The Long Island-based modern pop artist Tonee Marino is back again with his latest single “Jefe”. Since beginning his career in 2015, Tonee has performed at iconic venues such as The Lenegndary S.O.B.’s and Citified Stadium, festivals like the Knockdown Center, and also stars in the reality t.v. show “Next Big Thing”. Tonee continues who follows his philosophy of never giving up to follow your dreams definitely comes through in his release “Jefe”. This modern release is a fully driven, high energy experience from the moment the tune begins, we couldn’t help but become blown into the back of our seats as soon as the beat kicked it, once it hits it hits like a truck. “Jefe” is full of flavorful touches but with the classic Tonee spin on it that makes for a vivid experience from start to finish, this is supported by the thundering 808 drums, the intricate synth lines, and Tonee’s tasteful organic autotune styled vocals. While listening to “Jefe”, we noticed little flairs of ear candy scattered throughout in the form of adlibs and accented drum rhythms that made the whole experience fluid. Tonee’s release with “Jefe” is not one to take lightly and since listening to this we can’t wait to hear what is next from this artist.
You can listen to “Jefe” here.
Hey, Tonee Marino! Welcome to BuzzMusic! Your latest release “Jefe” is constantly hitting us with energy from start to finish, what was the inspiration behind writing the song?
I wanted to create a song that would be fun to dance to and appeal to my Latin-American following. I loved the mariachi style guitar created by Makalo, who’s done melodies for artists like Pop Smoke, Young Thug, Nav, and more. When I made the beat around the guitar, it just gave me a really fun vibe.
We heard that you co-produce your music, that’s exciting! Who is the other half of your music? What is the workflow like between you two? How do you come up with new ideas together?
I don’t collaborate with anyone on any ideas, I create all of my music on my own. I write all of my lyrics, make my beats, and co-engineer all of my songs with my engineer Jason Cummings in the studio in NYC. I used to purchase beats online and write lyrics to them, but starting this year I’m producing on my own.
Your vocals in “Jefe” have a very organic approach to that classic autotune sound, how did you achieve this? Was this something you had in mind while you were writing the song?
I originally didn’t have the autotune on the track which still sounded fire, but I told my engineer to throw it on just to see what it would sound like. I ended up liking it, it just added extra spice to the mix.
After having performed at iconic stages and festivals, what types of goals have you set for yourself to achieve with future shows? Do you have any venues or festivals that are on the bucket list?
I want to be selling out stadiums. Major festivals. Huge crowds. I love the energy and the connection when you’re on stage in front of thousands of people. Madison Square Garden and Rolling Loud are definitely goals I want to reach.
What can we expect to see from you throughout 2020?
You can expect a new song from me every month, some new music videos, fun on my IG stories and IG Lives, as well as some shows as soon as things clear up! I have a song with Zay Hilfiger dropping on May 15th called “Oh Wow”, also videos for “Jefe” and ”Oh wow” shot in Miami! My newest video for my song “Disconnected” will be dropping April 28th. That’s my number one streamed song on Spotify and it’s one of my favorites. I am also a cast member of a new reality TV show Next Big Thing coming to Amazon Prime.