Winston Anthony - Music is one of the most important parts of human life
If you don't mind I would like us to begin our conversation by asking you about the beginnings of your artistic career. You were born in Lilongwe, the capital of Malawi - country situated in East Africa. You spent the early years of your life in London and then you moved to New Zealand, where you are living right now and you're creating your recordings.
You started your adventure with rap music at the age of 16. Shortly after that you receive the title of "the most prominant hip hop artist to come out of New Zealand" given to you by UndergroundHipHopBlog.com. You've also performed at the prestigious Indie Entertainment Summit in Los Angeles, California. Well, it seems that the fact that you're living in a country that is not associated with rap music, didn't prevent you succeed. Tell me, when did you first get interested in music? When did you realize how important role it plays in your everyday life?
Let me start by saying thank you for having me for this interview. I have been interested in music from a very young age, I remember when I was about 5 or 6 years old living in London the dream was to be an international singer. My family even have these embarrassing home videos of when we had visitors and I had forced my little brother to do backing vocals for me while I performed an NSYNC tune (dance moves and all). But aside from the embarrassing home videos I have to say music has played an important role in my life since back then. I spent a lot of time with my older sister as a kid and she used to want to be an international singer too so I guess I picked it up from her. It only really switched to rapping as I got older and started trying new things when making music. I actually started rapping because I used to produce and write hooks for a hip hop group, but that's a story for another day haha.
You are perceived by many as a rising star and hope of New Zealand rap. As someone who will popularize this genre overseas. I wonder how would you rate the New Zealand hip hop scene? What are its advantages and disadvantages that you perceive as its representative? I ask because here in Poland we know very little about it.
Thank you again, it's a privilege to be seen as a representative for New Zealand hip hop. I guess the hip hop family in New Zealand is so close knit that we forget how we are perceived from the outside. I have to say the New Zealand scene is currently in good hands, the culture here requires us to remain as real as possible because real hip hop is what we have grown up on. When you are trying to fill the shoes of artists like scribe and Sid diamond you have to be more than just a generic rap artist and it shows in the culture. I believe that the New Zealand hip hop scene is still quite young but give us a few more years and we will take our rightful place in the hip hop world, after all that journey has already begun and I feel blessed to be caught in the middle of it.
I wonder how do you remember your childhood? Well, you quite often changed your place of residence. I guess the influence of so many cultures have to make a difference in your work, make its mark. Does anyone else in your family was also interested in music?
Yes, as I said earlier my sister used to have aspirations of being an international singer. As far as I know she still has quite a voice on her. Even my little brother dabbles in the odd freestyle here and there so we are quite a musical family. Going back to the first question I actually remember it was my uncle who got me into music, he used to play guitar for me at the age of about 4 or 5 and I remember I even learned to play "Wild Thing" with him, so music has been a big part of my family for basically my entire life. In my opinion the constant change of scenery has only made me more mature as an artist, being exposed to so many different cultures at a real residential level not just a tourist level has almost forced me to have a more open mind and allowed me to be able to write about a variety of topics. It has also made me aware of myself and my surroundings as an artist leading me to write songs which comment on social issues for example "Trayvon" and the recent "Ask Zimmerman".
Let us now turn to the subject of the album which certainly contributed to further develop your career. I'm talking about "BlankCanvas. EP". This CD consisted of seven tracks that showed the fullness of your talent. How did you recall the process of creating this album? I think it was an important project for the young artist like you…
Yes, to be honest I feel blessed that "BlankCanvas. EP" made it all the way out to Poland! I remember beginning that project quite well. Prior to "BlankCanvas" I used the alias "Breezy" which was since high school and I remember the EP was extremely important to me because it was a fresh start, a complete recreation of Webster as Winston Anthony, hence the title. With that project I really tried to make it clear as to who Winston Anthony as an artist was I wanted everybody to know that I am a rap artist so you didn't have many songs with hooks on the EP it was raw real rap tracks because I set out the goal of proving that I could rap and I guess be trusted to represent my country in the hip hop world. In saying that, that is exactly what the EP displayed and that is shown by the fact that not long after the release I was invited to represent New Zealand at the Indie Entertainment Festival in Los Angeles. While we are on the topic of this EP I would like to thank a couple people and make it clear that although what you heard was me, the EP could not have been of that standard without the help of my two very good friends Francis Lindell and Tony Douglas along with all of the producers who helped with the project.
Sorry, but I have to ask. I'd like you to tell us a bit more about a song that you've posted on your account at Soundcloud.com website. I am thinking about a song called "Strangers Again". Well, I believe it's a very personal song, right? Why did you decide to record it? What has happened in your life at that time?
This is probably the most interesting interview question I have ever received haha. Well what sparked this song was a video I saw which was called strangers again which highlighted the stages of a relationship but of course being a video it had a happy ending. At the time of watching this video I had just come out of a long relationship so I was we'll aware that happy endings didn't quite happen all the time but it was a video that I could relate to so the song was really just a commentary on how relationships can go from those perfect movie moments to those moments where you and the person you once knew so well are "strangers again".
We're talking less than a year after the release of your last solo album entitled "The Winner's Academy". How would you describe this CD? I mean, how is it different from your previous production?
"The Winner's Academy" for me was a building block. I had released "BlankCanvas" earlier that year and that had let people know that I am Winston Anthony and I can rap. "The Winner's Academy" was almost a hind sight project, letting the listeners look behind the canvas at the man who painted it, while allowing me to branch out to a wider audience. So you had tracks like "Your City" which was the anthem of the project featuring D.Cross who is an artist from Vegas that I met on my travels. This track for me was me showing that I can also do radio tracks so showing my diversity as a rap artist now so not just a rapper. You also have tracks like "SuperStar" featuring my very good friend Caitlin Ashworth who has an amazing voice and sung the hook. This song was important to me because it was the track which really told the story of Winston Anthony. It was written as a letter to a younger me telling him of where we are headed as an artist finishing the letter at the point where he transitions from "Breezy" to "Winston Anthony". This project almost told the story of my journey in painting the blank canvas while venturing past that into my growth after my first EP.
From what I know you're currently shooting your new music video for the song "Tight Jeans, Tattoos". Tell me, what can we expect from it? Who is responsible for its production?
Yes, I am very excited for the release of this song. It was produced by another good friend of mine, Sligh of CTFD. This is the first real "club banger" I have ever done so it was a cool and fun track to work on. I know a lot of people will wonder what I am doing making a club banger as it is something I haven't done yet but I have always been about showing that I am able to excel at all aspects of hip hop as we know it today so I thought it was time for me to take on a club banger and I have to admit with Sligh's help we really did a good job. I was lucky enough to get my friend Deach of SmashProof to feature on the track and for me this was huge because in New Zealand The hip hop group SmashProof are life royalty so I feel honoured to have one of them on one of my songs, for me it's like all the hard work that was put in to "BlankCanvas" and "The Winner's Academy" is paying off and giving Winston Anthony the recognition that was intended as a real representative of New Zealand Hip Hop.
Your music is described as an underground. I'm not quite agree with that, but I wonder how you would describe it from your own point of view? Well, if you'd had just a few moments how would you describe your style, the way you create your recordings?
To be completely honest I will agree with you on this one haha. I think my music is diverse and that is what I wanted from the beginning, for instance you can search on the Internet for a Tyga type of instrumental and they all sound relatively the same, you can do the same for artists like Rick Ross for example. But I really got into hip hop looking up to artists like Kanye West, Jay-Z and Eminem all artists who have successfully reinvented themselves multiple times. I believe that my music has been labeled underground because my career as Winston Anthony only began last year therefore one radio interview pointed out that I literally seemed to spring up from out of nowhere. But in continuing to display my versatility as an artist I hope to build a career which has longevity because I don't want to be just a one hit wonder so I am always working on bettering myself as an artist and pushing myself to be able to cover more of the hip hop canvas. Of course first and foremost as "BlankCanvas" displayed, I am a rapper but just because I am wrapper that doesn't mean I need to be restricted to making underground music. If I am able to create music as a whole regardless of whether it is underground or considered mainstream at the time the goal is to get my message across to the masses. To become a voice for those without one hence songs like "Trayvon" and "Ask Zimmerman".
Now let me ask you about your future plans. What do you have planned for the coming months? What can we expect from WiN in the second half of 2013?
At the moment I am currently working on my first project with Archon Records and my third project to date. "Tight Jeans, Tattoos" is apart of that project and that really displays the level of fun I am having in the industry at the moment. But you can also expect some real hip hop tracks in there as well with an RnB crossover track and even possibly a couple crossovers with other genres. This next project for me will really be my chance at cementing my place in New Zealand Hip Hop. I want to one day be New Zealand's biggest Hip Hop artist and I feel like with this next project I really need to prove myself as a real artist, seeing as I am working with legends and legends in the making alike now so the second half of the year for me is game time in every sense of that phrase. It's time to show that it really is my time and that all of the prior hard work was not for nothing.
I recall the words of the American rapper Kendrick Lamar, who describing the music industry, said: "it's easy to forget who you are." Aren't you afraid that when you actually come into existence in the minds of people all over the world, and your music will be played in the biggest radio stations, you'll change, you'll lose your inner "I"? How do you understand the concept of fame?
I think it is easy to lose yourself to fame in this industry if you get into it to chase the fame and nothing else. That is where the era of "money, drugs and hoes" sprung from. But when you get into the industry to use your art to become a voice for the people then your eye is on a different prize altogether. I think from there one instantly begins to pay more attention to what they put out because it is the people that come first not the industry and as I say on a regular basis I am nothing without my fans, so I don't plan on losing myself in the fame, all the fame will mean for me is that more people can be exposed to a message that's worthwhile.
At the end, please tell me, what music means to you?
For me music is as important as breathing. I believe that we all have souls and music for me is the language of the soul. For me this is evident in the way everybody can be touched by music in a different way on a level which normal language doesn't quite reach. I believe a life without music would be a very sad and unfulfilled life whether you are the one making the music or the one listening to the music, music is one of the most important parts of human life.
Thank you that you have found time for us. I wish you many future successes. Best regards.
Journalist: Kamil Mroziński
You started your adventure with rap music at the age of 16. Shortly after that you receive the title of "the most prominant hip hop artist to come out of New Zealand" given to you by UndergroundHipHopBlog.com. You've also performed at the prestigious Indie Entertainment Summit in Los Angeles, California. Well, it seems that the fact that you're living in a country that is not associated with rap music, didn't prevent you succeed. Tell me, when did you first get interested in music? When did you realize how important role it plays in your everyday life?
Let me start by saying thank you for having me for this interview. I have been interested in music from a very young age, I remember when I was about 5 or 6 years old living in London the dream was to be an international singer. My family even have these embarrassing home videos of when we had visitors and I had forced my little brother to do backing vocals for me while I performed an NSYNC tune (dance moves and all). But aside from the embarrassing home videos I have to say music has played an important role in my life since back then. I spent a lot of time with my older sister as a kid and she used to want to be an international singer too so I guess I picked it up from her. It only really switched to rapping as I got older and started trying new things when making music. I actually started rapping because I used to produce and write hooks for a hip hop group, but that's a story for another day haha.
You are perceived by many as a rising star and hope of New Zealand rap. As someone who will popularize this genre overseas. I wonder how would you rate the New Zealand hip hop scene? What are its advantages and disadvantages that you perceive as its representative? I ask because here in Poland we know very little about it.
Thank you again, it's a privilege to be seen as a representative for New Zealand hip hop. I guess the hip hop family in New Zealand is so close knit that we forget how we are perceived from the outside. I have to say the New Zealand scene is currently in good hands, the culture here requires us to remain as real as possible because real hip hop is what we have grown up on. When you are trying to fill the shoes of artists like scribe and Sid diamond you have to be more than just a generic rap artist and it shows in the culture. I believe that the New Zealand hip hop scene is still quite young but give us a few more years and we will take our rightful place in the hip hop world, after all that journey has already begun and I feel blessed to be caught in the middle of it.
I wonder how do you remember your childhood? Well, you quite often changed your place of residence. I guess the influence of so many cultures have to make a difference in your work, make its mark. Does anyone else in your family was also interested in music?
Yes, as I said earlier my sister used to have aspirations of being an international singer. As far as I know she still has quite a voice on her. Even my little brother dabbles in the odd freestyle here and there so we are quite a musical family. Going back to the first question I actually remember it was my uncle who got me into music, he used to play guitar for me at the age of about 4 or 5 and I remember I even learned to play "Wild Thing" with him, so music has been a big part of my family for basically my entire life. In my opinion the constant change of scenery has only made me more mature as an artist, being exposed to so many different cultures at a real residential level not just a tourist level has almost forced me to have a more open mind and allowed me to be able to write about a variety of topics. It has also made me aware of myself and my surroundings as an artist leading me to write songs which comment on social issues for example "Trayvon" and the recent "Ask Zimmerman".
Let us now turn to the subject of the album which certainly contributed to further develop your career. I'm talking about "BlankCanvas. EP". This CD consisted of seven tracks that showed the fullness of your talent. How did you recall the process of creating this album? I think it was an important project for the young artist like you…
Yes, to be honest I feel blessed that "BlankCanvas. EP" made it all the way out to Poland! I remember beginning that project quite well. Prior to "BlankCanvas" I used the alias "Breezy" which was since high school and I remember the EP was extremely important to me because it was a fresh start, a complete recreation of Webster as Winston Anthony, hence the title. With that project I really tried to make it clear as to who Winston Anthony as an artist was I wanted everybody to know that I am a rap artist so you didn't have many songs with hooks on the EP it was raw real rap tracks because I set out the goal of proving that I could rap and I guess be trusted to represent my country in the hip hop world. In saying that, that is exactly what the EP displayed and that is shown by the fact that not long after the release I was invited to represent New Zealand at the Indie Entertainment Festival in Los Angeles. While we are on the topic of this EP I would like to thank a couple people and make it clear that although what you heard was me, the EP could not have been of that standard without the help of my two very good friends Francis Lindell and Tony Douglas along with all of the producers who helped with the project.
Sorry, but I have to ask. I'd like you to tell us a bit more about a song that you've posted on your account at Soundcloud.com website. I am thinking about a song called "Strangers Again". Well, I believe it's a very personal song, right? Why did you decide to record it? What has happened in your life at that time?
This is probably the most interesting interview question I have ever received haha. Well what sparked this song was a video I saw which was called strangers again which highlighted the stages of a relationship but of course being a video it had a happy ending. At the time of watching this video I had just come out of a long relationship so I was we'll aware that happy endings didn't quite happen all the time but it was a video that I could relate to so the song was really just a commentary on how relationships can go from those perfect movie moments to those moments where you and the person you once knew so well are "strangers again".
We're talking less than a year after the release of your last solo album entitled "The Winner's Academy". How would you describe this CD? I mean, how is it different from your previous production?
"The Winner's Academy" for me was a building block. I had released "BlankCanvas" earlier that year and that had let people know that I am Winston Anthony and I can rap. "The Winner's Academy" was almost a hind sight project, letting the listeners look behind the canvas at the man who painted it, while allowing me to branch out to a wider audience. So you had tracks like "Your City" which was the anthem of the project featuring D.Cross who is an artist from Vegas that I met on my travels. This track for me was me showing that I can also do radio tracks so showing my diversity as a rap artist now so not just a rapper. You also have tracks like "SuperStar" featuring my very good friend Caitlin Ashworth who has an amazing voice and sung the hook. This song was important to me because it was the track which really told the story of Winston Anthony. It was written as a letter to a younger me telling him of where we are headed as an artist finishing the letter at the point where he transitions from "Breezy" to "Winston Anthony". This project almost told the story of my journey in painting the blank canvas while venturing past that into my growth after my first EP.
From what I know you're currently shooting your new music video for the song "Tight Jeans, Tattoos". Tell me, what can we expect from it? Who is responsible for its production?
Yes, I am very excited for the release of this song. It was produced by another good friend of mine, Sligh of CTFD. This is the first real "club banger" I have ever done so it was a cool and fun track to work on. I know a lot of people will wonder what I am doing making a club banger as it is something I haven't done yet but I have always been about showing that I am able to excel at all aspects of hip hop as we know it today so I thought it was time for me to take on a club banger and I have to admit with Sligh's help we really did a good job. I was lucky enough to get my friend Deach of SmashProof to feature on the track and for me this was huge because in New Zealand The hip hop group SmashProof are life royalty so I feel honoured to have one of them on one of my songs, for me it's like all the hard work that was put in to "BlankCanvas" and "The Winner's Academy" is paying off and giving Winston Anthony the recognition that was intended as a real representative of New Zealand Hip Hop.
Your music is described as an underground. I'm not quite agree with that, but I wonder how you would describe it from your own point of view? Well, if you'd had just a few moments how would you describe your style, the way you create your recordings?
To be completely honest I will agree with you on this one haha. I think my music is diverse and that is what I wanted from the beginning, for instance you can search on the Internet for a Tyga type of instrumental and they all sound relatively the same, you can do the same for artists like Rick Ross for example. But I really got into hip hop looking up to artists like Kanye West, Jay-Z and Eminem all artists who have successfully reinvented themselves multiple times. I believe that my music has been labeled underground because my career as Winston Anthony only began last year therefore one radio interview pointed out that I literally seemed to spring up from out of nowhere. But in continuing to display my versatility as an artist I hope to build a career which has longevity because I don't want to be just a one hit wonder so I am always working on bettering myself as an artist and pushing myself to be able to cover more of the hip hop canvas. Of course first and foremost as "BlankCanvas" displayed, I am a rapper but just because I am wrapper that doesn't mean I need to be restricted to making underground music. If I am able to create music as a whole regardless of whether it is underground or considered mainstream at the time the goal is to get my message across to the masses. To become a voice for those without one hence songs like "Trayvon" and "Ask Zimmerman".
Now let me ask you about your future plans. What do you have planned for the coming months? What can we expect from WiN in the second half of 2013?
At the moment I am currently working on my first project with Archon Records and my third project to date. "Tight Jeans, Tattoos" is apart of that project and that really displays the level of fun I am having in the industry at the moment. But you can also expect some real hip hop tracks in there as well with an RnB crossover track and even possibly a couple crossovers with other genres. This next project for me will really be my chance at cementing my place in New Zealand Hip Hop. I want to one day be New Zealand's biggest Hip Hop artist and I feel like with this next project I really need to prove myself as a real artist, seeing as I am working with legends and legends in the making alike now so the second half of the year for me is game time in every sense of that phrase. It's time to show that it really is my time and that all of the prior hard work was not for nothing.
I recall the words of the American rapper Kendrick Lamar, who describing the music industry, said: "it's easy to forget who you are." Aren't you afraid that when you actually come into existence in the minds of people all over the world, and your music will be played in the biggest radio stations, you'll change, you'll lose your inner "I"? How do you understand the concept of fame?
I think it is easy to lose yourself to fame in this industry if you get into it to chase the fame and nothing else. That is where the era of "money, drugs and hoes" sprung from. But when you get into the industry to use your art to become a voice for the people then your eye is on a different prize altogether. I think from there one instantly begins to pay more attention to what they put out because it is the people that come first not the industry and as I say on a regular basis I am nothing without my fans, so I don't plan on losing myself in the fame, all the fame will mean for me is that more people can be exposed to a message that's worthwhile.
At the end, please tell me, what music means to you?
For me music is as important as breathing. I believe that we all have souls and music for me is the language of the soul. For me this is evident in the way everybody can be touched by music in a different way on a level which normal language doesn't quite reach. I believe a life without music would be a very sad and unfulfilled life whether you are the one making the music or the one listening to the music, music is one of the most important parts of human life.
Thank you that you have found time for us. I wish you many future successes. Best regards.
Journalist: Kamil Mroziński
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