About The Tones

The Tones are progressive masters in the creation of soulful, honest, and truly groundbreaking hip hop in its most appealing form. Being compared to the likes of Common, Kanye West, Blackstar, Tribe Called Quest, Slum Village, and Little Brother, many might wonder how such a sound can be derived from the California Bay Area. Yet, despite geographical music trends, The Tones choose to make music that is relative to people of all places with a greater sense of marketability without “trying” to be marketable. The Tones are about delivering flat out good music; or, in the words of the great professor Dr. Cornell West, “Beautiful soul music!” This versatile duo consists of rapper-producer, Retro, and rapper-singer, Suhn. They have recently put the finishing touches on their debut album entitled ‘Dreamtalk’ set to release November 2008. ‘Dreamtalk’ is an album about pursuing dreams and living through the struggles and pleasures encountered on the way. For instance, “I done been through some thangs, homeless and locked in chains/ and during this whole process Suhn never lost his brain/ dealing with shady labels, telling they shady tales/ talking ‘bout this and that, homie y’all could go to hell.” It also gives motivation to others in pursuit of their dreams. ‘Dreamtalk’ challenges the hip hop community with potent content like: “It would be so good, if rap wasn’t so hood, and we stood, for a music that only elevates/ and since we misunderstood, I’m hoping maybe we could, for the good, find a way we can communicate.” With epic rhymes like such, along with instantly vintage beats, The Tones are sure to deliver a classic album. All in all, ‘Dreamtalk’ has a huge sound with truly undeniable appeal. Since the group first formed in 2001, The Tones have graced the stage with the likes of Common, Slum Village, Little Brother, Roots’ drummer ?uestLove, and Dr. Cornell West to name a few. Within the same period of time, Suhn and Retro have developed great musical chemistry along with friendship. Together, they have grown from amateurs to professionals, from brothers to fathers, and, from dreamers to conquerors. Still they never stop dreaming. The Tones have ambitions and aspirations to create multi-platinum selling albums and, eventually, become CEOs of their own respective companies. With Retro’s production talent and Suhn’s vocal talent, many more avenues of opportunity are sure to arise. “The Tones are a breath of freedom, The Tones are rays of light/ that road ahead got us thinkin’ conscious every night.” Hip hop hasn’t died yet. It just needs a breath of fresh air; The Tones; creators of music that transcends genres beyond hip hop; or, simply put in the words of Grammy nominated artist Common, “some real soulful brothers.”

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