D'Wayne Wiggins, founding member of soul/R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné!, dies at 64
Oakland is the birthplace of music legends and on Friday, the Town lost one of its brightest stars.
D'Wayne Wiggins, Oakland musician and a founding member of the soul/R&B group Tony! Toni! Toné! died Friday morning at age 64, the group announced on its Instagram page.
"With broken hearts, we share with you that our beloved D'Wayne passed away this morning surrounded by family and loved ones," the post's caption read. "Over the past year, he has been privately and courageously battling bladder cancer. Through this fight, he remained committed and present for his family, his music, his fans and his community."
The Instagram account had posted on Wednesday before that Wiggins had been "experiencing medical complications" and was "working through it one day at a time."
Wiggins was raised in East Oakland and attended Castlemont High School. Aside from his work with Tony! Toni! Toné!, Wiggins established his own recording studio in West Oakland called "House of Music." and is credited with discovering Destiny's Child, who would become one of the best-selling girl groups of all time and launch the career of Beyoncé.
Wiggins also worked with other major best-selling artists such as Carlos Santana, Too Short, and Alicia Keys.
The popularity of Tony! Toni! Toné! peaked in the late 1980s to the mid-90s with the group originally composed of Wiggins, his brother Raphael Saadiq—born Charles Ray Wiggins—and their cousin Timothy Christian Riley.
The group rode the New Jack Swing wave of the era, which combined R&B, hip-hop and jazz, melding in other styles including soul, funk, and gospel. The band's list of hits includes three top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100: "Feels Good" in 1990, along with "Anniversary" and "If I Had No Loot" in 1993.
Elijah Baker was Wiggins' cousin and an affiliate of the band since its inception.
"He was the leader, and just to know we lost a relative, a bandmate, a friend, boss — it's hard," Baker said.
While Tony! Toni! Tone! members started solo careers in the mid-90s, Wiggins continued to perform and mentor the next generation of music stars, including Pop Lyfe, a group featuring his sons and Oakland's own Kehlani. Those who knew him say he was all about giving people from his hometown a chance to go big.
"He's Mr. Oakland. As a matter of fact, he's Mr. Bay Area," Baker said. "He was out more than anybody. We got famous, Raphael and myself. We tried to keep our star image and not be out so much but D'Wayne was the total opposite. He's going to be out there every day. Just loved people. He loved the city, he loved the area. He deserves a street for sure."
"He's a person that really walked in gratitude," added songwriter Larry Batiste. "You know, he was able to come out of Oakland, the streets of Oakland and get a record deal. I think he was forever grateful for that. He realized he was in a great place, and he shared that love everywhere he went."
The group's hits were loved internationally by music lovers, but singers and songwriters say his songs were also uniquely Oakland.
"I think he really personified the essence of Oakland-ism. If that's not a word, let's make it one now," said songwriter and singer Fantastic Negrito. "It's, you know, the style of Oakland was a lot of street style, lot of the hustling culture, and mixed in with being a little bit eccentric, and I think that's the handprint of the Bay Area."
As news of Wiggins' death circulated among music circles, there was sadness but most of all an appreciation of the talent that was lost.
"It's a tremendous void in the music community, in the in the world and the music industry, and he's irreplaceable," Batiste said. "We'll just try to make it, make it without him, but he will be forever loved and missed."
As Baker tries to cope with the loss, there is also some regret. That all of them didn't make more of the time they had together.
"Our last album was 1996," he said. "We let like 29 years get away and we had a strong unit. I wish we can get those days back. I wish we could've talked like men. We were alpha males with egos and had our own talents and careers. I just wish I could get those 29 years back with them."
