Anthony Lucius
East Saint Louis, IL | Established. Jan 01, 2016 | SELF
Music
Press
The year took only twelve days for the release of the first great local hip-hop album in 2016. From the Illinois side of the river comes Anthony Lucius and his debut album Please Do Not Feed The Rappers, and boy, what an album it is. Bucking the Internet and street trends of the rap world, Anthony Lucius deeply layers samples, instrumentation, and lyrics to develop a personal and emotional style that is a welcome change in a climate dominated by iteration.
Having known the heartbreaking effects of homelessness in his own life, the Illinois artist avoids prototypical rap clichés and image-driven content, preferring to throw slight jabs at those (as evidenced in the album’s title) more concerned with external appearance as opposed to internal experience. The success of the album depends on that experience, as well as Anthony’s superb maestro-like skill in blending different elements of jazz, funk, and soul together poignantly.
The tracks play out as a universal story that speaks to black modernity in America, weaving in beautiful features from fellow collaborators Ike Zero, Armani Sway’ze, and Najii Person, who performs a powerful eulogy-esque outro. The result is a lasting and tragic impression of an oppressive system that is known all too well to communities of color, driving Anthony Lucius to dwell on the why and how of a majority world that has either forgotten or lacks the compassion to care about helping those lacking fortune, privilege, opportunity.
Yet, in spit of the tragedy, the reach for hope is tangible, and the sadness associated with oppression drives the search for success in conquering the system, and I hope for Anthony’s sake that he finds that success because he has created something truly special.
Please Do Not Feed The Rappers is available as a free stream via Anthony Lucius’ SoundCloud profile:
https://soundcloud.com/anthonylucius/sets/pleasedonotfeedtherappers
Follow him on Instagram @anthonylucius and learn more from his website anthonylucius.com - Delux Magazine
Discography
Still working on that hot first release.
Photos
Bio
THE 2010S HAVE BEEN AN ODD YEAR MUSICALLY FOR MILLENNIALS, BUT IT’S CLEAR THAT EAST ST. LOUIS NATIVE ANTHONY LUCIUS’ POETIC LIFE EXPERIENCES WERE A BUILD UP FOR HIS ABSOLUTE DETERMINATION AND SUCCESS IN 2016; AND HE’S NOT EVEN DONE YET. THIS IS THE YEAR THAT HE WOULD DECIDEDLY HIT US WITH HIS DEBUT EP ‘PLEASE DO NOT FEED THE RAPPERS’, WHICH WOULD INEVITABLY SEND RIPPLES IF NOT WAVES THROUGHOUT THE ST. LOUIS MUSIC SCENE. THE ALBUM EFFORTLESSLY STRINGS TOGETHER JAZZ, FUNK, AND SOUL IN A HIP-HOP MELODY THAT SPANS MANY STORIES YET HAS A SOUND THAT IS SO SPECIFIC TO ANTHONY LUCIUS. ITS NO WONDER THEN THAT HIS TEAM’S SUCCESS HAS BEEN MOVING FASTER THAN MOST OF US CAN KEEP UP WITH.
IN LESS THAN A MONTH OF THE ALBUM’S RELEASE, MULTIPLE MEDIA OUTLETS WERE CATCHING ON TO THE LUCIUS ARTISTRY. POPULAR MIDWEST BASED DELUX MAGAZINE GAVE IMMEDIATE LAUDABLE REVIEWS AND WITHIN TWO MORE WEEKS WE HEARD ANTHONY LUCIUS ON RADIO SOUND WAVES. CBS SPORTS RADIO GAVE US THE OPPORTUNITY WE WERE ALL WAITING FOR AND ALLOWED ANTHONY LUCIUS TO GIVE INSIGHT TO THE GENIUS BEHIND HIS MUSIC.
IN THE HOUR LONG INTERVIEW WE ALSO HEARD HIS MOST POIGNANT SINGLE TITLED “SIX FEET UNDER”.
THE VIDEO ITSELF PAINTS A PAINFULLY BEAUTIFUL IMAGERY OF LUCIUS’ BIGGEST LOST WHICH WOULD LATER SERVE AS ONE OF HIS BIGGEST INSPIRATIONS.
DELUX MAG SAID IT PERFECTLY,
“The success of the album depends on that experience…”
— MIKE ROTH [DELUX MAGAZINE]
IT’S PERHAPS BECAUSE OF THIS SUCCESSFUL PUBLICITY THAT ANTHONY AND THE BAND WERE ALSO ABLE TO GIVE A SOLD OUT PERFORMANCE WITH SOFAR SOUNDS IN ST. LOUIS & CHICAGO W/ CLOSED SESSIONS SINGER JAMILA WOODS.
WITH ST. LOUIS AS A FIRST SHOW FOR THE BAND, THEY WOULD DEBUT THE MUSIC VIDEO “ERR’DAY”. ONLINE HIP-HOP PLATFORM TEAMBACKPACK ALSO SHOWCASED THE VIDEO DIRECTED BY LOUIS QUATORZE, UNVEILING A HOST OF PRODUCTION VISUALS.
A MONTH LATER, YET ANOTHER ONLINE MAGAZINE, STL MAGAZINE, GAVE US THEIR TAKE ON THE “FRESH STORYTELLING” ARTIST BY FEATURING HIM IN THEIR EDITION OF STL VIDEO ROUND-UP. FEATURING BOTH VIDEOS FROM ANTHONY. NEEDLESS TO SAY, THE WRITTEN WORLD WAS IMPRESSED BY THIS MUSICAL CONTRIBUTOR.
DURING THE SUMMER, ANTHONY LUCIUS & THE BAND, EMBARKED ON A SMALL FIVE CITY TOUR [DATES INCLUDED: ST. LOUIS, CHICAGO, NASHVILLE, DENVER, COLORADO SPRINGS]. TOURING WAS A GREAT EXPERIENCE FOR THE NEWLY DISCOVERED COLLECTIVE. GETTING TO SHARE THE STAGE FOR PEACEFEST ESTL 2016 WITH GRAMMY NOMINATED R&B DIVA SYLEENA JOHNSON, ALSO GETTING TO HEADLINE WITH CHANCE THE RAPPER'S 'BLESSINGS' SINGER JAMILA WOODS.
"IT WAS IMPORTANT TO START SEEING WHAT KIND OF REACTIONS PEOPLE FELT WITH OUR SOUND. WE WORK HARD TO ENSURE WE GIVE OUR FANS A GREAT SHOW EXPERIENCE. SO WE CAN KEEP COMING BACK AND THEY CAN SPREAD THE WORD."
- ANTHONY LUCIUS
THE WORK ALONE ITSELF HAS PRESENTED ANTHONY LUCIUS WITH IMPRESSIVE HEADWAY. WORKING ON HIS NEW EP, WELCOME TO ST. LUCIUS, ANTHONY LUCIUS IS CHALLENGING HIMSELF TO KEEP TESTING THE WATERS CREATIVELY. INCORPORATING A UNIQUE CROONING TO HIS TRACKS AND NEW ADDITIONS TO THE LIVE BAND, ANTHONY LUCIUS HAS ADDED A FEMALE PIANO/VOCALIST, O'FALLON NATIVE, 20-YEAR OLD MORGAN ELLERBRAKE. WITH SUCH SUCCESS IN ONE YEAR WE CAN ONLY IMAGINE WHERE THE BAND AND EAST SAINT LOUIS NATIVE WILL BE IN 2017.
Band Members
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