson or whoever it was that was describing a particular product. For example: [Tonéx assumes a 'spokesperson voice'] “Nidol, the nighttime sniffling, sneezing, coughing agent so you can rest medicine, by Vicks of course.” You have to be able to make the inflections and go into to it and come right out of it. "Family Feud" would be one of the songs that I would hear and it would be so similar to the songs that I would hear at church. I was like, “This must be a church show.” Now when the black families would win and they would go into the music, they would be shouting and speaking in tongues. I would say “Hmmm, this must be shouting music.” I would wonder where was the choir. Even at ages 4, 5 and 6, I knew I was going to do something with Family Feud and make it a choir song.  Last year I was in Philadelphia and I was staying on floor 22. My wife was with me and we took the elevator down and I started writing the concept and putting it together. By the time we hit lobby, I had the whole song written. I told my wife, “this is going to be crazy.” No one does Family Feud and makes it a choir song. A traditional sounding choir song at that. The concept of what we are talking about would be an oxymoron. We would make it seem like a game, but the words would be very serious which help people digest serious soapbox, fire and brimstone messages in a way that they don’t know that that’s exactly what they are hearing until the end. The song goes from happy, country major triads to the end where it turns into a warning. There’s a sense of alarm after the bridge. “Have you been watching CNN?” You never hear choirs singing anything about CNN or about what everyone can relate to outside of church. That’s what makes it hot.People may think that it’s just the Family Feud. No it’s not just the Family Feud. The way it was written sounds as if the Family Feud borrows it from us in a sense of the words fitting so perfectly. Then to get out of it, “Have you been watching CNN?” Who does that? Who says stuff like that and then puts it with a choir? At the end give a sense of warning and you can actually feel that Jesus is coming. That song was called “Games”. Then if you listen real close you’ll hear the horn line from “The Price is Right” at the fourth repetition of the vamp, “Get right. Stop playing games.” We incorporate a few other game shows in there. I also like the alto part when they sing “Get right.” I like the power and conviction of the choir in that song as well. It’s just very Ricky Dillard, very James Hall. I wanted something very East Coast and gaudy. I was heavily influenced by Ricky Dillard. They did this special with Patti Labelle back in ’91. That was the first time that I heard “More Abundantly” which is a great song. I had never seen anyone direct like that. I never heard a choir sound like that. Another person who was a major influence was Tyrone Block, former director of The Thompson Community Singers. I think that he was very underrated. He changed the game as what was accepted in church for directing. Gospelflava.com: Any other thoughts on the album, now that it's out there? Tonéx: I believe that this record is going to give me the leverage to start showcasing what I want as an artist. Right now, we need a commercially successful record and innovation also. I want the hip hop community to know something. What is maybe conventional to them (or not hip hop for them), is a far stretch for normal Gospel consumers.  To a Gospel consumer, Out The Box is way out there. If the hip hop community does not start growing up, they are going to get left behind. They think that it has to be” Ra Ra Ra”, instead of setting that up. If the Lord gives you that platform, you better have something to say. That’s why I normally don’t go to hip hop showcases, because everybody’s yelling and not saying anything. You have to pace yourself.This is a diving board record, a launching record. It’s still a far stretch for the average Gospel consumer. There are some that think OTB is a little too much for them. Some are not feeling the choir stuff and would rather have the solo stuff. Ok, we did two of those. What do most in Gospel listen to? Choir music. I don’t like listening to 'commercial' choir music, because the choirs sound the same. What can we do to make people say, “Who is that?” To them this is a breakthrough groundbreaking record. This is Tonex, but you didn’t know that my roots began in choir music. Gospelflava.com: You are more visible in the public eye. You have an album that has gone to number 1. What new challenges does that bring to you spiritually? Tonéx: Actually it gives me less parameter for error. People want fame and success, but the more famous you become, less room for error you have. I like that, but I don’t like that. I like it in a sense that it challenges me to another level of character and integrity. I don’t like it because a lot of my privacy is leaving me. For example, yesterday I was trying to get back from Atlanta to San Diego. Six people knew me. I set next to a lady and she did not reveal that she knew who I was for the whole trip. At the end, she gave me a rundown of everything that she saw me in. I found out that she attends the church that I’ll [now] be attending, New Birth [pastored by Bishop Eddie Long]. I feel that it’s about to get worse. I guess it makes me feel good. Tonex is finally becoming a Gospel mainstream commodity. At first I was an underground Gospel commodity. Now regular Gospel consumers know me and are able to associate my face with the music. That’s when you know that you are going to another place. It’s one thing if they know your songs, but if they can associate your face with your music, that means that you are getting a lot more visuals. You have a good label and a good publicist. This is the most visibility that I’ve been given my whole career. It did not happen until I made it a little more accessible in the United States. Thank God that it was a real spiritual thing that He told me to do. It was before I even knew I was going to be pastoring my father’s church. “Make Me Over” actually stems from the Oakpark album —a song called “Feelings”. At the end of the Oakpark album, “Feelings” is a spoken word and underneath it, you’ll hear “Make Me Over”. That’s where it first kind of came from.  Then the other portion I wrote in an I-HOP parking lot. I didn’t know that it would be the flagship song actually commemorating the evolution and make over of Tonex. At that point, the combination of the song that people connected with and the look, it was a 1-2. The rest was history. Then it was, “Now I get this guy.” Before, all they could see was the ministry and the talent. No more using what I wore as an excuse not to get into it. You probably knew that I had it then, you just wanted to have an excuse not to do it. That’s been taken away, so now what? Are you still going to hate it because I am still singing Gospel. I’m still not compromising the Gospel of Christ. Gospelflava.com: You have never been afraid to express your shortcomings in your songs. Do you pay a price for that? Tonéx: Yeah. Everyone knows my business or think they know. I think in exchange for that, I get even more loyalty from my fans. They connect with the fact that they know if there is anything wrong with Tonex, he will be blatantly honest. I didn’t reveal that much on this album. “Children’ s Bread” actually should have answered a lot of questions for people if they really read the lyrics. If you really listen to it, it’s such a powerful and liberating song. It’s anointed, but chains are literally in the spirit being broken. “The Children’s Bread” is just a really serious testament. I think that’s my most revealing song. I think that it was done tastefully. I wouldn’t give a whole bunch of explanation behind it. I would say to just read. It’s right there in front of your face. I like the part at the end when I’m adlibbing and I say, “ Somebody interceded! Look at me now!” Then Yvette comes in and seals it because she has a lot to do with my deliverance. For her to come in and seal that is like saying, “I got it back.” That’s what that was saying to me. Gospelflava.com: What are some of the spiritual issues facing you this season? Tonéx: OOOOOOO Good question! Alignment. It’s all about alignment. Me stopping the glitches in my alignment and my steps being ordered. The glitches are being
People are wondering, “Why are you doing this at this point in your career.’ ‘Your career is about to crack open and you’re going to go and serve somebody?!’ Jesus was a servant for like 29, 30 years. In the course of that, he was submitted to his parents. With that, he received the wisdom of the Lord, statute, favor with God and man. So for the season that I’m about to walk into, that’s what I have to do. So for the first time in my life, I’m leaving San Diego. I’m leaving my kinfolk and going to an unfamiliar place. I have to be obedient. Gospelflava.com: What production endeavors have you recently gotten involved in? Tonéx: Kierra Sheard. I’m excited about that. I wish to God that it was the single. I guess they’ll hear about the song on her album. I really wish that people could hear “S.N.A.P.”, but they will on the record. Tonéx: I’m working on Kim Burrell’s record. That’s an honor because she allowed me to take her out of her normal. She’s on a different planet. People have to understand that she’s a musician. The average consumer and listener cannot grasp the totality of who she is as a vocalist. I pulled her back to launch her forward. Others are Hezekiah Walker and Bishop Paul Morton. I did a remix of “He’ll Deliver” for Youthful Praise. I’m not getting as many offers as before to produce. I don’t know what’s going on. Maybe after this record, more work will come. I don’t get asked as much. They would prefer to stick with the mainstays like J. Moss and Rodney Jerkins. Tonéx never fails to deliver honest lyrics and smashing music. He also never gives a dull interview! Keep it coming, Tonex. We know that you will only get better. Email This To A Friend
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