D’Wayne Wiggins, founding member of R&B band Tony! Toni! Toné!, died from bladder cancer on Friday morning. He was 64.
His family shared the news on the band’s official Instagram page. According to the post, the guitarist, songwriter and producer had been battling cancer for a year.
“Through this fight, he remained committed and present for his family, his music, his fans and his community,” the post said. “D’Wayne’s life was incomparable, and his music and service impacted millions around the world, including his hometown Oakland, California.”
Tony! Toni! Toné! was scheduled to perform at GreyStone Amphitheater in Douglasville on April 5, but the performance was canceled “due to medical reasons.”
The band was led by Grammy-winning singer, producer and younger brother Raphael Saadiq and included cousin Timothy Christian Riley, who turned their fusion of soul, funk, hip-hop and jazz in the late 1980s and into the ’90s into platinum albums. Their up-tempo sound and tender ballads are responsible for classics like “Feels Good,” “Anniversary” and “It Never Rains (In Southern California).
Wiggins’ vocals are heard on the band’s deep album cuts and fan favorites like “Whatever You Want” and “Slow Wine.” In 1996, Tony! Toni! Toné! split following the release of its fourth studio album, “House of Music.”
Wiggins started writing, producing and developing artists. In 1995, he signed then-unknown female R&B quartet Destiny’s Child to his production company, Grass Roots Entertainment. He wrote and produced tracks on the group’s 1998 self-titled debut album, 1999’s “The Writing’s on the Wall” and 2001’s “Survivor.”
In 2000, Wiggins signed with Motown Records and released his debut solo album, “Eyes Never Lie.” It scored a minor hit with “(What’s Really Goin On) Strange Fruit.” He would go on to write, produce for and collaborate with singers Keyshia Cole and Alicia Keys.
Cole, who was a longtime Atlanta resident, posted a tribute to Wiggins via her Instagram story with prayer and sad face emoji. “love you D.”
In October 2023, Tony! Toni! Toné!’s founding members played the Fox Theatre as part of their “Just Me and You” reunion tour. It had been 25 years since they performed together.
Wiggins told DeAsia Page, AJC’s music and entertainment reporter, the members never split but just pursued other projects. “We’re family,” Wiggins said at that time. “The stage is our home, and it just feels like a homecoming.”
“When you separate and you have to go out and do things, you really come back and really appreciate what you have. We’ve worked with all of these different people, which is cool, but when we come together, you don’t have to figure it out. We speak the same language, same flow and everything just comes together,” he said.
Fans are grieving Wiggins on social media. Newark native Tiana Seabrook-Mccargo posted on Facebook that she remembers when Wiggins pulled her onstage at a Clark Atlanta University performance in 1999.
“Totally sad by his passing. That was one of the highlights of any concert I’ve ever been to,” she posted. “‘Slow Wine’ will always be my favorite.”
The family is asking that “you continue to respect our privacy. We mourn with you, and are deeply grateful for your love and support.”
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