Back when old school was new school and rap was slowly being exposed, a certain raspy-voiced rapper busted out the funky words “Wild Thing” and changed the rap world forever.

Tony Smith, a.k.a. Tone Loc, hit the scene in 1989 with a low and hoarse voice that had been unheard in hip-hop at the time. His distinct approach to rap propelled him to the top of the pop charts, making his the second rap album to accomplish the feat.

Rap is different now, but Tone Loc is just the same.

He has since become a father and an actor, but he’s still rapping. And his voice is just as recognizable.

“I’m like the Chuck Berry of rap now,” Loc rumbled nonchalantly from his Los Angeles home. “I do my little share. I just do it to have fun. I’m not really interested in trying to make a huge comeback in rap, you know.”

When Loc was growing up, a friend from New Jersey moved to the West Coast and turned him on to the breaking new style of music known as rap. Loc immediately fell in love with rap and made it his focus in life.

“This cat started rapping, and it was tight. I liked it. It was nice,” Loc said, showing a rare hint of enthusiasm. “So I just came home and tried to do the same thing, and I’ve been rapping ever since … since 1982.”

Whether Loc liked it or not, critics immediately set him apart from other rappers because of his raspy voice.

“I guess [my voice does set me apart]; I gotta be real about it,” Loc admitted. “I don’t do it intentionally; it’s the way my voice happened to come out.”

Seven years after Loc began rapping, he surfaced on the pop music scene with the release of “Loc-ed After Dark,” which contained late ’80s party anthems “Wild Thing” and “Funky Cold Medina.”

Both songs were co-written by another up-and-coming rapper at the time, Marvin Williams, a.k.a. Young MC.

But the partnership between the two radio-friendly rappers was ill-fated from the beginning and came to an end shortly after their separate records were released.

“Me and (Young MC) were two different types of people,” Loc casually explained. “I’m more of street-oriented guy, and he’s more of a college-going-to type of guy. We both have good common sense and everything else, but our party episodes were totally different, so we never really hung out that much.”

Since the glory days of Tone Loc, Young MC and MC Hammer, rap has become less pop-flavored and has defined itself as its own genre. And although Loc became the odd man out, he is happy with the success rap has endured.

“It’s totally progressing from where I’ve come from. It was supposed to be gone years and years and years ago, but it’s here to stay,” Loc said. “It gets to be something when these guys are selling millions upon millions upon millions of albums. And I’m glad for it.

“I don’t like every rapper that’s around — not personally, just their music. But that doesn’t make a difference to me, as long as they’re taking care of themselves and supporting themselves and doing well, then that’s OK.”

Along with massive growth comes massive change, and that is exactly what rap has seen throughout the ’90s. Loc is pleased that the number of people rapping and listening to rap is at a constant snowball, but he recognizes how the music has mutated into something bigger.

“The beats have gotten better; we’ve been able to orientate some more musical ideas up in there. It’s more or less music now — it’s pretty tight,” Loc said. “I wasn’t a beginner, but I was in the beginning stages of trying to get it over to the public.”

Nothing illustrates the wide expansion of rap better than looking at an Iowa concert calendar of the last year and seeing names like Run DMC, Digital Underground, Vanilla Ice and now, Tone Loc.

“I’m not really going on a tour. I mean, if nobody really wants to go see Tone Loc on tour, it wouldn’t be any big deal,” Loc said humbly. “I just go where I can have some fun and where people want to have a little fun, and we meet up there.

“We’ve done a few shows with Run DMC a couple times; we hit ’em up depending on what part of the country we meet at.”

Loc has also shared stages with acts not even close to rap, such as Hootie and The Blowfish and Bruce Springsteen.

“It’s a very odd type of card, but it’s a fun card, it’s a party,” Loc said.

While Vanilla Ice and other old school rappers are promoting new material, Loc has been sticking to his guns and plans to in Ames tonight.

“Basically, people want to hear what they know,” Loc said. “I have a few cuts that I’ve done for a movie that’s going to come out that I’m not supposed to play, but I’m planning on doing them anyway.”

One thing Loc and Ice and several other rappers of their day have in common is a long-lasting hangover from what is known in the music industry as the sophomore slump.

“Cool Hand Loc,” Loc’s follow-up to “Loc-ed After Dark,” bombed so hard it has taken him almost a decade to clean up the debris.

“I’ve done several recordings people aren’t familiar with,” Loc said. “The funny thing about me is that the last video I made was called ‘Funky West Side,’ and that was in, like, ’92. Now it’s so funny because the west side is like this popular thing out here and it was like a big deal when I had done it because they thought I was relating it to a gang situation when I wasn’t.

“And now they have all this ‘west-side this’ and ‘west-side that’ and the hand signals and everything else. I guess it’s OK. It was just a little too early for them to deal with ‘Funky West Side.'”

But Loc has kept himself busy in other ways. He kicked off an acting career on the Fox sitcom “Roc” and launched up the Hollywood ladder when he shared the screen with Jim Carrey in “Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.”

Loc, however, is the first to admit his acting career was sparked with luck and nothing more.

“It wasn’t like someone saw my terrific acting talent,” Loc said sarcastically. “I happened to be at the right spot at the right time a few times.”

Movies keep Loc busy, which is something he likes to be. He does not search for roles, but said he is definitely on the lookout for whatever comes his way.

“I would always love to do it, no doubt about it,” Loc said. “If it comes my way and opportunity knocks, and it’s a nice opportunity, I’ll grab onto it.”

When comparing movies to music, Loc is quick to defend his first love: “Whether I’m in it or not, I would rather go to a concert than go to a movie. I would rather turn on the radio than turn on a TV,” Loc said. “Music is fun; you get up and dance and party. At movies, you sit down in a chair and be still; there’s not a lot of stuff going on.”

Aside from occasional concerts and movies, Loc focuses the rest of his time on his children.

“I like to be as close to home as possible,” Loc said.

As for Loc’s future, he plans on doing what he’s been doing — a little bit of everything.

And just as rap has found a new focus, so has Loc. Ironically, that focus is the same. Money.

“My plans consist of trying to be a rich man. I’m just trying to stay wealthy and living,” Loc admitted. “Los Angeles is a lot different than living in any other part of the country because it’s expensive as hell.”

Tone Loc will play a free Veishea concert tonight at 10 p.m. at the Lied Recreation Center. The show is open to Iowa State students only and students must present an ID and fee card at the door.

Local rap/funk collective Mr. Plow will open the show.