Tone Lōc

Biography

Anthony Terrell Smith (born March 3, 1966), better known by his stage name Tone Loc (), is an American rapper, voice artist, and actor. He is known for his raspy voice, his hit songs "Wild Thing×Wild Thing1988 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1Wild Thing4:252Wild Thing (Wild Beats)3:083Loc'ed After Dark (vocal)5:114Loc'ed After Dark (radio)5:00" and "Funky Cold Medina×Funky Cold MedinaMarch 1989 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1Funky Cold Medina (vocal)4:162Funky Cold Medina (Funky Beats)2:493Funky Cold Medina (instrumental)4:114Funky Cold Medina (Funky a cappella)1:20", for which he was nominated for a Grammy Award, and for 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, the son of Margaret, who managed a retirement home, and James Smith who died in 1972. As a result of his father's premature death, Tone Loc and his three older brothers were raised by his mother. He was educated at the Hollywood Professional School. As a teenager, he performed with the rap group Triple A.

1989–1991: mainstream success

Tone Loc's debut album, Lōc-ed After Dark, was released in January 1989. The video for the first single, "Wild Thing×Wild Thing1988 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1Wild Thing4:252Wild Thing (Wild Beats)3:083Loc'ed After Dark (vocal)5:114Loc'ed After Dark (radio)5:00," became a staple on MTV in the US. The song rose to No.‍2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and the top twenty in Australia. The second single, "Funky Cold Medina×Funky Cold MedinaMarch 1989 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1Funky Cold Medina (vocal)4:162Funky Cold Medina (Funky Beats)2:493Funky Cold Medina (instrumental)4:114Funky Cold Medina (Funky a cappella)1:20," 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.
Lōc-ed After Dark reached No.‍1 in the US. Since its release, it has been certified 2× platinum there.
Tone Loc's second album Cool Hand Lōc×Cool Hand Lōc1991 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Funky Westside4:512Pimp Without a Caddy5:093I Adore You4:224All Through the Night4:555Fatal Attraction4:036I Joke but I Don’t Play4:277Freaky Behavior4:418Mean Green5:249Why4:5910Hip Hop It Is Kinda Different5:0111Funky Westside Reprise2:32 was released in November 1991. The album's first single was "All Through the Night×All Through the Night1991 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1All Through the Night (BNH remix)4:582All Through the Night (BNH Beats)5:553Pimp Without a Caddy (vocal)5:464Pimp Without a Caddy (instrumental)4:56", which found moderate success, reaching No.‍80 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No.‍16 on the Hot Rap Songs chart. It received frequent airplay on MTV and BET. He also contributed "If I'm Gonna Eat Somebody" for 20th Century Fox's FernGully.

1994–2004: Ace Ventura: Pet Detective franchise, and other endeavors

Tone Loc played the part of police Sergeant Emilio in the film Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994). Tone Loc's song "Ace Is in the House×Ace Is in the House22 February 1994 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 2 tracks1Ace Is in the House4:342Ace Is in the House (Urban mix)3:53", which samples the Beastie Boys song "No Sleep till Brooklyn", is featured in the films Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and Ace Ventura Jr.: Pet Detective (2009).
He provided vocals for Fefe Dobson for the track "Rock It Till You Drop It" on her self-titled debut album.
Tone Loc also voiced Fūd Wrapper, the host of the animatronic show Food Rocks. This was 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×Funky Cold MedinaMarch 1989 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1Funky Cold Medina (vocal)4:162Funky Cold Medina (Funky Beats)2:493Funky Cold Medina (instrumental)4:114Funky Cold Medina (Funky a cappella)1:20".
He appeared as Albert in episode 8 of season 2 of Touched by an Angel, which aired November 11, 1995.

1992–2016: television, film and voice acting

Tone Loc has performed in several feature films, including Poetic Justice, Blank Check, Heat and Posse. As a voice actor, Tone Loc has voiced characters in several animated television series such as King of the Hill and C Bear and Jamal, and was featured in the animated film Bebe's Kids, playing the wise-cracking baby Pee Wee. He voiced the character Lou the Goanna in the 1992 film FernGully: The Last Rainforest. He has also provided his signature voice for episodes of Chowder and Uncle Grandpa, both airing on Cartoon Network. In 2022, Tone Loc was featured as the singing voice of Penny Proud in The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder on Disney+.

2016–present: I Love the 90s Tour

Tone Loc was among the list of performers on the I Love the 90s Tour, which has performed worldwide since April 2016, as well as having featured appearances on the I Love the 90s: The Party Continues Tour from July to September 2017.
In 2026, Tone Loc competed in season fourteen of The Masked Singer as "Handyman" who resembled a robotic handyman with wrenches for hands. As he was eliminated on "Clueless Night" alongside Taraji P. Henson as "Scarab", he was assisted in the unmasking by the Men in Black due to the costume's wrench hands and did an encore of "Wild Thing×Wild Thing1988 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 4 tracks1Wild Thing4:252Wild Thing (Wild Beats)3:083Loc'ed After Dark (vocal)5:114Loc'ed After Dark (radio)5:00".

Legal issues

In December 2010, Tone Loc was arrested for an alleged DUI. He was released on bail claiming a medical condition had caused a seizure.
On June 18, 2011, Tone Loc was arrested for felony domestic violence and felony possession of a Colt AR-15 Sporter rifle, which is heavily restricted by California law. The weapon was not involved in the domestic incident, an altercation with the mother of one of his children. Tone Loc was released less than three hours later after posting $50,000 bail. 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.
On March 23, 2019, Tone Loc was detained by the Midland Police Department in Texas. It was later revealed that the reason for the detention was a heated argument caused when Lōc confronted someone who was wearing a Confederate battle flag baseball cap. After the two arguing parties agreed to separate, Lōc was released and no charges were filed.

Health issues

Tone Loc 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. On May 29, 2009, he was rushed to a hospital after collapsing during a concert in Pensacola, Florida. The rapper cut his elbow when he fell and was released the same day.
On October 15, 2011, Lōc was hospitalized for exhaustion after collapsing onstage during a concert in Atlanta, Georgia. He was taken to a local hospital and intravenously rehydrated. Another similar incident occurred in 2012. On March 16, 2013, he collapsed onstage at a performance at the Bridge Bash in Des Moines, Iowa, but refused hospital care. Lōc 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.