Featured Album this Week (3/7/11): “Privately Public” by Tony
This week I thought it would be interesting to feature an artist who is at the very beginnings of his musical career. This dude reached out to me via Twitter (@TonysMoment) yesterday as I was scrambling for some new music to put up on the blog for this week. I stalked him out before he had the chance to e-mail me anything.
Tony is on a pursuit to fulfill his dream of making it big in music. He’s a super busy guy, also working towards a degree in engineering and raising a toddler. I downloaded his album, “Privately Public” directly from his website for free (it was awesomely easy) and put the cans on to have a listen.
From the moment I pressed play, I liked what I heard, and I got enormous Kanye West vibes. Tony’s got a great voice for rap, but I’m a bit worried he might sound too similar to Kanye. I wanted to hear something unique in the tone of his voice, but I’m not sure I got that. Also, the production was a bit rough around the edges, and sounded (to me) more like rough demos than finished recordings.
I know it might seem like I’m being harsh, but I’m not trying to bash Tony at all. He’s just starting out on his quest to a successful music career, and I think it’s important to receive some honest critique and feedback that you can take into consideration when you hit the studio the next time around.
Overall, I think the songs on this album are REALLY. Good. Songs. They are catchy as hell, the samples are fun, and the lyrics are very meaningful. The album flows very nicely from song to song.
Tony just played his first gig (an open mic) on February 22, 2011. I think this guy is off to a great start and I’m excited to see what he produces in the future. Keep up the hustle, man! Remember, don’t try to be anybody else but yourself.
If you like what you hear, download his album for free. I did.
