Front Row: Toni Hill
The R&B/Soul songstress performs music from her new album Only Love with an eight-piece band featuring special guests Syndel of Sirens Echo, DJ B-Girl and more. Seductive and soulful, Hill`s music will move your body and may even stir a summer romance. Taped at Seattle City Hall Plaza during the City of Seattle Summer Concert Series.
Toni Hill’s album, Only Love, is available for digital download on Amazon, iTunes, eMusic, Media-Net and Napster. Only Love is also available in physical CD format on Amazon, and also at Sonic Boom and Silver Platters in Seattle, WA.
Watch Toni Hill’s performance on the Seattle Channel:
Thursday, Nov. 19, 11PM
Friday, Nov. 20, 10PM
Saturday, Nov. 21, 9PM
Maybe it’s because the percolating bass and percussive claps at the beginning of this record call to mind the funk that would prefigure hip hop, but it’s not a hip hop record I first think of when the Knox Family’s “In These Streets” comes on. It’s not a funk record either, although the band I’m thinking of was certainly influenced by both funk and early hip hop. No, it’s the Clash’s “Somebody Got Murdered” that wells up out of my subconscious the moment MC Jerm raps “Yo man, I don’t think they heard you” and a voice cries out in the dark, “a murder!”
And that makes sense. A big part of the Clash’s appeal was a bracing honesty that confronted the walls that keep us apart. Seattle’s The Knox Family takes us from behind any four walls we might like to think protect us and out into the darkness. Guest singer Toni Hill’s beautiful vocal is key to the intimacy of that journey as she reminds us, “Somebody’s praying in these streets/somebody’s dying in these streets/somebody’s hustling in these streets” and then takes it all in her immediate embrace with, “Somebody’s singing for you and me.”
The rest of the record goes further into the muck and mire that’s the current human condition than anything I’ve ever heard. What’s more amazing? It shines a light through.
In verse one, Julie C’s sassy and knowing rhymestyle catalogues a mind-numbing list of offensives in the “all out war against poor populations,” including intimidation tactics carried out by everyone from the FCC to the beat cop, gang legislation, privatized prisons and deaths caused by “non-lethal” weapons. This verse and the second are rapped against sirens that spiral between the left and right channels of the speakers and another voice in the night, making an unclear sound but plainly in distress…Somebody hustling or somebody dying.
And then Hill sings again, backed by a 5 note key progression that mines the same territory Timbaland’s been working lately but suggests a bigger, explicit dream— hope for every voice that currently goes unheard and faith in those voices to change the world.
Julie C’s second verse starts at the heights of Wall Street and follows the “global economic collapse.” She somehow hits on all of it, from the political stakes that lead to bank bailouts to the foreclosure of the homes of those small enough to fail. Before she’s finished, Julie C describes a globalized war between the rich and the poor.
With the stakes this high, Hill begins to tic off more of what “singing for you and me” means: “We gotta get together/’cause we need/ to heal the sick and hopeless/ yes, indeed/to strive for peace and justice/ equality/love for you and me.” With keys washing in behind her, Hill’s voice grows more reassuring and inspiring as she touches on each key to the future.
The third and final verse starts after the record’s turned the corner toward a fade out. Julie C raps a sign off and then, like James Brown throwing off his cape, she launches into, “Yo, violence is a symptom not the disease.” The dissonant sirens are gone now, replaced by flute-like keys and more percussion including high hat and snappy wood block beats. Something’s different about this last highly charged verse, though the signs stay grim, “Why is the city of Seattle dropping another 110 million to open a new jail we don’t need, while the district can’t even find a measly 3.6 to keep our schools from closing?”
And the difference is the cape-dropping intimacy. This last verse feels like an urgent whisper being passed on a streetcorner. “Want to know what’s really going on?” Julie C asks. “Just follow the paper trail to downtown Olympia, Wall Street, D.C./As long as poverty pimps keep profiting from our problems/We can’t wait for change/We gotta create our own solutions/Straight from the peoples’ movement.”
And with that, the Knox Family’s debut Ep is out. It’s the end of something very rich , though only 7 full tracks long. From the opening “Make Love,” DJ B-Girl has produced an infectious party record with a laid back, minimalist style that communicates class-conscious strength and unity. Though it’s laid back and minimalist, it also uses multi-colored keys and beats in continuously fresh and surprising ways. “In These Streets” is the perfect ending, justifying all the tough talk and hard play that come before.
But it’s more than that. It’s a singular piece of revolutionary art unlike anything else. It’s the blues of “The Message” wedded to a concrete basis for political unity. And it’s a spiritual, with Toni Hill’s refrains insisting that the human spirit was made to fulfill our dreams. It’s a song to suggest a new genre—not protest music so much as revolution rock—good for dancing, crying, shouting and even (especially?) blueprinting our dreams into reality.
Street savvy styles with lyrics that speak on the real, and beats that slap…That’s what the Knox Family EP is bringing to the party. Listen carefully for that particular Seattle swagger that’s been kept under wraps for all these years. You are listening to Jerm and Julie C., some emcees that are highly under-rated, coming up for the last decade in a crew called Alpha-P. These cats rip it harder on the mic than most of the cats you hear on the radio, hands down. And with guest appearances by Rufio and Toni Hill, singing and harmonizing, the tracks really melt into your brain. By the way, the production by DJ B-Girl ain’t no joke either, so don’t sleep. Cop the EP today.
Track Listing:
1. News Flash Skit (Physical CD Only)
2. Make Love
3. Interlude
4. Boots Laced
5. Run Up
6. Born Bad Skit (Physical CD Only)
7. Couldn’t Handle That
8. Snake Skit (Physical CD Only)
9. World Turns Feat. Rufio
10. These Streets Feat. Toni Hill
Release Date: 05/20/2009
Photo by Marshall Reid
Graphic Design by DJ Audeos
Recorded at B-Girl Media
Mixed by DJ B-Girl
Mastered by Steve Turnidge at Ultraviolet Studios
A work three years in the making, manifested through loss of family, heartbreak and sweet new romance, “Only Love” is a delicious collection of soulful originals that tell an assortment of stories from the heart. Toni explains, “I wanted this album to be about love—like the old school music our parents listened to… I wanted it to be about love for friends, love from supporters; and most importantly about love for self, because without that you really can’t love anyone else.”
“Only Love” was produced by Amos Miller, a prolific producer and recording artist, who has worked with nearly all of Seattle’s hip-hop and R&B talent, including Choklate, Jake One, Gabriel Teodros, and Geologic from Blue Scholars. Only Love includes some of Seattle’s finest musicians from jazz, hip-hop, R&B, and world music, that include Mark Oi, Anthony Davis, Vitamin D, Aaron Walker-Loud, Royce Shorter Jr., Ethan Lawton, Chris Littlefield, Evan Flores-Barnes and others.
Track Listing:
1. Only Love
2. Love Is
3. Shoo Bee
4. Vibe Out feat. Soul Plasma
5. Just Relax
6. This Thing Called Love
7. Rose
8. Sippin’ On Time (Interlude)
9. Coffee Shop
10. Let’s Start Over
11. I Wanna Know (Skit)
12. If It’s Real
Produced by Amos Miller
206 Vintage Recordings and Siren’s Echo Music
Rose is a touching R&B song about abandonment and the search for a lost father figure by Toni Hill, production by Amos Miller. Video by Andrew Rutherford of ASR Productions. Cinematography by William Brody of Red White & Boots. Visit Toni Hill on myspace.com/misstonihill.
By Jonathan Cunningham
Friday, Feb. 27 2009 @ 4:00PM
Last night, I was lucky enough to get my hands on Toni Hill’s debut solo album, Only Love, and so far I’m highly impressed. She’s a talented double threat that has been rapping and singing in Northwest groups for years (Hungry Mob/Sirens Echo/Oldominion) but this new album is both her solo debut, and her soul debut. You won’t hear her rapping on Only Love but you will hear lot’s of smoothed out R&B/soul music that’s perfect for the grown and sexy crowd. If I had to briefly put it in a box, I’d say the album sounds like Jill Scott meets the Jazzyfatnastees with a touch of old school Michel’le thrown in for good measure.
She shows a lot of range as a singer/songwriter on the project and I think people are going to embrace this album when they here it. These days, Hill bounces between Portland (her hometown), Seattle, and New York but currently she’s here and having a listening party at Hidmo tonight. She’ll be there with the album’s producer Amos Miller playing the record in it’s entirety and DJ B-Girl Mia will be spinning as well. The listening party starts at 7:30 p.m. and they’ll also be debuting a music video for the song, “Rose.” If you’re a fan of Hill’s music, come out and support.
Check this full-length hip hop album featuring a handpicked line-up of fresh Seattle talent. A myriad of styles and flavors collide, from regal to battle ready, indie to experimental, hear what makes Seattle’s top female producer so unique. There’s a little something for everybody on this release, so be prepared, Seattle’s on the rise!
Track Listing:
1. Livin It feat. Khanfidenz and Toni Hill
2. No More Beef feat. Inkubiz
3. Identity Theft feat. Phreewil and DJ WD4D
4. Need the Game feat. Jerm and Cyreeta
5. On the Rise feat. Julie C. and Cyreeta
6. People feat. Sage Nomad
7. Life feat. Piece, Toni Hill and Forrest on Bass
8. Stay Alive feat. Sista Hailstorm
9. The Arena feat. Inkubiz
10. Murder She Wrote feat. Sista Hailstorm and Julie C.
11. Two-Oh-Six feat. Asun
12. Get Low feat. Julie C. and Asun
13. Free Yoself Dub feat. Inkubiz and George on Percussion
Release Date: 01/16/2008
Artwork by Angel179
Recorded at B-Girl Media
Mixed by DJ B-Girl
Mastered by Steve Turnidge at Ultraviolet Studios
Her sound is one that radiates through your soul, refreshing and a true blessing for your ears.
“Love is a trip…” she says in the I Wanna Know skit on her album. And she takes you on that voyage. Toni Hill’s latest offering, Only Love, is true music from the first track to the end.
I came across Toni Hill on one of those Sunday Night Sound Session shows with DJ Hyphen. It was This Thing Called Love that caught me off guard on the underground hip-hop show out of Seattle, Washington (check DJ Hyphen’s interview for more about Sunday Nigh Sound Session). It’s one of those sit back, relax and let the sound take you away type of tracks.
“Trying to figure out, what it’s all about … this thing called love. Trying to understand, the best way I can… this thing called you…” The song is beautiful and each song compliments the other on Only Love!
Toni Hill brings classic soul, infused with emotional lyrics and strong passionate vocals that resonate with everything that you are (if you love good music). She merges the sound of an older generation’s music (the stuff mom and dad use to listen to) with a real contemporary feel. It’s very smooth.
According to her website, “Only Love is a delicious collection of soulful originals that tell an assortment of stories from the heart.” Toni Hill goes on to explain on the page, “I wanted this album to be about love—like the old school music our parents listened to… I wanted it to be about love for friends, love from supporters; and most importantly about love for self, because without that you really can’t love anyone else.”
She definitely accomplished that and this album is truly a collection of soulful originals.
Knox Family EP available on 
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