Anthony Charles Williams II (born May 16, 1975), better known by his stage name B.Slade and formerly known under the gospel moniker Tonéx (/ˈtoʊneɪ/ TOH-nay), is an American singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, rapper, dancer, producer, and activist from San Diego, California.
Known more for his gospel recordings, his musical efforts have been known to blend a smorgasbord of styles, including pop, R&B, jazz, soul, funk, hip hop, rock, Latin, electro, punk and trance.
His father played saxophone for James Brown and Jackie Wilson, his mother sang in various girl groups, and his older brothers sneaked funk and R&B recordings into the house.
Jimerson, who has since become a relatively successful movie producer, stated: "From the first moment I saw Tonex and he sang his first note, I realized I was dealing with a young man destined to become a major celebrity."
Rescue was still a small label, and Pronounced Toe-Nay was issued in a limited production run and distributed mostly from the back of Williams' car.
In the recordings of Kirk Franklin and others, hip-hop had previously made inroads into gospel music, but this kind of wild eclectic mix was completely new.
[2] His first high-profile television appearance was performing a medley of "Trinity" and "One Good Reason" on the Stellar Awards, which was a coup as Tonéx was a relatively unknown at the time.
"There are a lot of people who do similar things to what I do in R&B, but I wanted to use gospel lyrics," he explained in an interview quoted on the Sphinx Management Web site.
The album spawned a major Christian radio hit in "God Has Not 4Got", a Stellar Award-winning song that displayed Tonéx's ability to create traditional choral gospel music as well as innovative pop fusions.
The music video for the single "Bout A Thang" received heavy rotation on BET and MTV Australia and featured energetic hip-hop dance and an urban image not usually associated with Gospel artists.
[7] O2 also featured a love song, "You", directed toward the artist's then-wife Yvette Williams (née Graham), a vocalist who at times went by the name Ms. Tonéx.
He also netted a Grammy nomination for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album the following year and had another bona fide Christian radio hit with the ballad "Make Me Over".
[12] Following the announcement, Kirk Franklin posted a personal blog on his own website sympathizing with the artist feeling "the weight of an industry that is only built to make money, not heal broken souls".
However, in June 2007, another split with Zomba was announced, fueled by a leak of the vitriolic and profanity-laden song "The Naked Truth", along with several similarly themed blogs and videos.
Starting as another promotional tool for his music, the interview unexpectedly changed directions, leading to Williams candidly expressing his views on sexuality and revealing his own same sex attraction.
Though his sexual orientation had already been highly speculated within the African American and gospel communities, the unapologetic tone of these revelations was condemned by conservative Christians, and bookings and appearances were universally cancelled, eventually leading to Williams being excommunicated.
[20] Though he continues to receive much resistance from his past, conservative gospel fans, his new-found transparency and honest lyrics have helped him carve a niche in the LGBT music genre, which itself is slowly gaining acceptance in the mainstream field.
Albums announced and partially produced under the Tonéx brand like A Brilliant Catastrophe, his Michael and Janet Jackson tribute mixtape, and the long-awaited, aforementioned Stereotype were all officially released during this time.
An ambitious "pop opera" narrating a dystopian take on the future of the major record label monopoly, the album will serve as a soundtrack that the artist plans to turn into a feature film musical.
In the fall of 2012, B.Slade embarked on his "Sex, Drugs and Sushi US Tour", doing shows in Chicago, New York, and taking residency at the WitZend in Venice, LA during September and November.
2014 saw a resurgence from the artist as a viable mainstream producer and songwriter, placing songs on albums from Sheila E. (Icon) and Faith Evans (Incomparable).
[citation needed] In 2015, he co-wrote several songs on Elijah Blake's debut album, including the smash hit "I Just Wanna..." (which peaked at No.
He also wrote and arranged the song "Unhappy" from Jordin Sparks' third album, Right Here Right Now,[citation needed] and produced comeback singles from Tisha Campbell-Martin and Chaka Khan.
[citation needed] He was also a singer, writer and producer on Snoop Dogg's acclaimed 2016 Gospel compilation album, Bible of Love.
As "DJ Tonéx" he hosted his own syndicated contemporary gospel radio show in partnership with SupeRadio Networks and Blue-Sky Productions entitled Club Virtue from 2005 to 2007.
[32] Williams' appearance has included a suit with close-cropped hair, outlandish, flamboyant garb with feather boas, fur coats, punk-inspired multi-colored hairstyles, Sanjaya-like headpieces, Stevie Wonder-style dreadlocks and also platform shoes, that brought to mind the "glam" rock bands of the 1970s and 1980s.
As Tonéx, his image raised eyebrows in the conservative gospel and contemporary Christian music communities, and he eventually took the sharper edges off his look for a short time.