Well, 1st let me start off by saying… “what an amazing experience”! The Watoto Children’s Choir was in town yesterday to record for my new song “It’s Gonna Be Alright” Featuring my good friend Israel Houghton. I had the Idea for Watoto to be on the song about two [...]]]>

Well, 1st let me start off by saying… “what an amazing experience”! The Watoto Children’s Choir was in town yesterday to record for my new song “It’s Gonna Be Alright” Featuring my good friend Israel Houghton. I had the Idea for Watoto to be on the song about two years ago. I talked with Israel about it way back then and he was able to help me out and make this vision and dream become a reality. The kids showed up around noon yesterday on their beautiful bus. They were so excited to be there and to be on the song with me and IZ. I stepped onto the bus and told all the kids I was so grateful for them being there and excited to have them be a part of the project.  It was funny because most of them didn’t believe it was me, as they said I looked so different due to my weight loss LOL.  You could feel the excitement in the air, from the moment they stepped off the bus.     We began to take pictures and get acquainted with each other.  I fell in love with the kids instantly. Soon after we took them into the studio and began to show them the song and the part they needed to learn and memorize.  Cameras were everywhere to capture the excitement as TBN and JCTV were on board to film our recording session and this great experience.  I ordered pizza for everyone to make sure they were fueled up and ready to go.  Most of the children were happy to see that their favorite American food “Pizza” had arrived.  To try and explain to you how amazing this session was, is nearly impossible, thats why we will be posting footage up for you to see in the near future.  The children sang “It’s Gonna Be Alright” and “He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands” in their amazing, angelic voices.  We also had them say “it’s gonna be alright” in their native African tongues.  The adults sung the hook as well and added the world sound we needed to take the song to another level. 

I wanted to tell you all about the session Israel Houghton and I had the other night! It was AMAZING!!! Israel and I hooked up for the 2nd time on an amazing song titled “It’s Gonna Be Alright” for my forthcoming new album “Return of the Bionic man”. I came [...]]]> What up fam!

I wanted to tell you all about the session Israel Houghton and I had the other night! It was AMAZING!!! Israel and I hooked up for the 2nd time on an amazing song titled “It’s Gonna Be Alright” for my forthcoming new album “Return of the Bionic man”. I came up with the idea for this song about two years ago. After traveling all over the world and seeing so many problems and social injustice everywhere, I wanted to write a song to the people out there who may feel hopeless and think that there is no way out of their situation. I originally wrote the song as a rap song with a melodic singing chorus. I envisioned a children’s choir singing on the chorus with me. The rap was about three different children from three different parts of the world (Brazil, Africa and Haiti). I talked to Israel about the idea, way back then, and he said he was down for the collaboration (he owed me a favor anyway). For those of you that don’t know what I’m talking about, I joined Israel on his album “A Deeper Level” in a collaboration for the song “With Long Life” which led to a Grammy nomination. Israel is one of my favorite artists to work with because he is so talented and diverse.

After my producer Shavoni came up with the track, and I listened to where my record is currently at (in terms of songs), I decided to scratch the raps and write more of a song filled with singing and less rap. The song is a melting pot of Caribbean music mixed with African/Jamaican sounds. I do more of a ‘ragamuffin Jamaican style rap on the song along with singing vocals with a Caribbean sound. Israel, of course, does what he does…sing like a beast! We were so excited to collab on this song after talking about it over the past couple of years. I truly believe this song will get many spins and a lot of rotation on the radio, and maybe even a Grammy or Dove Award for “Best Song with Collaboration”.

Please stay tuned to my site as we shot video and pictures of the entire session, along with exclusive interviews from Israel Houghton, my producer Shavoni, and myself that can only be seen here. This could be the first single of my new album “Return of the Bionic Man”. Thank you Israel for going above and beyond like you always do. It has been a blessing to have such a gifted artist help make this song what it needed to be. I can’t wait for all of you to hear it playing on the radio in your city soon! I will keep you posted with more information as we put the finishing touches and record the final song of the album.

As always, thanks for your support,

Here is some exclusive footage of my photo shoot in Sao Paulo Brazil! Let me know what yall think!!

What’s good everybody! I know a lot of you have been thinking and asking yourself …Where is T-Bone? Is he done rapping? Did he retire? Did he backslide? (LOL) Well… The answer is NO! Although I must admit, [...]]]> After many years T-Bone breaks his silence and reveals what’s on his mind…

Breaking My Silence

What’s good everybody! I know a lot of you have been thinking and asking yourself …Where is T-Bone? Is he done rapping? Did he retire? Did he backslide? (LOL) Well… The answer is NO! Although I must admit, a couple years ago I was ready to hang up the mic for good and move on to bigger and better things, but God had other plans. I had to ask myself “What is better than doing what you LOVE most”? I have always told people “When you do what you love, Its NOT WORK”. I was at a place in my life where I felt tired though. Tired of what you ask? Tired of the busy and grueling tour schedule, tired of always being away from home and the people I love most, tired of always being under the pressure of putting out a new album, tired of the criticism, the false rumors and many other things, but most of all… tired of doing the same thing over and over again… rapping. I was ready to do one last album because I felt I owed it to all of my long time and loyal fans. It was going to be a goodbye/thank you for the memories album. I had the name all picked out and everything. The album was going to be called “Bone-Voyage”…my last and final album. It was really hard to think that I would not be doing what I loved most, but I honestly felt worn out and tired. After all, who has a 20 plus year career? Especially in the gospel rap genre? NO ONE. That’s who. I am the last of the real Mohicans. A rare bird in this Gospel Hip-Hop industry. Truly the last man standing from the early pioneering days of Holy Hip-Hop. But after God speaking to me through various things and taking a couple years off, as well as many pleas from close friends who said “You can’t leave the rap game” I thought maybe I could come back in a creative way that was more challenging to me personally, musically, lyrically, and physically, but let’s start with the music part first.

After traveling the world for many years I began to develop a LOVE for world music. I’m talking about Indian, African, Arabic, Caribbean, Asian, and of course Latin Music. I grew up listening to Salsa music and have always loved the Latin sound as it is a part of my roots. However as I began to travel the world, I found myself wanting to emerge myself into the different cultures I was being introduced to. As a young kid “from the hood”, I thought that the world I was raised in was what the rest of the world was like. Boy was I wrong! Traveling the world opened my eyes in so many different ways. It changed the way I viewed so many things including GOD! God became so much bigger to me than ever before. I began to see how he worked in so many different ways and not just in the way I was brought up or taught. I saw how he was bigger than any denomination or set of rules. I truly experienced the fact that God cannot be put in a box. He is a God that speaks all languages, works in so many different ways and that there is no sin too big that can stop him from loving you. On another note, food also became a bigger part of my life as well. I began to want to try different dishes and cuisines that the various countries had to offer. (And boy did I pack on the pounds too!). I also saw social injustice, poverty and corruption with my own eyes and experienced it for myself first hand! I slowly began to want to reach the entire world and help change it through my music (and I know it was God that put that strong sense of compassion in my heart). I wanted to make music that would reach people all over the globe and not just those in “the hood”. My vision for my music began to change and expand. Many of you probably wondered where the song “Sing your Praises” came from. All of the sudden people heard “T-Bone the rapper” singing in this Spanish “Celia Cruz” salsa type voice accompanied by a very Latin/Arabic authentic sound. Well, now you know.  I have always wanted to make a record that was infused with sounds, rhythms and languages from all over the world. Some of you are probably wondering…where is he going with this? Well I am saying all that to basically say this…I have decided to become a Spanish Salsa singer and quit rapping for good…JUST KIDDING!!! My sound has changed, however I knew I could not go so “far left” with my new sound and abandon all of my longtime rap fans, but I felt I needed to do something that would reach a broader audience.  I now longed to reach people of all ages and backgrounds as well as all those people around the globe. In my most recent trip to Europe (which I travel to a lot), I began to hear the Dance/Techno sound like I had never heard it before. I had heard the Techno/Dance music for years, however when I was in Holland a few years back I heard it differently then I had ever heard it before. It’s like I was hearing it for the first time all over again, only this time I fell in love with it. It was electric. I loved the way it made me feel and the fact that it made want to dance. It was FUN music. Like the early days of Hip-Hop. I guess the reason I’m saying all this is to say that I am making a record that has bits and pieces of everything I have just mentioned. It will have Hip-Hop, Pop, Techno, Dance, Rock, Latin, African, Arabic and Indian music mixed in it. However it is being done in a fresh new relevant way. Not in a corny/cheesy way at all. I PROMISE! I have added a lot of singing to what I do and my music is much more melodic and catchy. I think I will keep all of my fans pleased while also expanding my listening audience and fan base. I have also recorded some “Real Hip-Hop” joints for my die-hard fans out there who love my lyrical skillz too so don’t worry! I could never truly abandon Hip-Hop for good; it is my first and true love.

By now you have probably heard that my new album is going to be titled “RETURN OF THE BIONIC MAN”. The idea came to me as I was driving home one day.  I wanted a name that would express the change that has happened in my life, physically and musically. For those of you that don’t know, the bionic man was a character from an 80’s television show entitled “The Six Million Dollar Man”. In the show the character “Steve Austin” AKA “The Bionic Man” was involved in a crash that left him near dead. A group of doctors and scientist then rebuilt him to be better, stronger and faster with super bionic powers. This relates to me in so many ways. For starters the music business was heading downhill fast, and my health was too.

I was heading to an early grave with the type of lifestyle I was living. It consisted of “over eating” and “no exercise”, which is something that many of us are guilty of. I was weighing nearly 305 pounds and my health was deteriorating fast. I decided I had to do something not only for myself but for the people that love me as well. So, I changed everything about the way I ate and lived. I cut out all greasy and fried foods as well as anything that was filled with sugar. I began to eat like a man who was training for a heavy weight championship fight and began to work out like one too. I needed a complete lifestyle change, and that’s exactly what I did! To this day I’m in the gym everyday for at least 2 hours daily. I eat healthy, and not just some of the time, but ALL OF THE TIME. Through this healthy lifestyle I have managed to loose over 100 pounds, but what’s even more impressive, is that I have been able to keep it off for over 3 years now!  GOD IS GOOD! So, I think The Bionic Man title suits me well…don’t you? I’m looking into doing a DVD with my work out routines as well as healthy eating recipes that I have. Maybe I’ll call it “The Bionic Work Out” and the “Bionic Diet”.  I want to inspire those who don’t know how to do it and encourage those that are inspired by my own personal change for the better.

Anyway, I am so excited about this new album and hope you are as well. Like the bionic man, I feel better, stronger and faster than I ever have before. I’m back, and YES, I’m here to stay for as long as God allows me to make music for his glory. Well, that’s it for now but I will keep you all posted on things as they progress. I just wanted to “Break The Silence” for those of you who have felt “left out” or “in the dark” with my career. It’s a new day. I’m a new man. All that said… Get ready for the “RETURN OF THE BIONIC MAN”. I’m coming back better, stronger, faster and leaner than ever before! Can’t wait to share my new sound with all of you and the rest of the world! I’m out…

Your friend,

Hey everybody what’s going on! I recently did a few shows in Brazil (Which is always one of my favorite places to travel to) and while I was there I hooked up with two amazing photographers by the name of Marcelo Pretto and Gere De Sousa. Marcelo has worked with many great artist/models [...]]]>

Hey everybody what’s going on! I recently did a few shows in Brazil (Which is always one of my favorite places to travel to) and while I was there I hooked up with two amazing photographers by the name of Marcelo Pretto and Gere De Sousa. Marcelo has worked with many great artist/models in Brazil and actually teaches students at this photography School right in the heart of Sao Paulo. The studio was amazing and my good friend Gere was able to get me in to use it for the day to do a new photo shoot for this website and promo pics while I was there in town. They where so much fun to work with and I wanted to give you a sneak peak of the shoot we did that day.

I did about 5-7 outfit changes, each of them representing a different side of me. Some where serious, others where fun and crazy, some more introspective, but at the end of the day, we had to shoot A LOT of Bionic shots (Which by the way will be edited and brought to life by my amazing graphic designer Shane Parker). I hope you enjoy watching us work and put it down in the studio as much as we did taking them. It’s always fun to pose and be creative in front of the camera with a great photographer. Remember you can only get see exclusive photos here at www.houseoftbone.com Check out the video as well produced by my good friend Norman Seraidarian and his company IO Studios.