Photo: @annamadeit | Anna Dobos | http://www.annadobos.com
Interview with On Wax Magazine: http://onwaxmagazine.com/owm/?p=27940
Houston rapper talks new project, working with A$AP Rocky
by Ural Garrett
“The Dada movement and its anti-art and avantgarde ideas are pretty prevalent in everything creative I enjoy in life. Most of my favorite music (especially punk rock and Hip Hop), films, TV shows, and visual artists seem to represent a little piece of something (or a whole lot of something) that I identify strongly with Dada.”
Fat Tony is the de facto artist in Houston’s budding alternative rap scene. Winner of the The Houston Press’s Best Underground Hip Hop award three times in a row, Fat Tony’s has been turning out quality music since his 2008 EP, Love Life.
On Wax: So for our readers out there, who is Fat Tony?
Fat Tony: Fat Tony is a Nigerian-American rap nigga that does what he does very well. Almost always maestro’d by Jamaican-American producer nigga Tom Cruz. Fat Tony: artist, actor, fun-haver, eater, entertainer.
On Wax: Where did the name come from?
Fat Tony: I wrote it on my cup one day in gym class while watching the Scared Straight movie during a pizza party in middle school. I was a lil fat boy named Anthony. I also loved The Simpsons. Wrote on my cup, my homie next to me saw what I scribbled and the name stuck.
On Wax: How did you get into music?
Fat Tony: Grew up in a house of music lovers. My daddy likes African music like high life and artists like Sunny Ade, reggae (mostly Bob Marley and Jimmy Cliff), and American classic country music. My mom was fuckin with jazz, classical music, 60′s British & American rock ‘n’ roll, and some soul aka R&B. My granny was a big fan of country music, gospel, and R&B aka soul music too. There were hundreds of records all over the home I grew up in and I loved to meddle with things, especially stuff that was electronic and/or made noise.
I also grew up watching thousands of hours of MTV and BET after school and on the weekends. Pop music was all around me and it’s hard to ignore it when you’ve got amazing talents like Michael Jackson and Prince (plus their influences) in your eyes and ears. I think the Alvin & The Chipmunks and Michael Jackson tapes got me hooked on pop music initially. Loving rap music and punk rock, especially in my teenage years, kept the obsession alive and well all the way up to this very day.
On Wax: What are some of your musical and stylistic influences?
Fat Tony: The Dada movement and its anti-art and avantgarde ideas are pretty prevalent in everything creative I enjoy in life. Most of my favorite music (especially punk rock and Hip Hop), films, TV shows, and visual artists seem to represent a little piece of something (or a whole lot of something) that I identify strongly with Dada. My favorite bands of all-time are the Ramones, Black Flag, Bad Brains, UGK, early Slum Village with J Dilla, R. Kelly, Prince, Michael Jackson, the Beatles, Nirvana, Nas, Jay-Z, Biggie, 2Pac, E-40, Too Short, Devin the Dude, Ice Cube, Beastie Boys, DJ Screw, Dr. Dre & Snoop Doggy Dogg, Murs, and Supreeme. They’ve all had a really significant impact on how I look at music and my appreciation for being good at what you do. It’s good to be good.
On Wax: As far as the alternative Hip-Hop scene in Houston, you seem to be at the top of the pack. What do you attribute that to?
Fat Tony: Having the patience to endure the unpleasantness of being an artist while maintaining a strong passionate affection and respect for what I do. I’m one of the last young rap people that came up in the days of selling tapes and CD-Rs of yourself at clubs, high schools, colleges, and various urban communities rather than letting the foundation of career be based in YouTubes and Tumblrs. Although I did master the digital age in the mid 2000′s I didn’t let it represent me completely. I was still performing and traveling more than any other rap nigga my age since my mid-teens.
I basically took what I learned from my underground rap and underground rock ‘n’ roll forefathers and applied it to my own music without questioning if my methods would be accepted or be successful. I did what I loved and what I wanted to do musically at all times and never gave in to trends and fads. I didn’t spend all that time at home and those nights up late recording me and my friends, attempting to mix albums on Cool Edit, reading about musicians in the industry, watching movies on musicians, and booking; promoting my own shows to the fullest extent for nothing. But all that shit aside, in all honesty, it’s really just because I’m exceptional at what I do. And I work with the world’s best producer Tom Cruz.
On Wax: You were recently featured on ASAP Rocky’s last project. How did that relationship come together?
Fat Tony: My man Daniel Lynas at ishlab studios in Brooklyn was recording him. I lived in New York this past summer 2011 and Lynas asked me to come through a session they were having to meet him. Tom Cruz and I rolled through. We all sat around drinking and conversing for hours while Rocky recorded “Peso” and “Get Lit”. ASAP Yams was up in that bitch too. Late, late, late in the night round 5am Rocky asked me to talk some shit on his record. I stumbled my way into the booth from my reclined position and the rest is history.
On Wax: You have an album and mixtape in the works. Could you talk about that for a moment.
Fat Tony: The mixtape is Double Dragon and will be out this Spring. It’s a collaborative album kind of like Cuban Linx with Raekwon & Ghostface. We’re bringing that producer and rapper dynamic back in the mix cause it is sorely missed. Kinda like Dre and Snoop, ya smell me? Tom Cruz and I are both rapping our ass off on most of the songs. I think you’ll love it. The album is Smart Ass Black Boy and will be out this Fall. Both records are produced in full by Tom Cruz (just like RABDARGAB) and mixed & mastered by the great Paul Katzman.
On Wax: What are some of your interest outside of music?
Fat Tony: Movies, for sure. I just acted in my first one. I’m playing a drug dealer (how fitting, right?) in a new horror film called Zombex. I’m a simple man though. Most of my interests are music related and when they’re not it’s usually all about reading and food. I love horror stories, real and fictional. I like playing with guitars and drum machines to let off steam through layers & layers of distortion and delay when I’m bored at home.
On Wax: What or who are you listening to yourself?
Fat Tony: My favorite rap niggas from last year are Das Racist, ASAP Rocky and Danny Brown. I love all the records they put out last year. I don’t listen to a lot of new music though, usually it’s just my favorite artists of yesteryear (mostly all the ones I listed as influences earlier) that get the most play.
