T.O.K.

Founded in the early 1990s, this boyband hailing from Kingston, Jamaica was comprised of 4 young adults. Originally they were called "Touch of Klass", but they have devised several backronyms, including "Taking Over Kingston" a

Founded in the early 1990s, this boyband hailing from Kingston, Jamaica was comprised of 4 young adults. Originally they were called "Touch of Klass", but they have devised several backronyms, including "Taking Over Kingston" and "TOo Klaat" and were inspired by the stateside success of Boyz 2 Men. The group is comprised of four members: Alistaire "Alex" McCalla, Roshaun "Bay C" Clarke, and Craig "Craigy T" Thompson, who were choir members at Kingston's Campion College, and a younger friend, Xavier "Flexx" Davidson, who attended Calabar High School. They toured the local high school circuit and worked their way up to appearances at the famed North Coast hotel and lounge circuit. They would differentiate themselves from the other groups by performing covers of Bob Marley songs or "Hot Stepper", by Ini Kamoze, which was a popular song at that time.

In 1996, they were signed to Sly & Robbie's Taxi label, but were not getting much attention. Their breakthrough came later on in 1996 with the single "Hardcore Lover", recorded with Lady Saw. They scored again with hits like "Whoa" and "Ill Na Na". Still, the #1 position eluded them until 1998 when "Eagles Cry" reached the top slot in Jamaica. Their biggest song to date is the controversial "Chi Chi Man" (Jamaican slang for homosexual) in 2000, which was a long running hit and drew fire from gay rights activists from the U.K. and outside of Jamaica. T.O.K. was not alone in drawing fire. The Jamaican Dancehall scene and Jamaican culture in general has been criticized by the west as being homophobic. In 2005 T.O.K. had another hit with the song "Footprints", which touches on Christian themes.