Born and raised in Columbus, Georgia, Tonio Armani is unlike any artist on the scene. He’s a master at his craft, and always looking for new ways to evolve as an artist. Coming up in the South, he looked at many different soul artists for inspiration, but ultimately was drawn to a style of music that incorporates soul and dance.
Signed to Death Row Records, the rebranded imprint, now helmed by Snoop Dogg, Tonio is a bit of an anomaly when you think of what the history of the label is. And that’s quite intentional and Snoop has been creating quite the ironic label cast and story with the revival of the brand. To add to that is Tonio, who is soulful to the point it sounds like he could make Gospel music if he wanted to. He’s even choosing not to curse on his songs to reach the widest audience possible.
His story is just beginning for a lot of fans, who have been introduced to him because of his viral songs, aided by the viral TikTok dances, but Tonio has been making music for almost a decade. He spent years developing a style all his own, so that he could get the attention of someone like Snoop Dogg, and be signed to label. Now it’s time for show and prove, and he’s taking that seriously.
Tonio Armani shared with Parlé how he developed his signature style, and how his upbeat and humorous song “Help Me Find My Drawls” was born. Check out our Tonio Armani interview below.
Parlé Mag: So you describe your sound as Southern soul. How do you define that in your own words? And why do you think it’s connecting with people so well right now?
Tonio Armani: I’m from the South, that’s why they call it Southern soul. But I really consider myself a soul singer. I don’t want to put myself in a box, and I want to try to take this music up North, onto the East Coast and to the West. I think my music is relatable in this time that we live in, and everybody can relate to what I’m talking about. I’m not talking about how much money I got. I’m talking about things that help you get through when you’re going through some stuff, because we all gonna go through something, but it’s what we do when we get through it. So I’m giving people good music to dance to, good music to vibe to, cook to, clean to, go to sleep to, wake up to, work out to, it’s just a good vibe.
Parlé Mag: Growing up, who were the musicians who inspired you?
Tonio Armani: For singers, Al Green, Luther Vandross, James Brown, Ray Charles. I know I’m gonna say that and it’s gonna throw your mind off. Sisqó, I like Sisqó. You can’t tell me that Dru Hill wasn’t a bad group. You cannot tell me that.
Parlé Mag: So where do you think you kind of veered off and decided to get more into dance music?
Tonio Armani: I think when the dance community accepted my music and they danced to it, because it’s just… I don’t really make dance music. I’m not telling you to go to the left, go to the right, turn down. I don’t do that. So when they come up with their own dance, and when people do stuff they want to do, they’re gonna do it. You know what I mean? So therefore, being able to have a song that people took the time to record themselves dancing to and posting it…
The other people posting it is just a blessing. Just a blessing to be a part of that community. Because a lot of people didn’t make it long in this dancing community because of the attention span of people and so many brand-new songs every day.
Watch the full Tonio Armani interview below:
Parlé Mag: So moving to your song, “Help Me Find My Drawls,” which is amazing and also hilarious, what was the inspiration behind that?
Tonio Armani: Me and my wife, we took a shower together, and I couldn’t find my drawls, and I was looking around like, “Baby, where are my drawls at?” And I’m always singing in the shower. So I was singing in the shower in a catchy way, and she was like, “This sounds pretty good.” So I’m like, kinda do, “Help me find my drawls.” And I was like, you know what, let me write that down.
And then I started telling the story because that’s how it came. First it was fun, and then we started writing to it, and I didn’t want to put it out because of my, in the beginning, my fan base was what’s considered to be Holy Ghost-filled, fire-baptized Christians. So therefore, I couldn’t do that music and this music. So I kind of shelved the record for another two years.
Because I was trying to show my family it’s just music. I don’t live the things that I’m saying, but I kind of did on that song. So I just told my wife, I said, “I’m going to put this record out and we’re going to deal with it. We’re going to deal with it.” I’m not perfect. I done made mistakes. But at the same time, I want to be an example of you can make a mistake, but what you gonna do to fix it?
Parlé Mag: You said that you didn’t curse on the whole album. Was that an intentional choice? Is that kind of your natural voice, or a little bit of both?
Tonio Armani: Well, you know, curse words box you in. You know what I’m saying? So therefore, I wanted to take the PG version so I could reach more people. So I’m like, let me take the cursing out so that I can reach more people, so that I can find my audience. And once I started taking profanity out of my music, it was crazy because I have more opportunities. I can do the national anthem. I can do family reunions. I can do weddings. I can do nursing homes. I can do whatever I want to do as long as I keep the cursing out. So, you know, it just makes you think of more words to use besides those curse words.
Parlé Mag: What do you think is the next kind of phase of your career?
Tonio Armani: I don’t know, man, it’s God today. I’m saying, “God, where do you want me to go?” I’m just trying to show people a little bit of who I am through the storytelling of the music.
Parlé Mag: Is there anything else you’d like to add for people?
Tonio Armani: I would like for people to know that I’m a human being. I’m not perfect, but I can make great music if you can just understand that this is not, it’s not real, it’s entertainment.
If they can understand that, they can appreciate me more instead of what they think. I’m signed to a label, which is people’s dream come true, to be signed, but it comes with other things too. So I thank God He put me in the music industry to show people you don’t have to do all this stuff that they’ve been pushing you to do.
Most recently, Tonio Armani teamed up with labelmate, October London to hop on the remix to “Touch On Me.” The song doesn’t disappoint, with the two helping cement themselves as the future of soul music.
Stay connected with Tonio Armani
Instagram: @tonioarmani
