Early years Keaton was born in
Manhattan and raised in
the Bronx borough of
New York City. A former
break dancer, he is the older brother of fellow old-school MC
Special K of
the Treacherous Three as well as rapper T.O.N.E.-z also known as Style or Tony Tone.
Hip-hop career In 1984,
Rick Rubin released "It's Yours"
12-inch single (Cat. PT-104/DJ000), which was the very first release on
Def Jam Recordings. Although some might argue that
LL Cool J's "I Need a Beat" 12-inch single was the first, this is not exactly true. The "It's Yours" recording was something that Rick Rubin put out a few months before joining forces with
Russell Simmons. The song was the first single to feature a Def Jam logo, but it was released through producer
Arthur Baker's independent label Partytime, The recording was never part of Def Jam’s collection of master recordings. an album also produced by
Rick Rubin and released on
Def Jam Recordings. On the Sirius XM show "Sway In The Morning,"
Ad-Rock of the
Beastie Boys pointed out that he can be heard on the backing vocals of "It's Yours."
Wu-Tang Clan did not sample Keaton in the track "It's Yourz" on its album
Wu-Tang Forever, but the chorus of that song clearly emulated him. Southern emcee
Mystikal did a remake of "It's Yours" on his 1997 album
Unpredictable. The song sampled the original drums and had a similar hook, but it had a southern twist to it as it was titled "It Yearns." On the strength of "It's Yours," Keaton was signed by
Fresh/
Sleeping Bag Records and released two albums:
Lyrical King (From the Boogie Down Bronx in 1987, and
On a Warpath in 1989. He performed in Brazil in August 2008. == Discography ==