Review: Tone Stith "FWM” EP
It is still so crazy to me how the internet can literally help you accomplish anything. Chris Brown is my favorite artist and during a recent spin of his song Liquor (the last 40 seconds), this time I was stopped by the background vocals that ended the track. The MELODY, although small, stuck with me the entire day. I could not stop thinking about it and singing it. And I KNEW it was not Chris. I love Chris, but this was someone else. In typical RNBNerd fashion, I took to the internet to find the responsible party, and this is where I discovered one of the song writers was Tone Stith. This was the guy! By this time (May 2021), Tone had released two projects and a third was up next and seemed to be billed as what feels like a major label-debut work, the EP FWM. I will let you put together what the acronym means. This is the focus of our review today.
Tone’s latest work sounds like a good foot in the right direction. The sound and overall production sounds refined, but not like he is overstepping or trying to be larger than life. The tone of the music is youthful, playful, flirty but it doesn’t feel juvenile. Without further delay, please enjoy my review of the best from FWM below.
When I’m With You – The song opens with a trap beat that has become standard sonic fare in the current R&B landscape. The melody is the strongest at the chorus. I imagine this is what a certain Justin aims for when he is in the booth. Tone’s delivery here is representative of what I would say the highest quality R&B music should be sounding like. After the bridge, Tone’s background vocals help flesh out the songs ending, a great build up that adds even more beautiful layers to the lyrics and music. This is more pronounced in the live version, that surely can’t be missed (for the closing background vocals alone!)
Like The First Time – We start with a longer opening, consisting of breezy acoustics that set up Tone to sing his pronounced chorus amidst a Smokey backdrop of trap beats and distant guitar riffs. The song feels dark, brightened up with sexual lyrics about how great his bedroom delivery is. Considering some of the other tracks on the EP are more vulnerable, it is nice to hear something more confident and cockier.
Keep It Real - Vulnerable and honest, Tone is very big on “just saying that”. The lyrics talk about a relationship where our man is giving all he’s got and if it’s mutual, then it needs to be said. The song switches tempo a little over a minute in and almost becomes a completely different song. He’s flirty and cocky, but it sounds fresh and not dated. The beat knocks hard and is refreshing amid the other more mid-tempo songs. You Definitely need to turn it up.
When You Love Someone - The song which features H.E.R just feels organic, especially with song lyrics that are telling a clear story. The heartbreak anthem is strung together by a simple guitar and soft thump, letting Tone tell us the story before leading into the CLASSIC interpolation of Donnell Jones’ Where I Wanna Be. No better way to tug at our heart strings, so sweet. Tone gives us another verse before H.E.R comes into rebuttal his claims, promising to make it up by making sweet love. This is all done while Tone beautifully harmonizes along with queen H.E.R and ending the song with a final breath into her lower register. Both artists are in their signature and made a great feature track.
FWM – This was my first Tone song that I found and enjoyed after nerding out from my Chris Brown story I told in the beginning. Tone alludes to his beautiful voice in a lot of track, inserting his falsetto and throwing around his plush background vocals on top of the beat. This sounds like a super refined and rich song. The echoes of Ooh yeah, ooh yeah create an atmosphere around the track that suspends the song, giving you something to hold onto even if you aren’t listening to the lyrics or anything else in the song.
Worth It – This is a solid mid-tempo with a little kick. It sounds a lot like something I hear from Austin Mahone (a song called Same Girl?), but more refined and self-assured. Tone remains in his falsetto, adoring his girl and letting her know she’s “worth it, cop the burken” … sees her working, all her curves, body perfect”. The lyrics could be considered generic or formulaic, but it’s a nice addition and another uptick on the tempo. The song is reflective of someone Tone’s age and there is nothing wrong with that. He’s a young, attractive, and talented guy. He’s got plenty of options but has his eyes set on someone special that he wants to sing about. We could all take a chapter from this book.
At The End Of The Night – I have already confessed my love for this song Instagram and the live version only solidifies my previously shared feelings. Tone sounds like an angel, his voice on this reminds me of listening to acapella versions of Boyz II Men on YouTube. It touches my soul like nothing else I have heard recently. The song builds from the first verse, with Tone taking a needed pause before blowing all of us away with that falsetto. He is accompanied by some nice strings toward the end which adds a nice touch and something that felt unexpected. His ad-libs before the close of the song resonate so much, undeniable even. I can literally sing the chorus at any point in time, on any given day since I heard it. The melody leaves a lasting impression, especially if you are partial to R&B music. It is something that I cannot explain, either you know, or you don’t. Just sit somewhere quiet and let this play, let the melodies sink into your pores. It’s THAT good.
Be Quiet - Tone scored major points with getting Kiana on this track. Kiana has been putting in the WORK as of late and really giving us the range that comes from a star who is proving she’s got it (and in spades). The song has a nice throwback vibe, the lyrics talk about the qualm between two lovers who are going through the relationship ups and downs. Kiana sounds confident alongside Tone, which feels like he’s giving her the stage to really be the feature that adds to the song. Often, features just become a name attached to a song without really contributing anything sonically. This is not the case here and is another great addition to a solid EP.
Closed Mouths Don’t Get Fed - This is one of the shorter tracks, but it packs a lot of story into the 2:16 runtime. The gist: Tone is on the rebound and it sounds like he’s got just what the girls need, but they need to let him know. Otherwise, he does not have nothing for them. The lyrics about “White Hennessy” and having her “moan until four in the morning” might create a forgettable song that is recovering already discussed topics, but it’s a nice song that adds some tempo to the slower and more tender moments on the EP. The song gives a tough vibe but with no disrespect.
Tone is very much in his lane, but it would be missed on me if I didn’t mention hearing remnants of what Trey Songz or Chris Brown have done before. But the comparisons like this are going to be inevitable, especially given that Tone has written for Chris Brown on several occasions. The album has a glossy R&B-pop sensibility that might be taken as something that’s superficial or shallow, but I think the real depth is in Tone’s gift. Strip away the lyrics and let Tone put his voice front and center, there is NOBODY out right now who sounds this pure and unworldly. Sadly, I feel like bodies of work like this are judged so critically, with reviewers always wanting an artist to debut with it all figured out already. But they are humans too. At the end of the day, Tone is coming into his own and into adulthood. He’s only going to get better. I’m a fan for life now.
