Update as of 1:56 P.M. EST – Dwayne Wiggins, one of the founding members of Tony! Toni! Tone’! has passed away.
His family issued an official statement:
“With broken hearts, we share with you that our beloved D’Wayne passed away this morning surrounded by family and loved ones,” Tony! Toni! Toné! wrote in an Instagram post published Friday. “Over the past year, he has been privately and courageously battling bladder cancer. Through this fight, he remained committed and present for his family, his music, his fans and his community.”
Sheila E., the legendary drummer, was one of the first celebrities to post the news:
“Heartbreaking news, my brother Dwayne Wiggins passed away this morning,” wrote Sheila on her Instagram. “He was the most amazing kind person. He loved life, music, and people. My brother, you will forever be missed. Your music will live forever. Rest in peace, my brother. 🙏🏽🤎💔🕊️u did soooo much for Oakland. For the community 🙏🏽🙏🏽🙏🏽 I LOVE U”
Bladder Cancer & Black Men
Black men have a higher risk of bladder cancer mortality than white men, but this disparity can be reduced by addressing socioeconomic factors.
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Risk factors
Stage of disease: Black patients are more likely to be diagnosed with advanced-stage bladder cancer.
Histology: Black patients are more likely to have more aggressive histologies.
Socioeconomic factors: Black patients are more likely to have lower household incomes and higher rates of comorbid illness.
Survival
Black patients have a lower survival rate than white patients.
However, after controlling for stage at presentation, Black and White patients have similar all-cause and bladder cancer-specific mortality.
Other factors
The disparity in survival persists between whites and blacks with similar stage, grade, and treatment.
Medicaid patients tend to be younger and have more advanced-stage, higher-grade tumors compared to patients with Medicare or managed care.
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Prayers are going out to one of the founding members of Tony! Toni! Tone’!. Yes, the group who brought us hits like “Anniversary”, “Whatever You Want”, “Lay Your Head on My Pillow” and so much more!
On March 5, 2025, the Wiggins family shared an update via Tony! Toni! Toné!’s official Instagram account. The statement read: “We wanted to share that D’Wayne Wiggins is experiencing medical complications. He is working through it one day at a time.” The family expressed gratitude for the outpouring of support, stating: “We know how beloved he is by so many, and we are grateful for your prayers and concern.” They also requested privacy during this period, adding: “We also request that you respect the family’s privacy during this time.”
Prior to the family’s statement, social media buzzed with unverified reports about Wiggins’ health. Some posts suggested he was in hospice care, while others prematurely reported his passing. These rumors prompted concern among fans and peers. The family’s clarification aimed to dispel misinformation and provide an accurate account of his health status.
The Grammy-nominated band was scheduled to appear at the Grand Theatre Center for the Arts in Tracy on March 22, but the event has been canceled, according to the venue.
The venue shared the artist(s) canceled the event “due to illness.”
Additionally, the band was slated to appear at Detroit’s Music Hall Center on May 23, but was canceled, according to Ticketmaster. It’s unclear if the event was canceled due to Wiggins’ health issues or for another reason.
Other musicians and entertainers have expressed their well-wishes to Wiggins, including Oakland natives Sheila E. and Boots Riley.
“Thinking about you man. Sending love. Get well soon and bring us the funk,” Riley said.
“Fam, [please] pray for my brother Dwayne Wiggins. He needs prayer,” Sheila E. said in a post.
Others sending tributes included singer Karyn White and musical duo Kindred the Family Soul, both saying they are sending prayers and love to Wiggins.
Tony! Toni! Tone’! is Family–For Real!
The trio is 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.
The group has 14 Billboard-charting R&B singles, including five number one hits, three Top Ten pop singles, one gold album, two platinum albums and one double platinum album. They sold over six million albums during their career together. In 2006, Tony! Toni! Toné! was included in the New Jack Reunion Tour line-up.
Tony! Toni! Toné! took a hiatus as a group after the commercial and critical success of Sons of Soul. According to vocalist and bassist Raphael Wiggins, each member had pursued individual music projects, and “the group was trying to figure out where everybody’s time, space and head was at.”[22] He, D’wayne Wiggins, and Timothy Christian Riley worked on songwriting and production for other recording artists during the band’s hiatus, including D’Angelo, En Vogue, Karyn White, Tevin Campbell, and A Tribe Called Quest.[23][24] Raphael Wiggins adopted the surname “Saadiq” for his professional name in 1994—”man of his word” in Arabic—and released his solo single “Ask of You” in 1995.[25][24] Their work outside the band led to rumors of a break-up during the time between albums.[24] Tony! Toni! Toné! eventually regrouped and began recording House of Music in September 1995.
Wiggins’ Influence on Music Reaches Far Beyond Tony! Toni! Tone’!
In 1995, Dwayne Wiggins established Grass Roots Entertainment located in his West Oakland recording studio, “House of Music”. Wiggins developed and signed Destiny’s Child to Grass Roots Entertainment. The group went on to create some of best powerhouse female performers in the game (Beyonce’, Solange, Kelly Roland) and the group is one of the best-selling girl groups of all time. He also worked with the group through three albums, which have collectively sold more than 15 million copies. He also worked with artist Keyshia Cole, who resided in the “House of Music” from 1999 to 2001. Cole was mentored and received guidance from Wiggins during that time and went on to sign with A&M Records.
He worked with some of the biggest names in hip-hop as well, such as Too Short’s “How Does It Feel” and “Hoochie”. You can also find his guitar skills and vocals on Ludacris’s “Splash Waterfalls Remix”. Plus, he formed the group Kenya Gruv, performing “Top Of The World” on the Menace II Society hit movie soundtrack.
Tony! Toni! Tone’! was on the Road to a Comeback
In 2003, members of Tony! Toni! Toné!, except for Saadiq, were invited by Alicia Keys to be guest artists on her album The Diary of Alicia Keys. The song that resulted from that session was called “Diary.” Released as a single in the fall of 2004, it gave them their first Top 10 US hit in eleven years and a nomination for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals at the 2005 Grammy Awards.
In 2023, the original lineup announced and engaged in a U.S. reunion tour, marking the band’s thirtieth anniversary of their third release, Sons of Soul, and their first tour in twenty-five years; that included their music catalogue and a few songs from Saadiq’s solo career and production/songwriting repertoire.
