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T.O.K.

 
Artist: T.O.K.
 
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Group Members:

Roshaun Clarke, Alistaire McCalla, Craig Thompson

Similar Artists:

Voicemail

Influenced By:

Shaggy, Michael Jackson, Boyz II Men
  • Genres: Reggae
  • Representative Albums: "My Crew, My Dawgs," "Unknown Language," "Riddim Driven: Guardian Angel"

Biography

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
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Wikipedia: T.O.K.
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Home > Library > Miscellaneous > Wikipedia
This article is about the Jamaican group. For other uses, see T.O.K. (disambiguation).
T.O.K.
Origin Flag of Jamaica Kingston, Jamaica
Genre(s) Reggae, Dancehall
Years active 1996–present
Label(s) VP Records
Atlantic Records
Website T.O.K. on Myspace
Members
Xavier "Flexx" Davidson
Craig "Craig T" Thompson
Alistaire "Alex" McCalla
Roshaun "Bay-C" Clarke

T.O.K. is a dancehall group hailing from Kingston, Jamaica. The group consists of Alistaire "Alex" McCalla, Roshaun "Bay-C" Clarke, Craig "Craigy T" Thompson, and Xavier "Flexx" Davidson. They are one of the most Internationally successful and well-known Dancehall groups of all time and are best known for such hits as "Footprints", "Gal You Ah Lead", "Chi Chi Man" and "Eagles Cry".

Contents

History

Origins

The groups origins can be traced back to the early 90's while the members were still attending school. Alistaire McCalla and Xavier Davidson were friends who loved to sing, so McCalla recruited Craig Thompson and Roshaun Clarke who were fellow members of the choir at Campion College in Kingston and T.O.K. was born.[1]

The group got their initial break in 1993, after a stint playing at high school parties and hotels, they finished 2nd at the annual Tastee Talent Competition. Their performance caught the eye of local producer Stephen Craig of Nuff Records. After voicing some tracks for Craig's label, they were signed to the famed Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare's Taxi label in 1996, and released their first single "Hit Them High" which had little impact. Later that year they signed onto Richard "Shams" Browne's High Profile label and released two more singles, "Send Them Come" and "Hardcore Lover" with Lady Saw. The latter tune was immensely popular, climbing the Jamaican dancehall charts rapidly, and earned them a contract with Reggae Dancehall powerhouse VP Records.[2]

Commercial success

Affectionately hailed by the New York Times as “the world’s greatest dancehall-reggae boy band,” T.O.K. has been Jamaica’s leading dancehall group for over a decade. Since emerging on the scene in the early 90s, the Jamaican vocal quartet has produced numerous hit songs and albums, cementing their position at the top of the entertainment industry.

Born out of Kingston, Jamaica, the group consists of four members, Alistaire “Alex”, McCalla, Roshaun “Bay C” Clarke, Craig “Craigy T” Thompson and Xavier “Flexx” Davidson. Together their voices combine R&B harmonies with the hardcore ragamuffin flavor that is Dancehall. Like most young artists seeking to break through on the music scene, the group began their career by performing at local high schools; eventually graduating to shows in the hotels and lounges of Jamaica’s famed North Coast.

In 1996, T.O.K. emerged on reggae charts (locally and overseas) with “Hardcore Lover”, recorded with the 'Queen of the Dancehall', Lady Saw on the Call Me Shams Label. In 1999 they recorded "Eagles Cry" (a version of Prince's "When Doves Cry") with esteemed producer Dave Kelly’s Jamaican imprint Xtra Large, which became an instant international success. "Eagles Cry" was followed closely by one of T.O.K.’s biggest and most controversial hit, "Chi Chi Man", produced by LOY on the Sashi riddim created by renowned Jamaican producer Tony “CD” Kelly. The song calls for the murder of gay men by shooting and/or burning. The group entered the US market in 2001 with their debut album, “My Crew, My Dawgs”, which made the Top 10 Billboard Top Reggae Album Charts and sold Platinum in Japan. That year, T.O.K. appeared on MTV’s first “Advance Warning”- a prestigious nod to up-and-comers – and on the very first season of BET’s “106 & Park,” well before any dancehall artist graced that stage. The group notched another breakthrough with the single “Gal You A Lead”. T.O.K.’s “Gal You Ah Lead,” video was selected for MTV2’s “New Faces of MTV2”, and made its debut on MTV’s “Direct Effect.” "Gal You Ah Lead", was the first single from their second album “Unknown Language” and was among Blender Magazine’s “Top Songs of 2004”. Produced by Bobby Konders, the song became a crossover hit in the clubs and on urban radio powerhouses like New York’s Hot 97 and Miami’s Power 96. The single made it to Billboard’s Hot 100 chart peaking at #85.

With the release of their sophomore album, “Unknown Language” in 2005, T.O.K. dropped yet another hit, the “one-drop” track “Footprints” – a tribute to Alex’s brother who was a victim of a senseless killing, a deeply personal song for all members of the group. “Footprints” went to #1 on several local and International Charts, also making it into the Billboard Charts at #93 and when T.O.K. released “Unknown Language” soon after, the album sales went Gold in Japan in its first week on the shelf, and quickly went on to sell Platinum.

T.O.K. spent a couple years touring the world promoting “Unknown Language” as well as the brand “T.O.K.” Their tour saw performances in several countries in Europe, some of which have been a first for any Reggae act. The group also became a staple in Japan, as well as in Africa and several islands across the Caribbean.

Ever since T.O.K.’s emergence on the local and international dancehall scene, the group has always enjoyed a very strong female fan base all over the World. Following their Unknown Language Tour, the group returned to the local dancehall scene, and found themselves back in the spotlight in 2007 with two blazing hits, “No Man” and “Guardian Angel”. The song “Guardian Angel”, produced by Arif Cooper, much like like “Footprints” rose to #1 on the Reggae Charts in New York and Florida as well as in Jamaica. Since the start of 2008, T.O.K. has released several new singles, as well as music videos for “No Man”, “Unbelievable”, the “Hotta Vybez Medley”, the “Raindrops Medley” and most recently “Supermodel”.

TOK is gearing up for the upcoming release of their third studio album, “Our World” – which will see the influence of the mélange of cultures from the different parts of the globe that the group has traveled. Currently the group is recording tracks with award winning producer Tony “CD” Kelly in addition to collaborations with Beenie Man, Kelly Price and Snow. “Our World” is tentatively scheduled for release in Summer 2009.


Name acronyms

T.O.K. originally stood for "Touch Of Klass" however the band has devised many backronyms for their moniker, such as "Taking Over Kingston" or "Too Klaat".

Discography

Albums

  • My Crew, My Dawgs (2001)
  • Unknown Language (2005)
  • Flexx From T.O.K. presents: D'Link (2008)
  • Bay-C From T.O.K. presents: Bombrush Hour (2009)
  • Our World (2009)

Singles

Year Song Chart positions Album
U.S. Hot 100 U.S. R&B U.S. Rap
2004 "Gal You Ah Lead" 85 36 24 Unknown Language
"Footprints" 93 22 19

References

  1. ^ Artistdirect Bio T.O.K. Biography February 17, 2009
  2. ^ Allmusic bio T.O.K. Biography February 17, 2009

External links


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 
Learn More
Dancehall Boom Dynamite (Music Film)
Riddim Rider, Vol. 16: First Class (2004 Album by Various Artists)
Unknown Language (2005 Album by T.O.K.)

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Artist. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. Content provided by All Music Guide ®, a trademark of All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "T.O.K.".  Read more

 

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