press kit 2016 - QN5 Music

PRESS KIT 2016

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GENRE IS DEAD. A truly daring boundary pusher and visionary, emcee/producer/singer-songwriter Tonedeff shatters the mold of conventional hip-hop, imbuing it with the sense of intense depth, honesty and self-sufficiency more attributed to an author than a rapper. Influenced by a diverse range of artists – Common, Tori Amos, Enya, M83 and Bjork for example - his fearless style is a seemingly impossible dichotomy of dense technical emceeing and emotive crooning. His penchant for cross-genre fusion is a true presentation of what Hip Hop is capable of if set free from the confines of stereotype and cliche. This first-generation Cuban-Colombian grew up in Chicago, IL, before moving to Miami, FL for the remainder of his adolescence where he began recording and performing at age 12. Eventually, this landed him on The Arsenio Hall Show at the tender age of 16 - drawing offers from several major labels which were subsequently turned down to focus on a visual arts degree. Even then, his uncompromising auteurial spirit was evident. In 1997, he launched his indie label, QN5 Music with the release of The Monotone EP, but it wasn’t until relocating to Queens, NY at 21 that the well-traveled emcee really began making noise. Tearing through the city’s notorious underground battle scene, he quickly gained a reputation for his breathless flow (clocking in at 14 syllables per second). He began opening for esteemed acts such as Common and Masta Ace, gracing the buzz columns of The Source Magazine and URB, as well as appearing on MTV’s Hip Hop Week. During this period, he released a series of work including the multimedia-enhanced Hyphen EP, followed by 2002’s Happy F*ck You Songs with Extended Famm, Underscore in 2003, countless guest spots for artists such as KRS-One, Immortal Technique and CunninLynguists, finally culminating with the release of his critically acclaimed debut album Archetype in 2005 and a set at Lollapalooza in 2006. All done without a promotional budget or a manager. Then...silence. Hip Hop suddenly turned a corner - technophobic street rappers now pushed Tumblr blogs, tough guys morphed into auto-tuned crooners, fast rap became the stardust of YouTube content and major labels cloaked their artists as indie upstarts. The script had been flipped and much of the approach he had originated in obscurity had been co-opted by the status quo. He spent the next few years focused on QN5 releases, executive producing indie-gems such as Substantial’s Sacrifice (2008) and PackFM’s I F*cking Hate Rappers (2010), touring internationally while continuing to develop his new sound in secret. Seeing a more adventurous audience in 2015, Tonedeff returns with his second album, Polymer - a unique multi-part release of four separate EPs, each with its own theme and musical style that are then combined into a final form that encapsulates every facet of his persona. From the danceable sex-addiction saga of Glutton, the anxiety-riddled fast rap clinic of Demon, to the mirror-centric battle with delusion on Hunter and the shoegaze-flavored catharsis epic of Phantom - Polymer is synth-filtered opus of confessional singer/songwriter Hip Hop for a modern era. With plans for a Q2 2016 release, a string of music videos and an international tour, Tonedeff is poised to reestablish himself as one of Hip Hop’s foremost innovators and unapologetic futurists. A future where genre is dead and Tonedeff is a mortician who whistles while he works. For more information, please visit: Tonedeff.com.

the second album. glutton EP #1 deals with the concept of excess and addiction over self-produced uptempo tracks, with additional production handled by Chew Fu (Rihanna, Lady Gaga) & NumberNin6. From the incendiary title track featuring the first dramatic vocal usage of “the drop” in a dubstep track, the allegorical triptych house-infused anthem "Never", to the late-80's Miami freestyle flavor of "Sunrise", Glutton is a greek tragedy played out over EDM.

demon

EP #2 deals with the pressures and side-effects of anxiety, mortality and time-management over self-produced mid-tempo bounce tracks. Demon tackles an overwhelmed life with a dazzling variety of tempos, flows genre-nods, such as the endurance-challenging title-track “Demon” in which Tonedeff attacks every 16th note for nearly 2 minutes straight in 6/8-time, tipping his hat at the trappings of modern Trap on “Use Me” and most notably, fans of Tonedeff’s infamous triple-time flow will be delighted as Demon contains the long-awaited recorded version of “Crispy” where he essentially puts Fast Rap in a body-bag for everyone’s benefit.

4 EPs. 4 THEMES. 4 STYLES. 1 EMCEE. Putting a new thematic slant on the format, Tonedeff’s Polymer consists of 4 separate EPs – each stylistically different from the next and focused on a different facet of his personality. Each EP represents a different “molecule” of Tonedeff, which when collected, form a larger more cohesive unit. EP’s 1 through 3 will be released digitally, with the fourth exclusively available on the final assembled version of Polymer. All music on the project has been produced synthetically to mimic an actual polymer’s synthetic structure. All songs are written, produced & performed by Tonedeff. The symbol-rich artwork was created by Eisner Award Winning illustrator Becky Cloonan, who is illustrating the covers for entire Polymer series of EPS, with all photography handled by Chad Griffith.

EP #4 brings the other three together thematically and forms the final Polymer album.

hunter

EP #3, entitled Hunter deals with themes of delusion, self-worth and competitive nature. Featuring guest appearances by PackFM & Substantial of Extended Famm, scratchwork by Rocksteady Crew’s DJ JS-1, and additional production by DJ Static (Immortal Technique, Akir), Hunter stylistically serves as a bridge between traditional Hip Hop motifs and the synth-flavored loftiness of the Polymer album as a whole. Tracks like “Narcissus” and “Competitive Nature” make use of atypical time-signatures, while “And They Watched Him” plays upon fill repetition to drive it’s point home.

DISCOGRAPHY

Tonedeff - The Monotone EP 1997 - QN5 Music

Tonedeff - Ridiculous (Single) 2000 - QN5 Music

Tonedeff - Hyphen [EP] 2001 - QN5 Music

Extended Famm - Happy F*ck You Songs 2002 - QN5 Music

Tonedeff - Hyphen [EP] 2003 - QN5 Music

Tonedeff - Archetype [LP] 2005 - QN5 Music/Freshchest

Tonedeff - Deffinitions Vol. 1 (Instrumentals) 2008 - QN5 Music

Tonedeff - Deffinitions Vol. 2 (Instrumentals) 2010 - QN5 Music

Tonedeff - Cold.Killed.Collected (Compilation) 2011 - QN5 Music

Tonedeff - Bang (Single) 2011 - QN5 Music

Peter Anthony Red - The Projectionist 2012 - QUINTIC

Tonedeff - Glutton [EP] (Polymer 1/4) 2013 - QN5 Music

Tonedeff - Hunter [EP] (Polymer 3/4) 2014 - QN5 Music

Tonedeff - Polymer [LP] (Polymer 4/4) 2016 - QN5 Music

Tonedeff - Demon [EP] (Polymer 2/4) 2013 - QN5 Music

TRAPAZOYD - TETRAHEATHEN 2014 - #COMMAGANG

I want it all and I want it now Your heart, your soul, your doubt Everything that’s breathing out Gets crushed in my mouth

CONTACT: /tonedeff general: [email protected] booking: [email protected]

PRESS OCT 2014

By Majid Tejan-Jalloh

SNIPPET

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 dealing with the bitch that can be the music industry. WatchLOUD.com spoke with Tonedeff about the lines in this week’s Verse Behavior and he had a lot to say. With that said, let’s take a look at the best moments from Tonedeff’s Hunter EP…

PRESS FEB 2014

Twitter has always pushed users to cram lots of awesomeness into a tiny amount of space. First, of course, it gave us the 140-character limit. And on January, 2013, it introduced us to the magic of six seconds: That’s the time limit of its video app, Vine, which has gone on to inspire lots of experiments, marketing, and a new breed of social media stars. Just how much can be packed into those six seconds? We wanted to make the most of every millisecond, so we asked Tonedeff—known as the world’s fastest rapper, whose new album is Polymer for a Most Innovative Rap. Check out the results, a Vine about Vine. The lyrics are hard to catch, so look below for what he’s saying—and what it all says about Twitter’s innovativeness. Vine is the app of the moment… that’s making all video sharing an art… and is tearing apart their competitors… looping the scene, and forget it, B: Twitter’s been smarter… they’re building new stars in the most innovative approach… and I bet that you’re gonna re-Vine—or restart.

PRESS RAPREVIEWS.com

FEB 2013

BY Zach Gase

9/10

SNIPPET

Tonedeff is one of the most talent rappers of the past 10-15 years. Yes this is a very bold statement especially when the average hip hop head has probably never heard of the New York-based emcee... From top-to-bottom, you will be hard-pressed to find something wrong with “Glutton.” Yes it’s brief, but Tone doesn’t spare a single line on the entire project. The only fault I can see with the project, is that maybe it is inaccessible to folks who are not fans of EDM. Personally, I’m not a big fan of the genre, but I think it’s done well enough here, along with the magnificent rapping and singing, that it’s very listenable. The best part of “Glutton” is that it’s not only a great EP that could stand alone as a single piece of music, but it is also easy to see how it will fit as the first part of a bigger project. And “Sunrise” feels like a perfect transitional track into the second EP of “Polymer.”

time flies and it heals all wounds it’s an angel, that’ll strangle you while it saves you.

PRESS OCT 2011

SNIPPET

BY Kathy Iandoli

Truth be told, Tonedeff is far from new. In fact, he’s pretty seasoned in Hip-Hop, with a fan base that stretches globally. Best know for slick battles raps and high speed delivery, Tonedeff owns and manages label QN5 Music, home to such infamous artists as PackFM and Cunninlynguists. Balancing a label and a career can be tough, but being a triple threat could be even tougher, as Tone rhymes, produces and sings on tracks – something he’s been doing long before your new favorite rapper has.

PRESS JUL 2005

BY Jim Durig

8/10

SNIPPET

It's a testament to the loyalty of an artist's fan base when a debut - years in the making - can still generate a good deal of hype. After prolonged anticipation swirling around the first full-length from the Queens-based emcee, 2005 finally saw Tone unveil his musical blueprint - his Archetype. But if he really wants to be a prototype for the hip hop world to build on, I'm afraid other emcees have a lot of work cut out for them. Tone's versatility has few parallels, from "Let's Go" to an sullenly revealing look into his love/hate relationship for hip hop on "Masochist." Archetype is an engaging trip from start to finish, but don't get too comfortable or else Tone's rapid-fire style makes it easy to miss out on his highcaliber lyricism.

TOUR HIGHLIGHTS

Y York City, N 003) - New (2 ry a rs e t iv ld ou y Ann City, NY - so Rockstead - New York 5) 00 (2 s g in BB K , MD - Baltimore - sold out Sonar (2006) e (2006) - Boston, MA t g n e, AK - sold ou u g Lo ra e o - Anch Paradis 6) t 00 ou (2 ld rs so e n CA run s Angeles, Bitoz / Rum ry (2006) - Lo o, IL to c Fa g in itt g Kn ica (2006) - Ch eden Lollapalooza al (2008) - Hultsfred, Sw iv st Fe d e Hultsfr ulder, CO r (2008) - Bo rmany Fox Theate mburg, Ge a H 8) 00 ld out (2 u a y erman - so t Waagenb 8) - Berlin, G , NY - sold ou 00 ity (2 C ia rk e o p Y w e N Cassio 9) llroom (200 , NY Highline Ba ew York City l (2009) - N a iv A st M , Fe n J o M st C - Bo East (2011) ld out The Middle ver, CO - so n e D 1) 01 (2 s te n a Cerv spen, CO p (2011) - A The Belly U ulder, CO o B r (2011) ttle, WA Fox Theate (2011) - Sea fe a C OR ile d Croco - Portland, ater (2011) e Th d n A la C Rose isco, - San Franc Slim’s (2011) ruz, CA C t ta n Sa 011) s, CA - sold ou Catalyst (2 s Lo Angele 1) Y 01 N , (2 r te rk City El Rey Thea 1) - New Yo llroom (201 a B e lin Y h N , ig H klyn nce 012) - Broo ulouse, Fra Southpaw (2 s (2012) - To ld out ire so a lid rk a So m Airs gen, Den a h n e Festival Les p o C t (2012) Pumpehuse arhus, Denmark -A 2) Train (201 ay - sold out Oslo, Norw sold out 2) 01 BLÅ (2 , Sweden lm o kh c o BC - sold out St 2) ancouver, V Nalen (201 2) 01 (2 nd Club - sold out Fortune Sou Nelson, BC 2) 01 (2 r Toronto, ON Spirit Ba se (2012) u o H ra e p The O rk City, NY 3) - New Yo 01 (2 s g innati, OH in K BB 014) - Cinc (2 l a iv st Fe Catapult

o raps h w o s o u t ir “He's a v the disn a h t r e t s fa leasing r a c a in r claime l, fully ia c r e m m o radio c sts in a a o b e h t g earnin elocity." V " d e ll a c song o many s s a h o ls a He hm and t y h r f o s n variatio gs are n o s is h t a h tone t without n e v e le b enjoya to find n o t t u b d a rewin eant.” m y e h t t a out wh

les

- John Pare

Broken arroW good for nothing when there's nothing left to slay. Let these torn and tattered clothes impose their stories on the stains.

CONTACT: /tonedeff general: [email protected] booking: [email protected]