Raphael Saadiq’s plan is working perfectly after reuniting with the hit group Tony! Toni! Toné! for its first tour in nearly 30 years, the trio is back in the studio working on new music.
Last month, Tony! Toni! Toné! kicked off its “Raphael Saddiq Revisits Tony! Toni! Tone! Just Me And You Tour 2023.” It was part of a vision Saadiq, the lead singer and guitarist of the beloved R&B group, had when he surprised his bandmates, D’Wayne Wiggins and Timothy Christian Riley, with an impromptu photo shoot earlier this year.
The photo shoot allowed the trio to meet without outside influence and organize their official comeback.
“I didn’t tell any of the managers or team or anybody because I just wanted it to be us. … I wanted to be in a room where the only power structure was one, two, and three,” Saadiq said of his bandmates and family members: Wiggins is his brother, and Riley is their cousin.
‘We have to be us first before we could talk to anybody because that’s what happened the last time.’
The group has been having a blast while on tour and getting back in the groove of their eclectic mix of R&B, Jazz, and Soul. Performing a string of their classic hits on stage each week has prepared Tony! Toni! Toné! for the new music that’s on the way.
“There’s going to be another album … but I thought we need to really hone in on what we’re doing for touring and then go home and then take like two days off, and then start on the album,” Saadiq said.
“We got a lot of material and now we just want to make sure that we put out the right energy through our music,” added Wiggins.
Tony! Toni! Toné! hit the music scene with their 1988 debut album, “Who?” By 1990, the trio dominated with their New Jack Swing-infused hit “Feels Good,” which reached No. 9 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart. Other classics from the group include “Whatever You Want,” “It Never Rains (In Southern California),” “(Lay Your Head on My) Pillow,” and “Anniversary.”
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