One of the most recognizable beats to ever come out of the Bay Area belonged to Tone Capone. The producer behind Luniz’s “I Got 5 On It” reportedly died Saturday (Sept. 12) at 59, leaving behind a catalog that stretched well beyond the record most people knew by heart. According to KQED, members of Capone’s family shared news of his death Sunday. The cause has not been made public. He had been living in the Las Vegas area since 2021.
Born Anthony Douglas Gilmour in Berkeley and raised in North Oakland, Capone started out DJing while attending Berkeley High School before moving into production. By the 1990s, his sound had become part of the DNA of the Bay Area Rap scene, especially the Funk-heavy records coming out of Oakland and its surrounding cities.
Further, “I Got 5 On It” became his signature in 1995. Capone built the beat around Club Nouveau’s “Why You Treat Me So Bad,” while Michael Marshall helped round out the hook. Luniz took it from there, turning what started as a local weed anthem into a Top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100. The song never really left. It resurfaced in clubs, movies, commercials, and endless samples before Jordan Peele gave it a darker second life in Us nearly 25 years later.
Tone Capone’s Catalog Went Far Beyond One Classic
Moreover, Capone’s name sits across records by E-40, Mac Dre, Celly Cel, Dru Down, 3XKrazy and The Jacka. He produced Celly Cel’s “It’s Goin’ Down,” 3XKrazy’s “Keep It on the Real,” and worked with Mac Dre on songs including “Fire” and “Not My Job.”
His reach also spread well outside Northern California. Work with Seagram connected him with Mike Dean and eventually Scarface, leading to contributions on The Untouchable. Capone was part of the production behind “Smile,” Scarface’s collaboration with Tupac Shakur, one of the biggest records of Scarface’s career.
Scarface later named Capone among his favorite producers, putting him alongside Dr. Dre and Timbaland. Capone kept working long after the era that made his name. Last year, he joined Yukmouth and Marshall for SPIN’s oral history of “I Got 5 On It,” revisiting how a neighborhood record became something people were still playing three decades later.
No public memorial arrangements have been announced. Check out a few tributes to Tone Capone below.
