Background and career
Anthony Terrell Smith (born March 3, 1966), better known by his stage name Tone Loc (), is an American rapper, voice artist, and actor. He is known for his raspy voice, his hit songs "Wild Thing" and "Funky Cold Medina", for which he was nominated for a Grammy Award, and for being featured in "We're All in the Same Gang", a collaborative single by the West Coast Rap All-Stars.
Anthony Terrell Smith was born March 3, 1966, in Los Angeles, the son of Margaret, who managed a retirement home, and James Smith who died in 1972. As a result of his father's premature death, Tone Loc and his three older brothers were raised by his mother. He was educated at the Hollywood Professional School. As a teenager, he performed with the rap group Triple A.
Tone Loc's debut album, Lōc-ed After Dark, was released in January 1989. The video for the first single, "Wild Thing," became a staple on MTV in the US. The song rose to No.2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and the top twenty in Australia. The second single, "Funky Cold Medina," also became a hit. It reached the top 5 in the US, peaking at No.3, the top ten in Australia, and the top twenty in the UK. Lōc-ed After Dark reached No.1 in the US. Since its release, it has been certified 2× platinum there. Tone Loc's second album Cool Hand Lōc was released in November 1991. The album's first single was "All Through the Night", which found moderate success, reaching No.80 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No.16 on the Hot Rap Songs chart. It received frequent airplay on MTV and BET. He also contributed "If I'm Gonna Eat Somebody" for 20th Century Fox's FernGully.
Tone Loc played the part of police Sergeant Emilio in the film Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994). Tone Loc's song "Ace Is in the House", which samples the Beastie Boys song "No Sleep till Brooklyn", is featured in the films Ace Ventura: Pet Detective and Ace Ventura Jr.: Pet Detective (2009). He provided vocals for Fefe Dobson for the track "Rock It Till You Drop It" on her self-titled debut album. Tone Loc also voiced Fūd Wrapper, the host of the animatronic show Food Rocks. This was played at Epcot from 1994 to 2004. In this latter role, he sang the song "Always Read the Wrapper", a parody of his second hit single "Funky Cold Medina". He appeared as Albert in episode 8 of season 2 of Touched by an Angel, which aired November 11, 1995.
Tone Loc has performed in several feature films, including Poetic Justice, Blank Check, Heat and Posse. As a voice actor, Tone Loc has voiced characters in several animated television series such as King of the Hill and C Bear and Jamal, and was featured in the animated film Bebe's Kids, playing the wise-cracking baby Pee Wee. He voiced the character Lou the Goanna in the 1992 film FernGully: The Last Rainforest. He has also provided his signature voice for episodes of Chowder and Uncle Grandpa, both airing on Cartoon Network. In 2022, Tone Loc was featured as the singing voice of Penny Proud in The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder on Disney+.
Tone Loc was among the list of performers on the I Love the 90s Tour, which has performed worldwide since April 2016, as well as having featured appearances on the I Love the 90s: The Party Continues Tour from July to September 2017. In 2026, Tone Loc competed in season fourteen of The Masked Singer as "Handyman" who resembled a robotic handyman with wrenches for hands. As he was eliminated on "Clueless Night" alongside Taraji P. Henson as "Scarab", he was assisted in the unmasking by the Men in Black due to the costume's wrench hands and did an encore of "Wild Thing".
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (October 2026), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
