From their generally tough stance, it's hard to believe that the reggae dancehall crew known as T.O.K. was originally inspired by crooners BoyzIIMen, but that's the way it was. Alistaire McCalla, Roshaun Clarke, and Craig Thompson were all in the school choir at Kingston's Campion College, while friend Xavier Davidson attended Calabar High School. The four singers began T.O.K. -- the acronym originally stood for Touch of Klass -- in the early '90s, when Motown's glee club foursome were sweeping everything before them with their harmonies. T.O.K. began by performing R&B covers, but that inevitably changed. As Davidson explained, "We're Jamaican. That has to come out in the music, and that's what happened, gradually." The quartet trained with Jamaican vocal coach Georgia Guerra, played a lot of high school parties, then graduated to the hotel circuit on Jamaica's expensive North Coast, where they'd inject a little spice into the shows by covering a Bob Marley song or Ini Kamoze's "Hot Stepper." In 1993, they placed second in the annual Tastee Talent Contest. Though they didn't win, their appearance helped bring them to Nuff Records, where they recorded a few tracks for the label, although nothing hit the charts. By 1996, they were on Sly & Robbie's Taxi label, where the single "Hit Them High" appeared, again making no real impact. From there it was on to Main Street, where they encountered engineer Richard Browne, who was about to start his own label. T.O.K. opted to go with the engineer, who was just a couple of years older than them. Their first effort for his new High Profile label went nowhere, but the follow-up, "Hardcore Lover," which teamed them with dancehall queen Lady Saw, rose to number four. Although High Profile didn't last, the pairing of Browne and T.O.K. has. He became their manager and often produced their records. And it seemed as if they could do no wrong, releasing a series of singles like "Whoa" and "Ill Nana" that kept crashing into the charts. But by now their style was far from where it had begun. They could still harmonize and occasionally would on tracks, but dancehall had become a much bigger influence and their sound had turned harder -- hardcore dancehall, in fact -- influenced equally by Jamaican sounds and the U.S. hip-hop on MTV. That it was well-received was apparent in 1998, when "Eagles Cry" (a nod to Prince's "When Doves Cry") gave the band their first number one. But even paled in comparison to the 2000 hit "Chi Chi Man," which castigated corrupt politicians and was still to be frequently heard in 2001 around the island and in America. In 2001, T.O.K. released My Crew, My Dawgs on their own X.C.A.R.R. label, with many of their hits included. ~ Chris Nickson, All Music Guide
You must be 18 or older in order to participate in the following states: Florida
By clicking the button above, you acknowledge that you are the account holder for the cell phone number entered and you expressly agree to these terms as well as the Thumbplay Terms & Conditions of Use Agreement and Privacy Policy.
Bonus ringtones are only available to new subscribers who are customers of supported carriers. Not all carriers support the Thumbplay service. A phone with an Internet-enabled and SMS-enabled (short message service) account is required. If you elect to become a subscriber, after entering your password, you will be subscribed to Thumbplay and automatically charged $9.99 each month using the billing method selected by you (i.e., mobile phone bill, deducted from prepaid balance, PayPal or credit card) for 10 credits each month until such time as you cancel your subscription. PayPal or credit card billing may not be available at the time of your transaction, and in such event, or in the event you do not select a billing method, charges will be billed to your mobile phone bill or deducted from your prepaid balance. Monthly credits expire at the end of each month and may not be rolled over into the following month. In certain instances, in lieu of a subscription you may have the opportunity to make a one-time purchase. In such case, the purchase price (from $0.99 to $5.99 per content item) for the content item you select will be charged to the billing method selected by you (i.e., mobile phone bill, deducted from prepaid balance, PayPal or credit card). Credits may only be provided after billing is successful.
Games are not currently supported for Verizon Wireless customers.
Your 10 bonus credits for ringtones, wallpapers, videos or games will be available when you activate your account by entering your password on the next page. Your password will be sent to your phone when you click the button above. This offer is only available to first time customers of Thumbplay and can not be combined with any other offer.
Message and data rates may apply for subscriptions, promotional text messages, and account related text messages. Taxes may also apply.
By clicking the button above you expressly agree to receive these communications by SMS, including our weekly newsletter . You may stop receiving promotional text messages by clicking here..
You may receive your password confirmation text message multiple times until you complete the sign-up process. If you would like to stop receiving the password confirmation text messages, please email us at passwordsms@thumbplay.com. You also agree to receive promotional and account related email communications. You may unsubscribe from promotional email communications by unsubscribing here.
You may cancel your Thumbplay subscription by sending the words STOP from your
mobile device to 48000 or by contacting us via email.
If you subscribe to multiple services, you may be prompted to specify which services you wish to cancel.
Please direct all email inquiries to
support@thumbplay.com.
You may also call 1-877-THUMB-99 (1-877-848-6299) for questions regarding your account.
©Thumbplay Inc.
Privacy Policy