- Tonka is a New York native from Shaolin's Parkhill Projects. He fell in love with music at a young age, writing lyrics with his cousin, Dennis. He rapidly progressed to writing songs and coproducing tracks with a number of other producers. Tonka's career jump started after he got his own equipment and began laying beats with his friend, Jah Star. This led to producing tracks for other Shaolin's area artists. He worked with S.I.C., Vandalize, and Desert Eagle, among others.
Tonka took the 'New York' with him when he moved to New Jersey, but decided that wouldn't be his only change. In what would be a style defining move, he learned to play multiple instruments and began experimenting with other musical genres. He juxtaposed hip hop with everything from classical to hard rock, earning the moniker, "Street Metal." His diversity of tastes blended well with his hip hop roots to create music that attracted fans from across genres.
This fusion is best heard in his latest album, Trials and Tribulations. He gave a nod of his head to Linkin Park in 'On My Mind', paid homage to metal in 'Samething', then, just when you thought you had him pegged, he fused hip hop and classical seamlessly in the title track.
Tonka is a rising star in the hip hop genre, drawing attention for his metal/hip hop fusion, and is quite refreshing in his use of his own instruments more than sampled tracks.