by: Majid Tejan-Jalloh

Tonedeff represents what I love most about hip hop. Before much of what we know now as “rapping” today, there was a time where it was all about the bars, and who really had it – and Tonedeff really has it. He’s one of the originators of the fast flow, you know, the one a lot of artists have claimed they’ve influenced the game with. He’s easily one of the greatest lyricist you’ll ever hear. The thing this, you may not have heard much because although he’s been active in this rap shit for a while, he’s just now prepping his sophmore album. Hunter is the third of four EP’s that will culminate into Polymer, Tonedeff’s upcoming LP where he showcases all sides of himself as a rapper and as a man as well. Previously there was Glutton, an EP dealing with “excess and addiction.” Then there was Demon, which deals with “the concept of anxiety, mortality, and time management.” Now we have Hunter, which deals with “delusion, self-worth, and competitive nature.” Hunter features Tonedeff pulling no punches, telling his story from a first person perspective of what it’s been like …”

(Verse 1) As he grew he would prove that he had it And man nobody knew how he was doing this magic From music to graphics, to movement and acting He made it to television screens and he smashed it”

I asked Tone about this one and he told me the story about his chance appearance on the Arsenio Hall Show’s “Flavor of the Future” series. This is where it all began, winning competitions doing what he loved.

(Verse 1) He withdrew from the lure of the rap shit Because he couldn’t do what the suits would be asking He told em all the news, he would choose to be absent And everyone he knew was confused by his actions.”

“That show brought out a lot of attention and I had three major label deals on the table after I did that show and I turned them down. Basically they were all asking me to do shit that I wasn’t comfortable with, or didn’t feel right about. So I told everybody that I was not going to rap anymore and I was going to go to art school.”

(Verse 1) “Now people act like he doesn’t exist And every first he ever hit has been bumped from the list And they run with his shit, Spitting it quick, minus the wit”

“This song was about how everybody literally watched me do what I did, laughed at me, and then did the exact same thing years later.”

(Verse 1) Yet accountability is dead, we just out for them checks So proud to we gotta sell out for respect And it barely hid an insincerity that’s so foul you live with a threat That high fives are always followed with a request

“[Hunter] is kind of like a spiritual sequel to a song I did called ‘Politics’ from my first album where I took the lay of the land and spoke to people about what’s happening.”

“People didn’t understand what I was going through. They didn’t understand why I’m not on the radio. People would say ‘How come you’re not bigger than you are?’ People never understand why I am where I am so I have to explain to them why. This is the nitty gritty of what the world is like right now.”

(Verse 1) Somebody said that success is the best revenge, And it’s a point so valid, That niggas is all network, no talent It’s an imbalance, so telling it like it is just might destroy your access To this circus of trend-whores with coke habits – Well, I’ve had it! I’m earnest – to the platelets in my bones And anyone afraid to burn a bridge is too lazy to build their own

“I don’t want to hold back anymore. I don’t care about burning bridges. There’s been a lot of instances where I held my tongue because I was afraid of how it would affect my label. Now I don’t care. I think it’s important that people are just realistic about shit and stop letting money and media just dictate what their taste is.”

(Verse 1) Indie is trendy so Majors will cloak their artists as independents and pose/ That’s like repping as organic Pepsi & Coke/

“Independent is cool now, so majors are literally hiding the fact that they’re backing the artist that is “independent” as if they didn’t have any help getting to radio.”

“What will happen is [an artist] will get a little bit of burn on a blog and they’ll get somehow picked up by a major label, or a management team, someone that’s extremely well-connected, or well funded. Then at that point, they’ll fund it on the back, on the low, and then they’ll keep pushing the fact that this artist is on the internet, on a blog. They’re getting placements on TV shows. I think everybody wants to believe that it’s possible, that it’s coming out of nowhere.”

(Verse 1) Say If your dad or your mom were a bit more financially strong? Then wouldn’t be trapped by your options, problems with cash would be solved Your priorities passive and calm. And you could pass up a job, As you casually cough – taking a hit from a gravity bong Plot a startup and stall till a venture capitalist calls Cash in your stock when it goes public, Crediting your passion and resolve Would be sad if you saw this, doing some task for your boss Cause you had the identical idea, but you were distracted with this job

“I’ve noticed atleast through a certain peer group there is a lot of dudes who do the whole ‘we’re going to start a start up thing’ and it’s not a coincidence that these dudes come from wealthy families and they had time and money to do that. Where as the rest of us have to get jobs just to survive.”

(Verse 2) Publish the self as something to sell, an addiction to wishing that we were somebody else. Now, if you follow along, well then you can follow me back If you’ve got me all in your paws, you’re within the palm of my hand If you got a comment, then all of it better be positive – Act up and you will be barred – I am God and this pixel facade is my chapel

“As an artist, we’re all out there doing the same shit. We’re totally showing our ass. Trying to do anything for attention on the internet the same way these girls are and that’s the level of delusion, and that’s the connection for me.”

(Verse 2) Cause sheep think everyone’s the GOAT – ya heard? And the herd has heard of me, but they never heard me and it’s tragic This urban legend gets censored –press has cursed me with a past. And I’m banned, because the word “veteran” is the dirtiest in rap

“There’s nothing that will turn somebody off faster when they’re reading an article about a rapper that they’ve never heard of than the word ‘veteran.” This is only my second album and some people don’t realize that. There’s people that have heard of me back in high school and now they’ve got kids and they think like ‘He’s still doing it?’ I think the age thing is because hip hop is always going to be governed by the young. Our legends don’t get the credit they deserve.”

(Verse 2) And then with my level of longevity – Never tires when I kick the facts They reinvent the wheel – Auto-Tune it to fix a flat

Of course we had to include this one, Tone quoted this one himself.

(Verse 2) The best technical rapper alive – What do I gain? From it? I’ll comfortably say, “Nothing” when it comes to the paying public If someone with cake does it, it’s suddenly gangbusters So, fuck who you name, buddy, who’s buzzing’ll change hundreds

“When I first came out doing my thing, everybody was just blown away by my flow and what I could do. Since I’ve started that I’ve evolved into where I’m doing thirteen syllables in a second on some double-time shit. at 190 BPM, just insanely fast stuff. And I just noticed in the past year or so that everybody’s a fast rapper now and I’ve been doing this forever. So it’s just hilarious to me to see a lot of the new mixtape rappers coming up and these motherfuckers are just discovering Big L’s double time flow.”

(Verse 3) I used to watch these awards shows with tears in my eyes Cause I was supposed to be there in my mind And here were these guys who’d appear overnight, that’d be stealing my shine

“That was actually the most intimate line I have on that record because that’s real. Every time the Grammys were on, or the American Music Awards was on I couldn’t control myself. It was that feeling that I knew in my soul and my body that I was supposed to be there and I wasn’t. It was the most frustrating thing in the world to me. It got to the point where my ex-wife would say we’re going to go out because the Grammys are on and you don’t want to see this. So that was definitely the most revealing line on this record. That was really the line that defined this record. I used to feel like that, I don’t feel like that anymore. I’ve let that go and I’m more concerned now with what I can push myself to do, and how far I can take my heart and how progressive I can make my music. That competitive nature, that feeling – I don’t have that feeling anymore…Because you’re constantly judging yourself on somebody else’s accomplishments. When your goals can only come by doing a bunch of shit that you would never do, then you know what? Fuck those goals. I was watching Kanye and Kim out at some event and they can’t even move.”

(Verse 3) The next assertion about winning shit that you should know – Is success will determine if I’m driven or delusional.

“What is your level of success of what you want. Are you driven or delusional?”

Verdict: Tonedeff’s Hunter is a hit. He’s not reaching for top 40 or radio hits. He’s not even searching for rap supremacy. At this point he’s doing this for himself. Though he still feels like he’s one of the best to ever do it, he’s not harping on it and it makes for some great, honest music. If this is what we have in store for the end of Polymer, prepare to hit that rewind button more than a few times.