Tone Stith is a New Jersey-born R&B powerhouse and one of the biggest rising stars in the current music scene. He recently released his newest single titled ‘FWM’ via RCA Records, an upbeat vibrant track, along with the live performance video. His beautiful live performance sets the mood, changing the pace from his previous release and transports the audience to the intimate vibes of the at-home concert.
The multi-talented R&B singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist (drums, guitar & piano) and music producer rose to fame with the release of his debut project Can We Talk in 2017 and garnered attention from every big media outlet that help him acquire fans around the globe. Check out the official video below!
Tone Stith’s records speak more than any words. Being a hitmaker and having accumulated big artists’ collaborations under his belt, the guy still exudes humility. Stith has previously worked with Chris Brown on bangers such as ‘Liquor,’ ‘Make Love’ and ‘Undecided.’ And that’s not all. His follow up EP Good Company included features from Swae Lee and Quavo on the title track and production from Stith, Bongo ByTheWay (Ty Dolla $ign, 50 Cent), The Audibles (Justin Bieber, Chris Brown), Marcos “Kosine” Palacios (Ella Mai, Christina Aguilera) and THE PRBLM SLVRS. Tone Stith also opened for H.E.R. in 2018 on her I Used To Know Her tour. But even with such fame and bling around, he is focused on being his best version as a musician and shine in the industry by creating vibrant tunes worthy of radio plays and chart bopping hits. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that Tone Stith knows one thing and that’s loving music!
Recently at The Honey Pop, we had a wonderful opportunity to sit down and chat with our favourite rising star. We discussed his latest single ‘FWM’ and musical inspirations over the years, work style, dream collaboration, touring with H.E.R., upcoming projects and much more. Keep reading below to know more!
Let us start off by saying that we love your name. Do you think you were predestined by your parents that you would become a musician when they named you Tone?
I’m not sure if they were doing a little bit of foreshadowing, I’m named after my dad though who plays the drums. So they might’ve known something.
On the subject of parents, back in the day your mom performed with legends like Patti Labelle, did her work help inspire or encourage you to want to pursue music?
Absolutely, she performed at the local theatre, church, and all types of events. She’s definitely the reason I found my voice, just from mimicking her and watching her every move.
What is one thing you’d say you learned from being on tour with H.E.R.?
I learned the art of performing. I would say H.E.R is one of the greatest performers I’ve seen live. I learned how to be real with whatever happens in the moment.
‘FWM’ is definitely a song you can chill and vibe to, do you find yourself leaning towards that type of music with what you listen to?
There’s a side of me that loves the laid back, chill, vibey music. There’s also a side of me that loves all different genres, and collectively that’s what makes my sound what it is.
If you were given the opportunity to have anyone dead or alive do a remix of ‘FWM,’ and ‘Devotion’ who would you choose?
Wow, for “FWM,” that’s a little hard, honestly, I can totally hear Bryson Tiller remix it. “Devotion” it would HAVE to be Prince!
Tone, Did you ever feel at the beginning of your career like maybe the path you chose is the wrong one and you should have picked something else?
Not at all, I believe your destiny is your destiny. My journey has moulded me into the artist I am. You have to have a story!
In a previous interview, you stated to Billboard that Michael Jackson and Prince are some of your biggest influences, if you could take any song from either artist and remix it to make it your own which would you choose and why?
I’d have to redo, ‘I Wanna Be Your Lover’ by Prince. That was one of the first-ever prince songs I’ve heard. It was so funky to me, the instrumentation, it felt FUN. For MJ, it would have to be “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing).” To me that song is electric, it sits and such a great pocket. Both of those songs remind me of each other.
You also told Billboard that the musical genre you connect with most is funk, and that’s a very unique genre to create these days. We love that you incorporate that into your sound, but we’re wondering what is it about Funk that draws you in and resonates with you the most?
Just like I said about MJ & Prince, funk is electrifying to me. Something that my heart just can’t deny. That’s what I grew up on. The music just feels alive! The instruments, the band, everyone is on one accord!
As someone who plays a lot of instruments, what is your favorite one that you like to record most with?
I started playing the drums at the age of 3, so that was my first love for sure! Now that I’m older though, guitar speaks to me in another way. You can actually make the guitar sing, if you play it right. It’s just like using your voice.
What instruments did you use for ‘Devotion’ and ‘FWM?’ And If you could choose an unusual (and by unusual we mean one that’s rarely used in mainstream music) instrument to use on a song what would it be? A cello? A saxophone? A tambourine maybe? The triangle?
For “Devotion,” I definitely used the electric guitar. “FWM” was more synth-based. I think for an unusual instrument, it would have to be a sitar!
What’s your favourite part of the songwriting/production process? Is there anything you’ve learned about the process from some of the artists that you’ve worked with?
My favourite part is not forcing songs to happen. Speaking from a real place. It’s not about how many songs you record in a night. It’s about how real, and how true they are to you. You can’t rush the process.
Now, since you appear on the track ‘Justin Bieber’ with Mosa we have to ask, what’s your favourite Justin song? And are there any other artists on your wishlist you’d like to work with at some point in your career?
My favorite JB album has to be Journals. I think he was in his bag when he dropped that. A dream collaboration would probably be me, John Mayer, and Pharrell.
So the last question, you retweet a lot of tweets from your fans, what’s been your favourite tweet about you and your music that you’ve read on Twitter? And what is something you want to say to all your fans and supporters?
At the moment I can’t think of a favourite, but I’ll say they’re all my favourites. Every day, there’s someone new discovering me and tweeting “how am I just now finding out about Tone Stith” lol I love those. To all my fans, thank you for being the most solid fan base ever. I love you, and just get ready for a roller coaster ride!
We absolutely can not wait to see what Tone Stith has got for us on his musical palette for the rest of the year, and we really hope to be in the crowd again when he hits that dream milestone that we are sure is close to fruition!
Stream and listen to Tone Stith’s latest release here!
Want to read more? Check out our latest interviews with your favorites and industry’s leading artists here!
Are you a Tone Stith fan and jamming to his music like we are? What song of his do you recommend us to add to our THP playlist? Let’s keep the conversation going in the comments below or hit us up on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook!
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Featured Image: Tone Stith via Instagram and BiBi Lara
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