Houston, TX - Drake has been spending plenty of quality time in Houston following Houston Appreciation Weekend and that includes checking up on burgeoning R&B singer Tone Stith.
Drizzy stopped by Tone’s rehearsals for his upcoming 40-city tour with August Alsina on Monday (July 24) and now rumors are swirling he may be OVO’s next signee.
Considering the South Jersey singer just released his debut album Can We Talk last week, it’s perfect timing.
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Here are a five things you should know about Tone Stith.
He Just Released His Debut Album
Born Antonio Stith, the 22-year-old rising star dropped his debut album Can We Talk on July 13 with “Get It Right” serving as the lead single. He was originally working on an album called California 70, which was completed earlier this year. It’s a possibility that Can We Talk is the same project with a name change or fans can still look forward to California 70.
The 11-track project shows off Tone’s incredible gifts in songwriting and vocal ability. There are plenty of high notes and they run throughout the project with soulful production provided by PRBLM SLVRS.
He’s Managed By The Same Man Who Discovered Drake
For the past few years, Stith has been coached and managed by Jas Prince, the same man who flew Drake to Houston after discovering him on MySpace. Jas put Lil Wayne on to Drake, who then signed him to Young Money in 2009.
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Jas is the son of Rap-A-Lot founder, James Prince, and runs his own label Young Empire Music Group, the same label that signed Tone. He’s been developing Tone ever since Justin Bieber put him on to him while Tone was part of a group called SJ3. Jas always saw Tone as a star and boldly compared him to three icons due to his ability to sing, write, produce, play instruments and dance.
“I have like a sixth sense in this music business and ideally I go with it,” Jas told HipHopDX last November. “You see it with Drake, it definitely worked that time — his voice, his production. I would say Tone remind me of three people: Michael Jackson, Prince and Quincy Jones.”
He’s Been Co-Signed By Drake & The OVO Crew
The fact Tone is being coached by Drake ahead of his tour comes as no surprise. The pair have an obvious connection through Jas and have worked together in the past. Last summer, he performed on a few dates of PARTYNEXTDOOR’s Summer’s Over Tour after Jeremih got kicked off.
Tone even accompanied Drake overseas earlier this year, as indicated by a March Instagram post.
The 6 God was presumably so impressed with Tone’s rehearsals, he shared an Instagram video of him performing a cover of Drake’s “Madiba Riddim.”
This isn’t the first time Drake gave some advice to the budding star. In an interview with Vault of 1520, Tone shared some motivating words he received from the OVO boss.
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“[Drake] told me on the phone, ‘You gotta keep going,'” he recalls. “It’s never a break process. You can’t take a break from it.'”
He Wrote Chris Brown’s “Liquor” & “Make Love”
Tone penned and produced (along with The Aquarius) “Liquor,” Chris Brown’s lead single off his 2015 gold-selling album ROYALTY. He also wrote and produced another track off the album, “Make Love.”
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According to Jas, there are other Brown-Tone songs in the vault.
He’s On Tour With August Alsina & Rotimi
August Alsina’s Don’t Matter Tour kicked off on Thursday (July 27) with Tone and Rotimi on the bill. The tour runs all summer and wraps up in Vancouver, Canada on September 2.
?Tonight was freaking epic! Thank you San Antonio!!!! @ToneStith@SorealStudio@thePRBLMSLVRSpic.twitter.com/3kTNBj5xAz
— Andrew Baterina (@AndrewBaterina) July 28, 2017
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