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Tuesday, May 10, 2022

"Funky Cold Medina" by Tone Lōc

Top 10 Alert!
Platinum Record Alert!
Song#:  3827
Date:  03/04/1989
Debut:  60
Peak:  3
Weeks:  18
Genre:  Rap


Pop Bits:  This California rapper made a big, unexpected splash with his first single, "Wild Thing." The song would get to #2 Pop/#3 R&B/#1 Dance and go double-platinum. It was taken from his debut album Lōc-ed After Dark as was this follow-up single. It would be another smash getting to #3 on the Pop chart while hitting #7 R&B and #8 Dance. The single would also sell well enough to go platinum. The hit would help the album top the Pop chart for a week in mid-April. Eventually it would go double-platinum. A third single, "I Got It Goin' On," wouldn't do nearly as well. It could only manage to reach #59 R&B while missing the Pop chart.

ReduxReview:  This was pretty much the perfect follow-up to "Wild Thing." It was another party-leaning track that cleverly used familiar riffs from older rock tracks. Basically if you liked "Wild Thing" you were going to like this song as well. I wasn't a big fan of that tune, so this one didn't really thrill me either. However, for some reason I found this one a bit more listenable. Maybe it was the Foreigner guitar riff or perhaps the cowbell or just the fact that it is fun to say funky cold medina.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  Double Shot!  1)  This song contained several samples. Perhaps the most prominent one was the guitar lick, which came from Foreigner's 1978 #3 hit "Hot Blooded." Also included were samples from Funkadelic's 1975 "Get Off Your Ass and Jam" and Kiss' 1977 #25 "Christine Sixteen."  2) With two big party hits and a #1 album to his credit, Tone Lōc's next album was highly anticipated. Cool Hand Lōc would be issued out in the fall of '91 along with a first single "All Through the Night." Both landed with a thud. The single, which featured El DeBarge, stopped at #16 R&B and #80 Pop. A follow-up single failed to chart. With those results, the album was only able to reach #46 R&B while completely missing the Pop chart. It was a major disappointment that basically brought an end to Lōc's recording career. It happens. A star quickly ignites and shines bright, but then fizzles just as fast. In some ways, that may have been fine with Lōc. According to a couple of articles, he didn't necessarily set out to be a big music star and wasn't all that ambitious in trying to keep it going. However, the success of his debut album afforded him more opportunities. He was able to act in a few films including 1993's Poetic Justice and got work as a voiceover artist. His raspy delivery got him work on such shows as King of the Hill, Bébé's Kids, and in the 2022 reboot of the Disney show The Proud Family. He has also been able to keep on performing and has appeared on various 90s music nostalgia tours.

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