Tony! Toni! Toné!
House of Music

THE REVIEW

The album preceding this by three years, Sons of Soul, opened with a sample from Ice Cube exclaiming

"and you can new jack swing on my nuts!"

Using such a line, where the trend of the moment was being mocked, was a declaration of intent.

The band composed of Wiggins, Riley, and Saadiq presented a direct, bold R&B in line with the prevailing new jack swing of the nineties. It was a style of sound production based on typical hip hop beats that stuck to soul.

However, Tony! Toni! Toné was not a band resting on the laurels of success. They were, and still are today, three musicians and authors (also for others) with an ambitious musical vision.
They left Janet Jackson's tour while opening her concerts because of the requests to include only the most famous songs from their repertoire in the setlist.

During a boom period, they decided to cut ties and each pursue their own path, but not before delivering their swan song, House of Music.

The eclectic Saadiq wanted to celebrate the most classic and funky black music. From the album cover, portraying the band in sessions, you can sense where the album is heading.
Goodbye new jack swing, hello guitars, orchestras, and horns.

The prominent single from the lot became a party anthem, a perfect track from a discographic perspective. Let's Get Down is sensual and inviting. Dj Quik opens the dance rapping, assisted by an omnipresent acoustic guitar. Saadiq enters and invites the participants to the midnight function. The chorus is reminiscent of the "hello, hello, hello, how low?" from Smells Like Teen Spirit. Paradoxically, the same hit by Nirvana was partly inspired by black music.

The class of songs like Thinking of You, with choruses reminiscent of Al Green at his best, paved the way for what D'Angelo and Maxwell would propose later.
House of Music was a farewell but with a grand finale; it's truly a pity they disbanded given the strengths produced.
The three main protagonists did their part from a distance, reuniting only later to finalize everything.

Tony! Toni! Toné! remain among the exponents of that scene who wanted to do the best for music - understood as the art of making music - and venture off the beaten path for their own honor.
Saadiq's solo albums testify to their well-deserved presence among the great protagonists of the new soul.