Miss Tony and Dukeyman win posthumous Baltimore Legend Awards
The two were pioneers in Baltimore Club music.
Miss Tony and Dukeyman have been inducted into the Baltimore Crown Awards hall of fame.
All of the 2024 award winners were posted on thebaltimorescene.org sometime after the ceremony, which took place on December 8th. Both Miss Tony and Dukeyman were named posthumous titleholders of the Baltimore Legend Award for their contributions to Baltimore Club music. It was announced earlier this month that DJ Technics was also a recipient of the the same award.
Miss Tony, real name Anthony Boston, was a queer club icon known for voguing and emceeing in the early years of the Baltimore Club scene. In 1992 to 1995, he released some of the genre’s most notorious tracks, including “Tony’s Bitch Track” with Frank Ski, “Whatzup? Whatzup?,” and “Pull Ya Gunz Out.” His 2002 “Livin’ In The Alley” brought a different, more emotional approach that preceded songs like Rod Lee’s “Dance My Pain Away.” By the time Boston passed away in April 2003, he retired the Miss Tony moniker, instead going by Big Tony after becoming a born-again Christian.
Ron Hall, AKA Dukeyman, died earlier this year. He started making music in 1987 and was a prolific producer, DJ, and sound engineer who was integral in shaping the sound of Baltimore Club. His catalog is full of club classics — “Gimme Some Mo,” “Shake,” and “Best Friend” are just a few that demonstrate his distinctly soft, breaky bounce.
See all of the Baltimore Crown Award winners here.
FURTHER READING:
Joy, riots, resilience: The life of Baltimore club legend Miss Tony and the death of Freddie Gray by Brandon Soderberg, FACT
Baltimore’s Creative Community Still Looks to Queer Icon Miss Tony for Inspiration by Lawrence Burney, VICE
