A Gulf War vet, he began writing songs a stint in the military in
Iraq, where as a paratrooper with the 82nd Airborne he took part in 28
combat missions. Writing songs was a life- affirming act while facing
the real possibility of dying.He got involved in the music scene in
Atlanta in the late 1990s, meeting a then-unknown singer-songwriter
India.Arie; they became friends and collaborators, with Anthony
co-writing songs on her first three albums, which spawned a number of
Grammy nominations, singing back-up for her on tour and eventually
opening for her. This visibility led to the release of Anthony's debut
album Three Chords & The Truth released in 2004 on the Atlanta
independent Brash Records, carving out a unique lane with his
personalised brand of acoustic soul.
Extensive touring revealed Anthony to be a free-wheeling, engaging
performer, able to hold a crowd with just the sound of his voice and
an acoustic guitar. A second independent album, The Red Clay
Chronicles, led to a deal with Universal Records, which released Acey
Duecy, a compilation of the best tracks from his first two albums,
yielding a hit duet with India.Arie and a Grammy nomination. Thanks to
the release of his albums by labels in the UK and Japan, Anthony
toured extensively abroad, building an international audience. His
star continued to rise as he signed a deal with Purpose Records/eOne
Entertainment which led to the release of his fourth album As Above,
So Below in 2011, which featured guest vocalists Algebra, Phonte of
Little Brother and Shawn Stockman of Boyz II Men; his duet with
Algebra, "4Evermore," became a #1 hit at adult urban radio while the
reggae/Latin-tinged "Body Language" tore up dance floors in the UK.
A tour in Kenya inspired Anthony to become part of the Give Africa
Hope campaign that brought awareness to famine in East Africa. He shot
the video for the title track of the album in Kenya. He also became
involved with AWOL (All Walks of Life), an arts program for children
in his hometown of Savannah, pushing to establish it in Atlanta in
2013. He quickly followed the release of As Above, So Below with Love
Out Loud, another album on Purpose/eOne. Signing with Shanachie
Entertainment in 2015, he released The PowerFUL Now.
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25/05/2019 Last update