LISTEN HERE
WATCH THE VIGNETTE FOR “SMOKING IN THE PARK (PARADISE)” HERE
[September 8, 2023] Today, rising R&B singer, songwriter, producer and multi-instrumentalist Tone Stith shares his brand-new EP P.O.V via RCA Records – click here to listen. Click here to watch the newly released vignette of “Smoking in the Park (Paradise).”
The EP serves as a peek behind the curtain and an opportunity for Tone to let his sincerity shine. In a world where people are afraid of being committed and are more focused on toxic love, Tone wants to be the person that reminds everyone it’s ok to love somebody unabashedly and be loved by somebody in return. He’s excited to share his thoughts from his own P.O.V.
The official vignette for “Smoking in the Park (Paraside)” sees Tone in a dream-like state as he reflects on a relationship backdropped by nighttime park scenery. The song and video reach their apex when Tone’s love interest joins him in his paradise, on the park bench.
P.O.V Tracklisting
- Smoking in the Park (Paradise)
- Girls Like You
- I Need You
- Reposado
- Whoa
- Stamina
- Lonely
P.O.V comprises seven songs including Tone’s previously-released smash singles “I Need You” and “Girls Like You.” In the short time since its release, “Girls Like You” has amassed nearly a million streams on Spotify alone, reached #6 on Billboard’s Top 10 R&B chart, and topped iTunes’ R&B chart (click HERE to watch the visualizer). “I Need You” landed acclaim from VIBE, UPROXX, YouKnowIGotSoul, and more.
Tone’s voice shines on the EP. Shimmering production and Tone’s silky voice on “Smoking in the Park (Paradise)” set the tone for the EP. “Reposado” is the EP’s party jam, following Tone at the end of a night out. With a silky-smooth blend of melodies and rhythms, “Whoa” invites you into a sonic journey that is both intoxicating and evocative. On “Stamina,” Tone’s vocals glide effortlessly, carrying with them a sense of confidence and allure that perfectly matches the production of the song. “Lonely” rounds out the album, its brutal honesty striking the perfect balance between a groovy beat and a heartfelt, apologetic message that sees Tone own up to his mistakes.
P.O.V serves as Tone’s follow-up to his previously released fan favorite track “B.E.D” in 2022 and his seven-track project Still FWM, which came out in October of 2021. “B.E.D” and Still FWM displays his smooth vocals and honest lyrics while immersing you into the world of R&B with hints of pop and hip-hop. These releases are a continuation of that and cements Tone Stith’s status as a quadruple-threat in the entertainment industry. Not only can he play various instruments such as drums, piano, and guitar, but as a songwriter, Tone has penned numerous chart-topping hits, including Chris Brown’s “Liquor,” “Make Love” and “Undecided.” Although he has many accolades collaborating with others, Stith’s solo music allows him to shine the brightest with his incomparable falsetto and raw talent. With his forthcoming EP, Tone Stith is ready to take his place as an R&B mainstay.
Keep Up With Tone Stith:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tonestith
Twitter: https://twitter.com/ToneStith
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tonestithofficial/
About Tone Stith:
Live long enough, love long enough, and you’re going to experience the pain of betrayal. For Tone Stith, that first heartbreak changed everything. It’s the driving force behind his new EP P.O.V, a love story that offers clarity through heartache, the kind of growth that can only come from being vulnerable enough to be hurt deeply, and strong enough to open back up again.
Tone Stith may be a romantic, but the lens through which he views love is anything but rose-colored. As a child, he watched his parents split, raise him separately, then slowly work to rebuild their trust, to spend day after day deciding to be in love again. “That’s very rare,” he admits. I got to experience that love first-hand, like, OK, this is what love really is. Not just this coloring book, like, ‘Oh, we’re just going to be in love forever.’ Nah, it’s the whole process. It’s real.” His parents channeled that renewed love through their son, supporting his talent and ambition as a musician and singer. But the greatest gift they gave was the embodiment of “real love,” one endures and continues to grow.
The ambition Tone Stith’s parents fostered helped birth one of the most exciting talents in R&B today, a velvet voiced crooner with an empathetic streak that can write hits in his sleep. His first break came writing Chris Brown’s hit single “Liquor,” but he quickly established himself as a rising artist in his own right. Since his 2017 debut Can We Talk, he’s drawn co-signs and collaborations with the likes of H.E.R., Rae Sremmurd’s Swae Lee, Quavo of the Migos, and Ty Dolla $ign, and finds himself poised to make his mark on an R&B landscape that seems more concerned with multiplicity than monogamy.
“It’s all right to go after that one person that you love, you know what I’m saying? It’s all right to be in a committed relationship,” he says. “My purpose is to shine light on love. The good parts and the bad parts. Like, let me run y’all through what love is really about. I got to experience it on all types of levels.”
With P.O.V, he tells a story of a love deferred. On the dreamy “Smoking in the Park,” we find him at his most relaxed, spending a day in the clouds with his homegirl, someone with whom he can be himself, sharing intimate secrets free from judgment. But when he experiences the betrayal of infidelity with his actual girlfriend, he’s unmoored, unsure of who to trust, what to think, or what to do. The single “Girls Like You” is a flex from a wounded heart, a sultry bop with a swagged out facade that belies the pain that fuels it. The one who always said she’d leave him before stepping out on him? She did him dirty, and didn’t even bother to cover her tracks. She’s ruined him for the girls that will immediately follow her.
“‘Girls Like You’ is the beginning of my first real heartbreak,” he says. “Somebody like me, I love hard. I’m loyal. So when she cheated on me, it was like, ‘Oh my God, I didn’t think it was going to happen to me. I thought I was doing everything right, man.’”
But by “I Need You,” Tone has had his revelation. The homegirl he smokes in the park with, the one who shares his secrets, she’s been the one the whole time. He’s been wasting his time with these other girls; she’s been in front of his eyes this whole time. If it’s a little reminiscent of Usher’s “U Make Me Wanna,” that’s no accident—the close analogue to P.O.V is Mr. Raymond’s raw and diaristic style, a direct, emotional realness delivered with a croon destined to melt hearts.
A big part of Tone Stith’s P.O.V is embracing love, whether it’s popular or not. That version of himself on “Girls Like You”—the one fueled by pain, embracing the toxicity of commodifying women…that’s not who he is, it’s merely another stage of grief. Being true to himself means being true to his own idea of love, a deep commitment that demands strength. “In this journey, everybody makes some type of mistakes,” he says. “But if you really love someone, you gotta really fight the odds and stick to it. You gotta choose to love that person every day.”
