Raphael Saadiq Reveals Beyonce’s ‘Cuff It’ Was Originally Meant For Tony! Toni! Toné!

Raphael Saadiq Reveals Beyonce’s ‘Cuff It’ Was Originally Slated For Tony! Toni! Toné!

Guess who could’ve been singing “CUFF IT” instead of Beyoncé? Well according to Vibe magazine, it was revealed that it could have been Tony! Toni! Toné!

After winning his second Grammy in February for Best R&B Song after co-writing/producing Beyoncé’s “CUFF IT,” Saadiq revealed that it was originally to be sung by his musical group Tony! Toni! Toné!

“That record was going to be a Tonyies record, the part that just sounds like [mimics the ‘Cuff It’ guitar riff],” the 57-year-old singer said. “But I gave it to a friend of mine and said, ‘I got this record. I was going to do it, but what about Beyoncé?’”

 

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The Dream found the song afterwards and the magic was soon to be made. “She’s one of those people where if she’s feeling it, she’s going 100 percent in. I said, ‘It’s going to move people. And it sure did as the song went viral on TikTok and became Beyoncé’s 21st top 10 single.

Tony! Toni! Toné! is an American soul/R&B band from Oakland, California, popular during the late 1980s and early to mid-1990s.

During the band’s heyday, it was composed of D’wayne Wiggins on lead vocals and guitar, his brother Raphael Saadiq (born Charles Ray Wiggins) on lead vocals and bass, and their cousin Timothy Christian Riley on drums, keyboards, and background vocals. Originally, the band went by “Tony, Toni, Toné” as a joke, until they realized it “had a nice ring to it”.

After their debut album Who? in 1988 followed by The Revival in 1990, the group achieved their greatest commercial success with the double platinum certified Sons of Soul in 1993. Tony! Toni! Toné! disbanded after the release of their fourth album House of Music (1996), which critics cite as their best work.