Q&A with D'Wayne Wiggins of Tony! Toni! Toné!
Tony! Toni! Toné! was among the most successful R&B/Soul groups of the ’90s. The trio was originally comprised of brothers D'Wayne Wiggins and Raphael Saadiq, and their cousin, Timothy Christian Riley. Tony! Toni! Toné! is currently comprised of Wiggins, Riley and Amar Khalil.
The group's stats are impressive by any music industry standard, past or present: 14 Billboard-charting R&B singles, including five No. 1 hits and three top 10 pop singles, one gold album, two platinum albums and one double-platinum album. Tony! Toni! Toné! has sold more than 6 million albums worldwide.
As a producer, Wiggins has worked with artists like Jody Watley, Destiny’s Child and Alicia Keys on her album, “The Diary of Alicia Keys,” for which he won a Grammy for Best R&B Album. Wiggins is also credited with developing and nurturing the early careers of Beyoncé, Alicia Keys and Keyshia Cole, all of whom spent significant time in his Oakland recording studio, making music and learning the ins and outs of the music industry.
We caught up with D'Wayne Wiggins to talk Tony! Toni! Toné!'s musical roots, artistic inspiration, and what more than 27 years in the music industry has taught him.
Q: Talk to me about the group’s musical education — coming up in the 1970s in Oakland, against a backdrop of social activism.
A: I was born in the ’60s but a child of the ’70s. We grew up in East Oakland, but a lot was offered when we came up. My parents are from the deep South — my mom's from Arkansas, my dad (blues guitarist Charles Wiggins) was from Texas, so they brought a lot of family values with them. Southern ways, your community was your community, everybody looked out for one another, and education was very fruitful back then. Everybody had their own garden. Today, it's kind of cool to have an urban garden, but everybody had a garden back then, so we ate healthy.
Musically speaking, the sound on the streets of Oakland was different. I grew up across the street from DeFremery Park, where Sly Stone used to play and the Black Panthers would hold rallies. Today, you have 20 million rappers in one city; back then you had 20 million musicians, bands all over the place. I learned how to play the blues on the streets of Oakland. My father used to take me to all the blues clubs.
When our group came out, we came together at a time when hip-hop and R&B were definitely making a blend. Our sound became more of a blues/hip-hop sound, even though they called it neo-soul, or whatever. I think they called it soul because of the instruments we were using — the Wurlitzer keyboards and B3 organs, and stuff like that.
Q: What role do you see Tony! Toni! Toné! playing in the New Jack Swing movement of the time?
A: It's funny you should ask about that, because I'm working on some rehearsals with Teddy Riley right now. We became close folks, and we still do a lot of stuff together. We've got a few shows coming up.
The Tonys were doing straight blues, and Teddy Riley happened to remix our second release, “Baby Doll.” And when he re-freaked that beat, that's when we were initiated into New Jack City, the New Jack sound.
We had a lot of battles onstage. I can recall one time at Howard University's homecoming. We were giving them a run for their money until they brought Heavy D and Today up there, and the whole New York crew, and they shut it down. But yeah, we are part of the New Jack, as well as the blues and soul.
Q: As an artist, where do you find inspiration?
A: Real artists, to me, perform live. There are a lot of artists today that have a million followers, but it's an illusion. You've got to get out there and do what artists do — and that's inspire and motivate; and it's reciprocal. It comes back around. That's what I've experienced.
As an artist, it's about having something to say, having a voice, and being passionate about what you do.
Q: And how is that different as a producer and artist developer?
A: Aw, man. When it comes to developing artists, I love working with artists that I'm inspired by. I've been blessed to be able to work with some of the greats—from Santana to B.B. King, Destiny's Child, Beyoncé and Slash. I really like when I can be a fan of an artist and do production, because it's all about artists coming together and speaking, and seeing what magic they can create.
Q: It's been more than 27 years now. What have you learned?
A: Anything that happens in this lifetime, let it happen. Let life happen. And follow your passion — 100 percent, all the time. There's no mistakes, only experiences.
Damien Willis may be reached at 575-541-5468,dawillis@lcsun-news.com or@damienwillis on Twitter.
IF YOU GO
What: Fourth of July Celebration - live music
When: 7 p.m. Monday
Where: The Field of Dreams, 2501 Tashiro Dr.
Cost: Free
Info: las-cruces.org