Skip navigation

Rapper Tone Loc collapses during concert

Official says it appeared ‘Wild Thing’ singer suffered from overheating

Image: Tone Loc
Nick Ut / AP file
Rapper Tone Loc collapsed during a performance in north Florida early Friday.
  Celebrity video
A look inside the Jackson ‘Opus’ book
Nov. 25: TODAY’s Natalie Morales talks to Jeff Wald, the publisher of “The Official Michael Jackson Opus,” which includes a collection of rarely seen photos and tributes from his celebrity friends.

Slideshow
Image: Elizabeth Hurley
  Best and worst celebrity fashions of 2009
From glamorous gowns to stylish suits to complete fashion failures, a look at the year so far.

more photos

updated 1:58 p.m. ET May 29, 2009

PENSACOLA BEACH, Fla. - Rapper Tone Loc, who performed the 1980s hits “Wild Thing” and “Funky Cold Medina,” was released from the hospital Friday after collapsing during an outdoor concert in Florida, officials said.

A spokesman for the Escambia County Sheriff’s Department told The Associated Press it appeared Tone Loc collapsed and had a seizure because of overheating.

Tone Loc, who was born Anthony Terrell Smith, collapsed early Friday morning at the Capt’n Fun Beach Club. The Pensacola News Journal reported he was taken away in an ambulance.

Story continues below ↓
advertisement | your ad here

Colleen Kirsch, spokeswoman for Gulf Breeze Hospital, said Friday afternoon that Tone Loc had been treated at the hospital and released.

The rapper’s manager, Bobby Bessone with B.A.M. Management/Entertainment Artists Agency, said flight delays and heat contributed to the collapse. He said the rapper is recovering.

Along with his 1980s hit songs, the entertainer has also appeared in movies including “Uncle Buck” in 1989, “The Adventures of Ford Fairlane” in 1990 and “Poetic Justice” in 1993. He has done voice over work in numerous films and television shows including “FernGully: The Last Rainforest” in 1992, “Tiatian A.E” in 2000 and “King of the Hill” in 2005.

© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Sponsored links

Resource guide