Toni was one of the biggest R&B singers of the 90's.

It appeared as though she came out of no where in the early 90's and instantly became a super star. She prantically took the R&B world by force with Love Should Have Brought You Home from Boomerang, classic till this day.

Then soon after she came out with her debut which was and is one of the best R&B albums ever made and she had a ton of hits such as Seven Whole Days, Another Sad Song, Breathe Again, etc. Her first debut also was a number one album.

She won numerous awards including Best New Artist at the Grammys in 93' and was instantly hailed as a R&B "diva/songstress" because of her unique voice and ballads. Soon after, she recorded another R&B classic, Secrets

Secrets also garnered many hits and became another instant R&B classic with songs like Your Making Me High and Unbreak My Heart.

She ran into financial difficulties during this period, which we all know and won't dive into but the issue with her label was eventually settled. Soon after she went on to record, "The Heat" which IMO garnered some hits and a few classics such as "Just Be a Man ABout It." Its not as good as her first two but it did have some gems on there.

Toni has sold over 40 million records world wide making her one of the biggest selling R&B singers of all time. She has acheived other succesesses that I am either forgetting or skipping over but my point is Toni is up there in terms of success when we think of the main R&B super stars of the 90's such as Mary J Blige. I am wondering why Toni doesn't get the same recognition like other unique singers during the 90s such as Whitney and Mariah because I find Toni's unique vocals and singing style to be right up there with them and I find Toni's tone to be very distinct and unique in comparision.

So why is Toni's talent and accomplishments so underrated? IMO, she deserves a tribute. Her albums IMO are all classics and she has one of the best debut's ever. Every time underrated singers are discussed, Toni is never mentioned.

[Edited 8/2/16 10:17am]

Because all her songs sound the same and her trashy family of golddigging attention whores have become more notorious than whatever talent they claim.

StrangeButTrue said:

Because all her songs sound the same and her trashy family of golddigging attention whores have become more notorious than whatever talent they claim.

How so?

This is not about her family but about her successes during her hey day and why they are currently overlooked.

She has a "sound" (or Babyface had a sound) that is similar track to track like Breathe Again could segue into Let it Flow could segue into Unbreak could segue into You Mean The World To Me could segue into that Babyface collabo album. She is like Babyface's Sheila E. without the musicianship she's good and all but. Then it gets messy when you add in that trying family.

Just like with Mariah Carey, I liked some of Toni's earlier works, but not the later ones.

StrangeButTrue said:

She has a "sound" (or Babyface had a sound) that is similar track to track like Breathe Again could segue into Let it Flow could segue into Unbreak could segue into You Mean The World To Me could segue into that Babyface collabo album. She is like Babyface's Sheila E. without the musicianship she's good and all but. Then it gets messy when you add in that trying family.

I hear you but why isn't she ranked up there with Mariah and Whitney when Toni kills it in the vocal department with her distinct tone? She is right up there but doesn't seem as acclaim as them.

purplethunder3121 said:

Just like with Mariah Carey, I liked some of Toni's earlier works, but not the later ones.

I agree, I really like her first three albums, first two are classics.

She kind of reminded me of Anita Baker vocally, she had some good songs, however like with most performers involved with La Reid, got pushed aside for fresher and younger talent. A common practice in the biz.

[Edited 8/2/16 21:05pm]

Goddess4Real said:

She kind of reminded me of Anita Baker vocally, she had some good songs, however like with most performers involved with La Reid, got pushed aside for fresher and younger talent. A common practice in the biz.

[Edited 8/2/16 21:05pm]

I agree sis, LA is scrumb bag. I really have no respect for him. He has screwed over so many artists.

mjscarousal said:

Goddess4Real said:

She kind of reminded me of Anita Baker vocally, she had some good songs, however like with most performers involved with La Reid, got pushed aside for fresher and younger talent. A common practice in the biz.

[Edited 8/2/16 21:05pm]

I agree sis, LA is scrumb bag. I really have no respect for him. He has screwed over so many artists.

And that book of his was a pile of shit ......how convient it is now that Prince and MJ are gone he too can say kind crap about them. A wolf in sheep's clothing indeed

I say the same thing..I guess its her tone..I can't remember who it was. but someone in the entertainment industry laughed at the way she sounded...but I'll agree she is very underrated

^ Yes, I agree. Toni's tone is so unique. There hasnt been a singer since with such a distinct tone. I think that statement is quite laughable. A large portion of her success is because of her unique tone. Not that it matters, but she was very beautiful too and she just doesn't get enough credit overall imo. None of these singers out now holds a candle to Toni in her prime. Toni would sing circles around them and Toni's doesn't get nearly the same recognition.

[Edited 8/3/16 10:39am]

Well, I think her tone is kinda similar to Anita Baker's. But that Secrets albums was the
shit back in '96! "I Love Me Some Him" and "There's No Me Without You" are excellent.

Her nice stuff . . . meh.

She had her time. During the height of her popularity, I thought she was way overrated. She owned radio with her first two albums. I got so tired of hearing her what seemed to be every 15 minutes. She managed to rack up quite a few awards along the way. I always thought she had an okay voice. I think she had a lot of Pop appeal, which is why her first two albums were so huge.

Because you can't control your own (or one's) popularity. Tori Amos said it best "I'm not potato chips, I'm anchovies. I could go more places if I were potato chips."

You can do marketing, distributing, record deals, radio play, payola, BET interviews, MTV interviews, Vibe magazine covers as much as you want...but the public decides who is "important" in the long run, regardless. Example: Jennifer Lopez.

But then again, Toni is pretty damn successful for someone whose vocals are so akin to traditional jazz IMO. Shit, she's a huge success in her day and in her own right, period. She's not exactly getting an "Unsung" episode or "where are they now" treatment? She's excellent as a vocalist and puts on a great show and has made great records, imo.

StrangeButTrue said:

Because all her songs sound the same and her trashy family of golddigging attention whores have become more notorious than whatever talent they claim.

If anything her sisters have helped keep her in the spotlight.

I like her caramel singing style.

How she fucked up was doing dance music. She should go the Amy Winehouse way. Alive of course.

Jazzy soul, that's the ticket.

She started going the hip hop route after More Than A Woman...i dunno...she never really went the pop route or bracnched out too much after. Maybe being without Babyface and LA Reid had something to do with it. Always stick to your hit making producers. Wasnt really a songwriter so she kinda took on what she was given...

badujunkie said:

Because you can't control your own (or one's) popularity. Tori Amos said it best "I'm not potato chips, I'm anchovies. I could go more places if I were potato chips."

You can do marketing, distributing, record deals, radio play, payola, BET interviews, MTV interviews, Vibe magazine covers as much as you want...but the public decides who is "important" in the long run, regardless. Example: Jennifer Lopez.

But then again, Toni is pretty damn successful for someone whose vocals are so akin to traditional jazz IMO. Shit, she's a huge success in her day and in her own right, period. She's not exactly getting an "Unsung" episode or "where are they now" treatment? She's excellent as a vocalist and puts on a great show and has made great records, imo.

Your right to an extent. I can't say how success was given back during Toni's time but from my observation based on the way things are now, it appeared to be largely the result of the public as you argued. However, I do not agree with this same argument when it implies to todays generation . IMO, the reason why some of todays stars are relevant is mainly because of payola and the establishment. I was actually quite shocked that Toni has sold so many records. Nobody out today has outsold her and IMO that speaks to her popularity peak. She has one of the best voices around and never gets her dues. She might not be everyone's cup of tea but its interesting how her accomplishments are swept under the rug, similiar to Janet.

[Edited 8/3/16 15:49pm]

2freaky4church1 said:

I like her caramel singing style.

How she fucked up was doing dance music. She should go the Amy Winehouse way. Alive of course.

I agree she should have sticked to Ballads but I still like alot of songs from The Heat

Toni had it all, dont care what anyone says and she was a good performer too.

[Edited 8/3/16 16:02pm]

I think she lost momentum once Secrets peaked and she started having financial troubles. Then Oprah dragged her onto her show and lectured her about finances. I felt bad for Toni. Sure she made some mistakes but that seemed humiliating.

She bounced back with The Heat but as much as I love "Spanish Guitar", it was obvious they were trying to make "Unbreak My Heart 2.0" and it wasn't as successful.

A lot of female artists who were big in the mid-to-late '90s struggled to get radio play as the 2000s went on, like Celine (okay, I know she "retired" for a bit), Madonna, Sarah McLachlan, Alanis, and Toni, also.

90s is the operitive term.... it's over johnny....it's over....

SoulAlive said:

I like her first two albums but I lost interest after that.Her music became generic.

Especially when she jumped on the Neptune's bandwagon etc...where everyone was sounding the same.

[Edited 8/3/16 21:53pm]

She's a 6 pack missing 3 cans.

MD431Madcat said:

She's a 6 pack missing 3 cans.

^ You kill me with your gifs, LOL!