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By J. MATTHEW COBB
Move over Paris Hilton and Don Imus. Gospel has its share of peculiar drama too. Since the Don Imus/hip-hop controversy broke out earlier this year, fluent people from major positions have spoken out boldly about their take on culture and the power to react towards neccesary accountability. From renowned philanthropist Oprah Winfrey to hip-hop icon Master P, steps are being made to make a difference in mainstream music. Now the tide has changed in the gospel world and no one wants to openly speak out about the torrential waves pounding on the foundations of gospel music. Surprisingly, a great deal of concentration has shifted towards Tonex' and his recent outpourings of personal distress containing loads and loads of deep issues and dilemmas. Not only is the usage of the "N"-word accepted in Tonex' world, but other potty mouth words and illicit forms of profanity that your local clergy worker dare to utter. The "former" gospel artist has no shame in spitting out curse words on his YouTube video submissions and has even gone to the next level with placing his viewpoints to lyric and melody. The words of the painful "The Naked Truth," which has since been removed from his online MySpace webpage, recently made circulation across the Internet and has stirred up a lot of attention from his supporters and toughest critics. Attention that Tonex' - who recently chooses to be called the Black Maverick - seems to like. Portions of the lyrics from the song lies below: I peeled off layers of bulls*** and falsehood My core is strong, I got my c*** back Tonex' has fought through obstacles of drama that seem to miss the big headlines of tabloid magazines, but still grab the attention of his fanbase and critics. His unexpected divorce from Yvette Williams (Ms. Tonex), the explosive feud with Verity Records and the million-dollar lawsuit, along with the controversial spread of mix tapes and independent releases, have all created a mega buzz of attention and controversy for the multiple Stellar award winner. But in recent events, Tonex' seems to turn his attention to his devoted watchers - a committed group of MySpace members that tends to support his every move. Not everyone seems to be happy with the Black Maverick. "The song [The Naked Truth] appears to be some kind of a declaration of freedom on Tonex's part," says MySpace blogger PollyTunes. "From former "bondages"...or, "perceived bondages", imposed on him by certain institutions, and "The Powers That Be..." within those institutions. However, after having both heard the song and read the lyrics, I just found it to be a bold, yet sad and misguided attempt, by Tonex, to address his critics, and some rumors that have plagued him throughout his career."
Recently, Rolling Stone Magazine even jumped into "joke mode" to pick on Tonex's choice of fashion statements in one of their recent issues. The photo shows Tonex' wearing what looks like a Mohawk, a tan scarf and an opened velvet coat exposing a black tanktop at an L.A. movie premiere of Punk's Not Dead. The photo caption reads: "A funny thing happened on the way to the Sanjaya fan club meeting". As for his fans, they once again will have to wait to get a hold of the next chapter of Tonex's World. In a recent announcement made on EURweb.com, his forthcoming album release, "Stereotype: Steel & Velvet," will not be released on Verity Records and the label has since released him from their line of gospel artists. This shouldn't come off as being surprising, since Zomba Gospel Group, the parent company of Verity, intended to sue the singer in 2006 for multiple reasons surrounding his contract and him countersuing for lack of payment. In a statement given this Monday, the label cites the reason for the split as "Tonex's decision to move in an artistic direction outside the scope of gospel music." EURweb.com also went on the record to observe the number of complaints according to a number of resources being made about Tonex's character and his usage of profanity and speculation about his sexuality, especially since he still pastors a church in San Diego. "It's not clear where Tonex' will land as an artist," claims Chris Rizik of Soul Tracks.com. "Extremely talented but seemingly equally troubled, he remains an enigma a decade after breaking onto the Gospel scene as one of its most exciting new stars." Meanwhile, prayers and devoted supporters remain optimistic on the singer's future. It seems as if that is the only thing keeping him alive in the gospel community. "Even in the midst of all this," says a prayerful blogger, "it's still not over for Tonex until God says it's over." May God have the last word. OTHER VALUABLE RESOURCES TO LOOK INTO:
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A good friend and colleague also commented on the explosive content of the song. "I didn't know about "The Naked Truth" until now. I am also concerned," he mentions. "Tonex' is really a musical influence and when I heard that song, I literally felt the anger and hurt. We as a church need to wake up."