Tonedeff

Pedro Antonio Rojas Jr. (born December 14, 1976), better known by his stage name Tonedeff, is an American rapper, producer, singer-songwriter and record executive. Tonedeff first gained national recognition on the underground hip-hop scene after winning a string of distinguished rap battles (i.e. "Braggin Rites"), opening shows for Common, Rahzel, The Beatnuts, Royce da 5'9", and Brand Nubian. He also appeared as a guest artist on several 12" releases, including the controversial KRS-One diss track "Clear Em Out" criticizing Nelly. Tonedeff has appeared on most of the Cunninlynguists albums, including Will Rap For Food, SouthernUnderground, A Piece of Strange, Strange Journey Volume One and Oneirology. He appeared on Immortal Technique's "Peruvian Cocaine" (on the album Revolutionary Vol. 2), playing the role of an American CIA agent in an elaborate drug trade conspiracy. He has also provided comedic skits for artists such as Masta Ace and Pumpkinhead. Tonedeff founded the QN5 Music label in 1997¹ and releases music independently, with a roster that includes himself, CunninLynguists, Substantial, PackFM, Kokayi, and Extended Famm as well as a production roster that includes himself, Kno, Domingo, Deacon the Villain and Kokayi. He continues to perform and release music internationally today.

Pedro Antonio Rojas Jr. (born December 14, 1976), better known by his stage name Tonedeff, is an American rapper, producer, singer-songwriter and record executive. Tonedeff first gained national recognition on the underground hip-hop scene after winning a string of distinguished rap battles (i.e. "Braggin Rites"), opening shows for Common, Rahzel, The Beatnuts, Royce da 5'9", and Brand Nubian. He also appeared as a guest artist on several 12" releases, including the controversial KRS-One diss track "Clear Em Out" criticizing Nelly. Tonedeff has appeared on most of the Cunninlynguists albums, including Will Rap For Food, SouthernUnderground, A Piece of Strange, Strange Journey Volume One and Oneirology. He appeared on Immortal Technique's "Peruvian Cocaine" (on the album Revolutionary Vol. 2), playing the role of an American CIA agent in an elaborate drug trade conspiracy. He has also provided comedic skits for artists such as Masta Ace and Pumpkinhead. Tonedeff founded the QN5 Music label in 1997 and releases music independently, with a roster that includes himself, CunninLynguists, Substantial, PackFM, Kokayi, and Extended Famm as well as a production roster that includes himself, Kno, Domingo, Deacon the Villain and Kokayi. He continues to perform and release music internationally today. ==Biography== ===Early life=== Born to a Cuban mother and a Colombian father in Newport News, Virginia, Tonedeff first began writing songs at the age of nine. ===Career beginnings=== Tonedeff formed a group named "The RBM Crew" in 1989¹ with three schoolmates shortly after relocating to Miami, Florida from Chicago and began recording and performing locally at talent shows and showcases. In 1993, The RBM Crew was offered a development deal by Warner Black Music and began recording the ultimately uncompleted Calligraphy. They disbanded when the label folded in 1995. In 1993, at the age of sixteen, Tonedeff appeared on The Arsenio Hall Show as a performer, taking the grand prize of the show's national talent search called "Flava of the Future". He alludes to this event in his song "Morethanthis". After fielding offers from several major labels, Tonedeff decided instead to pursue a college degree in illustration and multimedia – taking a break from his music career until taking up recording of his debut solo project The Monotone EP during his time at Full Sail Center for the Recording Arts in Orlando, Florida. ==Collaborations== ===Extended F@mm=== In 2002, Tonedeff joined with QN5 artists Substantial, PackFM, and Session to form Extended F@mm, which released the album Happy Fuck You Songs. The group described the album as an exercise in "conceptual posse cuts" with songs ranging from the Tetris-themed "Line Drop" to bad cell phone connections in "Celly". Happy Fuck You Songs was well received by critics, garnering positive reviews from underground sites such as Rap Reviews and Urban Smarts. On the success of the Happy Fuck You Songs, Tonedeff made his first appearance in The Source with Extended Famm in 2003 and appeared in a commercial for Hip Hop Week on MTV. He has also been featured in magazines such as Mugshot, Rime and Scratch. On September 24, 2012, PackFM and Tonedeff announced that Extended F@mm would be returning to the studio in 2013 for a new album. They later confirmed that all original members, including Squijee, would make at least an appearance on the new record. The album is currently being written. ===Chico & The Man=== One of the more long-awaited and anticipated Tonedeff projects is a joint-collaboration with the hip-hop producer Kno (of CunninLynguists) titled Chico & The Man. On this project, Kno is expected to handle the entirety of the production duties with Tonedeff to focus on the rapping portions. The first song from the new project released to the public was "No Hope (f/ Deacon)", which was released on the QN5 Music mixtape Asterisk:Three in 2004¹. The solemn track is a dedication to a friend of both artists who was murdered in a store robbery in 2004 in Lexington, Kentucky. The duo released their second official song, "My Lady", on the Asterisk:Four mixtape in March 2007¹. Kno has said that the album has been pushed back to spring 2010 because of his participation in the CunninLynguists United States tour in late 2009 and because of paperwork for Tonedeff. At the QN5 Megashow 2011, Tonedeff announced that the album would come out on December 13, 2011; he also previewed the first video for the project. On November 5, 2011, Kno announced on the QN5 forum that Chico & the Man would be pushed back to an indefinite date. On December 7, 2019, Kno released a snippet from the Built To Fade album called Life In Nostalgia on his Instagram, hinting at nothing but building hype for his upcoming Built To Fade album. ===Peter Anthony Red=== In 2012, Tonedeff announced his plans for his upcoming projects under the new singer-songwriter moniker Peter Anthony Red. The first song released by Peter Anthony Red was an acoustic version of "Water", a track which will be released on the full-length album. Peter Anthony Red's first official effort, a 5-track EP The Projectionist, was released for free on Bandcamp on June 26, 2012. The release was on a new Tony Rojas label, and sister label of QN5, Quintic. This EP was released as a preview for Peter Anthony Red's first full album, entitled Hyperrealism, which is scheduled to be released on June 23, 2025. In early 2013, Peter Anthony Red made his next appearances, except this time as a director and executive producer for two cover songs by Danish artist Fjer, and her new debut EP, A New Start. ===Tacos and Chocolate Milk podcast=== On March 7, 2005, Tonedeff's QN5 Music was the first hip-hop label to release its own podcast. It claims to be the first record label podcast ever, but there is some debate as to if major label Virgin beat them to the punch. The show, called WQN5, featured commentary from label artists Session, PackFM, Substantial and Tonedeff as well as guest appearances by artists like Wordsworth. Tonedeff and PackFM began a new conversational podcast on May 4, 2012, titled Tacos & Chocolate Milk. New episodes are generally released weekly, focusing on the lives of Tonedeff and PackFM, current events, the hip-hop industry, and occasionally include special guests/friends such as Kno and Mr. Mecca. Some recurring segments include "Yo Pack!" and "Evil Tony". Support behind this endeavor grew very quickly, as Paste Magazine listed the show in their July "Ten Best Music Podcasts" article, and it was also featured in the iTunes New and Noteworthy section. As of Episode #24, the podcast has amassed over one million downloads. ==Discography== Albums Hyphen (QN5 Music/Yosumi, 2001) Happy Fuck You Songs (QN5 Music/Freshchest, 2002) (with Extended Famm) Underscore (QN5 Music/Freshchest, 2003) Archetype (QN5 Music/Freshchest, 2005) Polymer (QN5 Music, 2016) Hyperrealism (Quintic, 2025) (as Peter Anthony Red) Chico & the Man (QN5 Music, TBA) (with Kno) EPs The Monotone EP (QN5 Music, 1997) The Projectionist (Quintic, 2012) (as Peter Anthony Red) Glutton (QN5 Music, 2013) (Polymer EP 1/4) Demon (QN5 Music, 2013) (Polymer EP 2/4) Hunter (QN5 Music, 2014) (Polymer EP 3/4) Phantom (QN5 Music, 2016) (Polymer EP 4/4) Compilations Cold. Killed. Collected. (2005–2010) (QN5 Music, 2011) No One Cares-Ground Original 3 (2011) Cold. Killed. Collected.2 (2011-2022) Singles "Ridiculous" Released: 2000¹ Label: Tru Criminal Records B-side: "Head's Up" "Politics" Released: 2005 Label: QN5 Music/Freshchest B-side: "Disappointed" "Bang" Released: 2011 Label: QN5 Music ==Awards== 2000: Braggin Rites MC Battle Champion 2000: Hookt (aka Da Cypha) Battle Champion 2001: The Source Unsigned Hype Battle Finalist 2006: Lollapalooza's Last Band Standing Winner ==References== ==External links== Official website Official QN5 Music Site Interviews In-depth Tonedeff interview HipHopGame Interview TheStateofHipHop Interview

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