18/05/2024
REPOST: WE ARE NOT THE ORGINAL AUTHOR
May 16, 1975 - Anthony Charles Williams II better known by his stage name B.Slade formerly known under the gospel moniker Tonéx is a Black American singer, songwriter, actor, multi-instrumentalist, rapper, dancer, producer, and activist was born in San Diego, CA, on this date in 1975.
He has gone by various names and aliases, but his primary stage name of choice had for years been "Tonéx". In 2010, he began using the stage name B.Slade in order to rebrand himself. Williams has released several hundred songs on dozens of albums over the span of his career, while producing several others for both gospel and secular artists. He has won six Stellar Awards, a GMA Award, and received 2 Grammy nominations: one for Best Contemporary Soul Gospel Album for his 2004 gold album, Out the Box and another in 2009 for Best Urban/Soul Alternative Performance for his single, "Blend", from his 2009 mainstream album, Unspoken.
Known more for his gospel recordings, his musical efforts have been known to blend a smorgasbord of styles, including pop, R&B, jazz, soul, funk, hip hop, rock, Latin, electro, punk and trance. His primary influences include Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, Prince, Michael Jackson, Walter Hawkins, David Bowie, and Janet Jackson. His distinct sound and eclectic style of music led him to give his music its own genre per se, calling it "Nureau." Along with the many changes made by Williams in 2008, a foray into acting became part of his long list of endeavors. Williams made his film debut in the 2008 Charlie Murphy comedy The Hustle, which was released to home video in 2011.
In September 2008, he played the role of James "Thunder" Early in a San Diego production of the Broadway musical Dreamgirls. Later in 2008 and early 2009, Williams played the character of Rolin in Princess & The Black Eyed Pea at the Lyceum Theater in San Diego. In 2011, he played the starring role in San Diego Repertory Theatre's production of the Who's Tommy; His performance earned him the Craig Noel Award for Best Male Lead Performance in a Musical. Williams sang and produced the opening song for the hit UPN television series One on One.
His production was featured on the song "Off We Go" from the J. Lo/Ben Affleck film Gigli and in BET Films original movie The Walk starring Eva Marcille. "Cry No More" from the album Pronounced Toe-Nay was featured in the HBO film Prison Song starring Q-Tip and Mary J. Blige, while the track "The Good Song 2005", a remake of the song "The Good Song", was included on the soundtrack of the action movie xXx: State of the Union starring Ice Cube. B.Slade's song "Don't Wake Me" was featured on the second episode of the 2013 BET series Second Generation Wayans. In 2013, he produced the score for the 44th Annual NAACP Image Awards telecast. In 2014, Williams produced and co-wrote the theme song to OWN (The Oprah Winfrey Network) series, Flex & Shanice, starring Flex Alexander and Shanice Wilson, and guest-starred on a number of episodes.
The first season of the series garnered two singles written & produced by B.Slade, "Gotta Blame Me" and "We Can Fly". He also performed the theme song for Bounce TV's sitcom One Love. In 2005, Williams co-hosted the 20th Annual Stellar Awards with Donnie McClurkin and Yolanda Adams. As "DJ Tonéx" he hosted his own syndicated contemporary gospel radio show in partnership with SupeRadio Networks and Blue Sky Productions entitled Club Virtue from 2005 to 2007. He also briefly hosted the BET J (now BET Her) show Lifted which blended positive secular and gospel music programming. In 2010, The New Yorker published a lengthy article on the artist, highlighting his journey as one of the first major gospel artists to come out. HAPPY BIRTHDAY B SLADE!!!!!!!
