CHANGING PERSONAS: Tonéx in his earlier, more conservative look; Tonéx more recently as "B. Slade."
In Part 1, we examined the meteoric rise and fall of gospel-singer-turned-pop-diva Tonéx. But is the Tonéx saga an aberration, or a sign of the troubling contradictions inherent in the Christian music industry?
In the first installment of this four-part series, we examined the story of gospel-singer-turned-pop-diva Tonéx (Anthony C. Williams, a.k.a. B. Slade), juxtaposed against the history of the Christian music industry that helped to make him a star.
Given his prominence, controversy surrounding his current choices of lifestyle and repertoire were inevitable. But how did his identity as a gospel singer contribute to the controversy? And why are people still divided as to how to respond to Tonéx today?
To find these answers, we must dig into what it means to be a gospel artist.
Cultural Definition of “Gospel”
In the last part, we saw how, generally speaking, the growth of Christian music as an overall industry led to a sort of musical ghetto, artificially separated from the rest of the general entertainment market.
This separation stunted the growth and harmed the reputations of artists therein, leading to a perception expressed as an opinion, widely disseminated in conversations on-and-offline, that Christian music sucks.
The biggest exception to this overarching trend of underachievement, however, has been the contributions of African-Americans.
This is not to say that there has been no inferior music from Black people. Surely there’s been plenty. I used to work in a Christian bookstore, so I’ve heard a lot of it firsthand.
(I’m resisting the urge to take any shots here at artists I don’t like.)
Nevertheless, crossover appeal has always been easier and more frequent for Black people. The music of the African American church has served not only as a hotbed for talent development, but as a seminal musical influence for virtually all of the styles of popular American music today, including rock and roll, jazz, soul, funk, and even hip-hop. This is why almost every entertainer of historic note — too many to even mention a few — started out in church.
In this historical context of African American musical influence, the evolution of Christian music as a parallel commercial industry helped to establish the genres of music that we now refer to by the overarching umbrella term “gospel music.”
And even though gospel music has never been universally embraced in American culture (due to its overtly spiritual message), its biggest stars have always had wide commercial crossover appeal, from Aretha Franklin and Walter Hawkins to Kirk Franklin and Mary Mary.
Gospel music gets its name from the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Good News that Christ died for our sins and rose again, conquering the power of sin and death in the process, and bequeathing on those who believe and receive Him supernatural freedom, power and eternal life. These are all important themes in gospel music.
But because of this unique positioning that African Americans have traditionally held as being curators of expressive musical culture, there is another, more common definition of the word “gospel” that people often use, a definition that refers to the method of the music, rather than the message of the music.
This other use of the word “gospel” is defined by certain cultural and musical cues that authenticate a real spiritual experience in the African American tradition. Things like the warm, whirring purr of a Hammond B3 organ, the vocal melisma of a dynamic lead vocalist, exuberant piano licks, and the joyful spontaneity of people jumping, shouting, and “having church.”
These cultural signifiers have been viewed historically as strange and exotic — even sometimes dangerous — by White people. So in the context of general market entertainment, there is a novelty factor to the gospel style that makes it attractive. As the gospel music industry has risen in prominence and economic clout, the culture of “gospel” music — used in the method sense, not the message sense — has continued to be featured more frequently in American popular culture, including feature films (see below), MTV music videos, shoe commercials, and reality television.
It’s gotten to the point that NYC area congregations have side deals with tourist groups who literally pay to come to church and see the show.
Media theorist Marshall McLuhan famously asserted that “the medium is the message.” Nowhere is this clearer than in this new cultural definition of gospel. Somewhere along the line, the message of Christ became so synonymous with the gospel music genre that even when the message is nowhere to be found, people still refer to it as gospel, even when it involves profanity on a talk show.
The First Gospel Reality Star
It makes sense, then, that Anthony C. Williams has engendered such a dichotomous reaction from people in the contemporary gospel music community. He’s been celebrated by liberal inclusive ministers and denounced outright by several conservatives, according to this 2010 profile in The New Yorker.
But one thing he’s really never been is ignored.
The name Tonéx has been in the forefront of the discussion surrounding the next wave of gospel music superstars for well over a decade. His flair for the dramatic, his athletic dance moves, his love of bizarre costumes and hairstyles, and most importantly, his soaring, over-the-top vocal ability set him apart from the very beginning. Tonéx blended hip-hop swagger and R&B sensuality with Pentecostal expressionism and charismatic church folklore. It was a unique combination never seen before or since.
Tonéx’s prominence was partially due to his considerable talent and tireless work ethic, but also because he possessed a knack for self-promotion and an affinity for social media long before it was as popular as it is now. And the oblique nature of many of his lyrics and interviews created a sense of mystique that fueled interest in the man behind the music.
Combining that with the legal travails of multiple record-label skirmishes and the emotional fallout over his divorce, his explicit battles with honesty and propriety regarding his own sexuality, the death of both of his parents, and his assuming of pastoral leadership of the church he grew up and inherited, Tonéx amassed as much notoriety for what he did outside the studio as what he did within it, despite how prolific he has been.
In that sense, he had plenty in common with the Gosselins, the Palins, the Jersey Shore crew, and other reality-TV stars. He was a bankable commodity whose appeal had less to do with substance than style, and he was exploited by an industry that profited from his rise without doing much to cushion his fall.
(See also: Sheen, Charlie.)
More Lingering Questions
But his recent transformation from gospel singer Tonéx into faux-gospel-pop performer Brian Slade raises an obvious dilemma for fans of his music who don’t embrace his gay lifestyle:
• How do we approach his vast catalog of music?
• Is it fair to still refer to the stuff he recorded as Tonéx as Christian music?
• What about calling it gospel? Will that work?
• If not, what can/should we call it?
• What happens when and/if he sings those songs today?
For these answers and other questions, check out Parts 3 and 4 of the series.
I’m getting an education here Jelani. Thanks! I look forward to reading parts 3&4.
Thanks Christine… this issue is a big one so I’ve really done my best to take some time and look at it from several angles.
Is there anything you’ve read that has surprised you?
I began to notice the cultural definition of gospel 10 years ago when urban radio stations (that have a Gospel slot) would interview Gospel artists. They would focus more on the cultural signifiers than the content. They would talk about gospel music as if it was separate from the gospel.
The cultural capital of African Americans is undeniable. What do you make of mainstream America’s selective amnesia about this cultural capital? It seems like Contemporary Christian music has done the same. What do you make of this?
It is one of the reasons why I don’t particularly like CCM anymore. It feels like they borrow and take (from secular and Black Gospel) but give no acknowledgement. It has also made much of the music pretty bland.
Jelani,
It surprises me that I have never heard of Tonex, so the whole story is new to me. I’m embarrassed to admit that.
It doesn’t surprise me that gospel music is less marginalized than other kinds of Christian music,and I think you’ve done a good job of unpacking why that is, but it just has me pondering what it is about the black church that is less offensive to the wider culture than the white church. I wonder if it’s the fact that we’re identified with oppression and the black church is identified with liberation. We have so much to learn.
Couple things…
Ron,
What do you mean about the selective amnesia? It’s been my experience that academics (musicologists, sociologists, etc.) have always given African-Americans plenty of credit for the ways that we have shaped the broader American culture. But that doesn’t always play out with the laity, so to speak. The average music fan or high school kid with a guitar or whatever doesn’t see that.
Also Christine… yes, I think you’ve definitely hit on something. It is true that the Black church is definitely more associated with liberation than repression or oppression. But I also think there is definitely a novelty factor that draws people. Whatever your sense of normal is when it comes to church experiences, as an adult it becomes natural to seek out something else. So I think that plays into it as well.
Finally, as I read Part 2, and the comments here, I am compelled to offer the following final commentary. I was struck by something that happened last night. Perhaps our expectations of African American “gospel” musicians is the part of the issue – and maybe the situation we place them in. Ironically, last night I happened among the tail end of the Dove awards and there was one of the artists that have deeply impacted my life (I won’t mention the name) given what I am about to say, but I seriously deeply respect this person. He was singing a song that is about being happy in your faith (nothing really wrong with that – there is joy, right), but I felt as if the production was making a mockery of him, his talents, our faith, etc. It felt as if he was almost minstral-ized (I seriously cannot believe I just wrote that). Maybe this is the unintended consequence of the song? Who knows? I actually went back on You Tube to ask myself whether I am being overly sensitive, and again, it could simply be an effect of the song choice. I say all this because, the bottom-line for me was/is how far have we really come, and what does this mean? Maybe nothing. More questions, I realize.
Hey, man – Thanks for continuing this compelling dialogue. Because I have no problem stepping out on a limb, I will step out on that limb and begin to push the dialogue to answer the questions you pose and the ones discussed with the current article and specifically:
“How did his (Tonex/B.Slade’s identity as a gospel singer contribute to the controversy? And why are people still divided as to how to respond to Tonéx today?” How can we escape the issue that this performer is not an African American man who has/and still professes faith in Christ and came out as a gay? If he did not represent that constellation of identities would there be a controversy or issue with how to categorize his catalog? The added ingredient is the gay issue.
It is the long standing issue of sin hypocrisy that the church still deals with – the graduated scale of sin. Which biblically identified sins carry more weight? What if he said I am serial liar, and I won’t stop, or a serial cheater with woman? Would we be having this conversation? I am positioning myself on one side of the argument or another – other than I just never want to be in a position to be stoned for my sins – that’s all. At any rate, there is a very interesting op-ed that unpacks the issue of the Black church and homosexuality that was written during the whole Eddie Long story: http://articles.cnn.com/2010-09-26/opinion/inam.lee.black.church_1_black-church-homosexuality-church-culture/2?_s=PM:OPINION
All that said, as we enter into the discussion and the question posed: does this artist’s current choices now negate the power of the words previously written or the notes composed? I would couple the question with another question: Do churches still sing “Thy Word” by Amy Grant even though she left her family for Vince Gill? If yes, how is this situation different? Is she more forgivable because she is a straight white woman?
Hey, man – Thanks for continuing this compelling dialogue. Because I have no problem stepping out on a limb, I will step out on that limb and begin to push the dialogue to answer the questions you pose and the ones discussed with the current article and specifically:
“How did his (Tonex/B.Slade’s identity as a gospel singer contribute to the controversy? And why are people still divided as to how to respond to Tonéx today?” How can we escape the issue that this performer is not an African American man who has/and still professes faith in Christ and came out as a gay? If he did not represent that constellation of identities would there be a controversy or issue with how to categorize his catalog? The added ingredient is the gay issue.
It is the long standing issue of sin hypocrisy that the church still deals with – the graduated scale of sin. Which biblically identified sins carry more weight? What if he said I am serial liar, and I won’t stop, or a serial cheater with woman? Would we be having this conversation? I am positioning myself on one side of the argument or another – other than I just never want to be in a position to be stoned for my sins – that’s all. At any rate, there is a very interesting op-ed that unpacks the issue of the Black church and homosexuality that was written during the whole Eddie Long story: http://articles.cnn.com/2010-09-26/opinion/inam.lee.black.church_1_black-church-homosexuality-church-culture/2?_s=PM:OPINION
All that said, as we enter into the discussion and the question posed: does this artist’s current choices now negate the power of the words previously written or the notes composed? I would couple the question with another question: Do churches still sing “Thy Word” by Amy Grant even though she left her family for Vince Gill? If yes, how is this situation different? Is she more forgivable because she is a straight white woman?
Finally, as I read Part 2, and the comments here, I am compelled to offer the following final commentary. I was struck by something that happened last night. Perhaps our expectations of African American “gospel” musicians is the part of the issue – and maybe the situation we place them in. Ironically, last night I happened among the tail end of the Dove awards and there was one of the artists that have deeply impacted my life (I won’t mention the name) given what I am about to say, but I seriously deeply respect this person. He was singing a song that is about being happy in your faith (nothing really wrong with that – there is joy, right), but I felt as if the production was making a mockery of him, his talents, our faith, etc. It felt as if he was almost minstral-ized (I seriously cannot believe I just wrote that). Maybe this is the unintended consequence of the song? Who knows? I actually went back on You Tube to ask myself whether I am being overly sensitive, and again, it could simply be an effect of the song choice. I say all this because, the bottom-line for me was/is how far have we really come, and what does this mean? Maybe nothing. More questions, I realize.
Hello Jelani,
Thank you for your keen reflections on what is entailed by the term “gospel” in music and how we in the Christian community so readily ghettoize music as “Christian”. It is part of a larger problem of how we approach culture theologically and spiritually. I look forward to reading your future blog posts pertaining to whether or not the specific music under consideration “qualifies” as gospel.