Today we’d like to introduce you to John Anthony.
Hi John, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started writing and recording music back in 2012, burning mixtapes and handing them out to my friends in middle school. I grew a very quick attachment and love for this game early on, which led to me pursuing a career professionally. These last twelve years, I’ve publicly released six studio albums, five mixtapes, and two EPs under my own LLC independent hip-hop record label Villainous Records, which I founded in 2019. Today, my label is now co-signed with Chaos Music Group, with the addition of rapper J Mont and producer Robin Tabacca, along with a team of engineers, publishers, executives, and more.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I’d be lying if I said the journey has been a smooth one. There has been several road bumps along the way. From self-doubt, negative criticism, rejections, and downgrading comparisons, this path has been nothing but challenging. There’s been many high points and positives, don’t get me wrong, but for a long time, I barely knew if all of this was worth going through. If my dream to one day be on top of this game was something possible of happening. If this decade-long dedication has taught me anything about the hip-hop culture, it’s that through all the negatives that came and hurdles that stood in my way, it only fueled me with more rage and passion to complete this journey and be successful at this craft. I’m a guest in this world. That’s pretty obvious, knowing my background. But as long as my goal stays the same and my heart still beats hip-hop, I will earn my damn respect in this game.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I’m a producer, creator, music executive, songwriter, engineer, and publisher. But above all, I’m an artist. A musician. I don’t prefer myself as a rapper. I don’t even prefer myself as an “MC” or “lyricist”. I’m just an artist with a creative mindset to articulate a theme or story through every song, beat or image I create. I dive into the deepest aspects of hip-hop and try to emulate the culture of rap music into a modern style. I study and learn off the icons that pioneered this game and dissect their elements into mine. Many may just simply know me as a “rapper” and honestly that’s fine by me. That’s what I am if you look at the glass full. But beyond that, I try to enhance my career with as much creativity as possible, along with functioning a business mindset. What I’m most proud of is how far that I’ve come. How when looking back at my older records, I can firmly believe I’ve grown and become a much more talented artist than previously. I’ll be straight with you. Looking at my career from the audience’s eye-view, nothing sets me apart from any other independent artist trying to make a name in this industry. Just another stereotypical “rapper” releasing music. But to me, my creativity, professional mindset, skill and determination to this industry is what sets me apart from every other artist trying to make it in this field. Call it cocky, call it confidence. But I call it the realist shit I ever wrote.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
I’ve had many childhood memories that I wish I could go back to and enjoy every second. I was blessed to be raised by two amazing parents for whom those memories as circulated around. But looking at where I am today, as a twenty-four-year-old, the greatest memory that will always stick with me is the first day I fell in love with hip-hop. I was eleven years old and never heard or knew anything about rap music. I grew up listening to my parent’s music, the classic rock and roll bands like Journey, Depeche Mode, Kansas, and Styx. Even the early 2000s pop music such as *NSYNC, Beyoncé, and Usher took effect in my childhood. I remember hearing “Ms. Jackson” and “Hey Ya” by Outkast on the radio and always believing it was pop music, not rap. Those were the first few actual rap songs I’ve heard. I remember feeling a certain vibe about those songs that just felt different from every other song played on the radio until I heard 50 Cent’s “In da Club”. I still remember the first day I heard the song. I was in a car with my mother, and we were driving up to my grandmother’s on a Sunday. Not having a clue what I am hearing, I could not stop bopping my head to the beat. The song changed the way I looked at music. For so long, music was just this background feature in my life. In movies, shows, in the car, at parties. It was just this vibey sound that I never really paid too much attention to. Just enjoyed the sound. After hearing “In da Club”, my mind wanted more. I remember getting 50 Cent’s album “Get Rich or Die Tryin’” and spending hours on end listening to each song. Dissecting each song. That’s where I would then find out these musicians are “rappers” and the music I’m listening to is called “rap”. From that album, I discovered Eminem and Dr. Dre. The feeling I had after hearing hip-hop music for the first time is something I will always remember. A few months, a few weeks… maybe a day later, I don’t know… I tried writing and rapping myself and twelve years later, here I am.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://johnanthonyofficial.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/johnanthony.music/
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@JohnAnthonyRapper?si=6gTvid5wwE0mz5GU
- Other: https://en.everybodywiki.com/John_Anthony_(rapper)#google_vignette
Image Credits
John Anthony 2022 Photoshoot
