Tonee Marino is a 16-year-old independent singer/rapper/songwriter from Long Island, New York who released his first single in July of 2016 and has already amassed a whopping 17 more singles as well as an EP — talk about prolific!
Here’s 5 fast facts about Tonee!
He’s got enviable viewcounts/streaming numbers for an unsigned teen artist.
As of early 2020, I now have 3 videos that are over 1 million views each. Each time I was mind blown, and the time it took to reach a million views was less and less each video. I was surprised, but at the same time expected this. I’ve been working at my craft for a long time, and with God’s help, if you put in hard work and dedication anything can be accomplished. I feel like they popped off because of the quality of both the film and the music. Those songs also did good numbers on streaming platforms, which brings more attention to the videos.
When he rises, he’s going to take a lot of people up with him.
My biggest goal is to be at a point in my life where I can be supporting my family. I feel it’s my turn to take care of them, they’ve been supporting me for my whole life. I also want to be able to put money into kids with disabilities to help support their struggles, and spend time with them. The biggest challenge I have to overcome is getting financially stable, or signing the right deal with a label.
He’s learned to handle stress – like when DJs do THIS:
I haven’t had any specifically embarrassing moments, but something annoying that happened a few times is some DJs messing up my set on stage. That could include levels, playing the wrong song, and more. But since I’ve been performing frequently over the last year, I’ve learned to respond quickly, fix the issue, and keep my set rolling as if nothing happened.
He’s young but has brains.
I am 16 years old, most people are surprised to hear that. It’s funny because most people think I’m at least 18 or 19 when first meeting me or without asking me. I assume it’s because of my looks or me just being a mature person. I’m also a high honor roll student, enrolled in the National Honor Society, which a lot of people don’t expect.
He’s got a thing for the Big Apple.
I love Los Angeles, but New York City is still and will always be my favorite city. I love the busyness and the streets crowded with people doing so many different things. The first word that comes to mind when I think of New York is “art.” Music specifically is also a big part of New York. I just love everything about it!