Urban Industry Flashback: The Late Tony Thompson/Hi Five (vid)

Thompson was raised in Waco, TX and started singing solos in the local church choir at the age of eight. He was noticed by the first r&b group ever signed by Jive records. His group Hi-Five signed with Jive in 1990. The quintet’s self-titled debut album went multi-platinum and created several hits, including “I Like the Way (The Kissing Game),” “I Can’t Wait Another Minute,” and “Just Another Girlfriend”.[

In 1992, the group released the album Keep It Goin’ On, with “She’s Playing Hard to Get” and “Quality Time”. Faithful appeared the following year. Thompson’s solo debut, Sexsational, was released on Giant Records in 1995. Thompson formed his own record label, N’Depth, and re-incarnated Hi-Five with four new members, one of whom was his younger brother. The group’s new album, The Return, was released in 2006.

On June 1, 2007, Thompson was found dead outside an East Waco apartment complex. An autopsy later revealed that Thompson, who had a history of “huffing”, accidentally overdosed on freon.