Today we’d like to introduce you to Anthony Stephens.
Anthony, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
When I was growing up, I never watched cartoons or animated movies. I would always watch music videos and just watch what the artists were doing. My earliest memories as a child are watching Michael Jackson’s History compilation VHS tapes then performing the same exact moves to my family and friends. When I got a bit older, I wanted to truly make music and perform myself. When I was in 6th grade, I got a MIDI keyboard and a digital audio workstation for my birthday and that’s when it all started. I continued to perfect my craft day in and day out even until today. I came back to music around when I was in high school or college.
During this time, I was purely making music for fun as a hobby without releasing it to anybody. Now not only is their passion behind the music I make but also there is a level of dedication and competition that I love about creating music. I want to continuously perfect my craft and improve my songwriting abilities and art, creating abilities. Whether that’s studying other artists who are currently out or just taking note of how the atmosphere is to improve my own music. I’ve always felt the key to being great is to strive for greatness even after receiving positive feedback but also searching for criticism and feedback even if it’s negative. My music has improved significantly from the period that I began but I’m nowhere near where I want to be. I still want to improve and work on my craft.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
No, it definitely hasn’t. I feel as if , if something is incredibly easy and it is given then anybody would have it. Not only did I have to find “my sound” but also just encompassing a group of listeners to hopefully become fans will always be incredibly difficult. The beauty of the struggles and obstacles is that you have to value the journey rather than feeling overwhelmed or defeated. Every single artist or creator has felt that feeling before of putting out something you put your heart into but other people not feeling the same emotions but that should never prevent you from continuing to push.
Can you give our readers some background on your music?
I am an independent music artist. I have a passion for singing and creating melodies but I love to rap as well. I am trying to stand out from the crowd by creating melodic rap that also encompasses messages within the music. I released a song titled “Black James Bond” that touched based on systemic racism as well as cultural prejudice. I am releasing another soon that speaks on depression. I feel as if what sets me apart from other artists is that when I put something on a song, I mean it with passion. I want to be able to connect to my crowd and fans. I’m the same kid from Nations Ford who made it out the mud and I want people to feel the struggle with me. I want my fans to who don’t know what systemic racism is to understand it and how it hurts society. If I am making an energetic song, I want people to feel the energy and put the windows and vibe to it. Music is meant to illicit an emotion within the listener. That’s exactly what I strive to do, whether it makes you sad, mad or happy, that’s the purpose of music.
Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Theirs have been a lot of people who have helped me out on my path to grow as an artist. I have friends who gave me honest feedback on my music. When you are an artist, you have to grow a thick skin and realize sometimes people won’t like your art but you also have to be open to grow and make changes to improve artistically. Having honest friends who actually gave me in-depth feedback behind my flow and songs really helped me improve my music and they, to this day, still help me out. I also want to shout out my mom since she has been my biggest fan since day one. She was the first person I ever let hear my music and her belief in me drives me to want to keep going.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://open.spotify.com/artist/4Ructrf6iCiWM88b1VPdH4?si=BXbjuhYfR2G-3CMJVPInZg
- Instagram: @ANTSTEPHENS704
- Twitter: @ANTSTEPHENS704
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