The crashing and banging of drums, heavy bass licks and brash distorted guitars fill the air as a large plume of stale weed smoke hangs overhead like a thick fog after rain. This is quite the common scene that one would expect when attending your typical dive bar rock show but for A.Tone Da Priest, this is just a small part of an average day in the life.
The Atlanta MC turned rocker sits alone in his room on a Thursday night, smoking a blunt and feverishly attempting to perfect an improvised solo riffed on one of the many new compositions in his perpetually growing catalog. The crafty young man, who as of Fall 2012 had just attained a BBA in Marketing from Georgia State University, has long been a miser for getting things done proficiently and in a timely manner by never taking no or can’t as a legitimate answers. This sentiment has forced him to become an embodiment of the term “do-it-yourself” all while bringing new life to the punk ethics of old.
A.Tone, who has not only tasked himself with running his independent record label, Farsyde ENT, where his duties include but are not limited too; the creation/distribution of promotional materials and art work, video production and editing, and distribution and PR for himself and a handful of other local affiliated artist, but from the beginning he has also been his very own go-to producer and sound engineer. He commented on the topic:
“It’s a lot of hard work, but it’s worth it. Every fan I make or sale I get is directly because of work I have done, not because of a fad or some type of public herding… The criticism has been rough at times, but it’s easier to learn and adapt from when I can’t blame anyone but myself.”
Not so far removed are the days of clunky “stock sounding” Fruity Loops beats all at 140 BPM, or complaints of mixes sounding jumbled, too quiet and ages away from radio quality. Time and experience has been the best friend for the “self-taught everything” A.Tone Da Priest (who still to this day records his vocals by running in and out of the booth) allowing for a refinement of his sound through many trials and some error, emerging as not just an artist who does a lot of things, but an artist who does a lot of things well.
With influences ranging from Punk, Motown and Pop, all the way to gangster rap, the accomplished rapper with two prior albums and several mix tapes already under his belt decided that it was time break trends and move hip hop to an uncomfortable place it had never been, stating:
“It all got so pretty and polished you know (music in general) all the synths so perfectly syncopated, drum patterns robotically static, lyrics nonchalantly predictable and bubbly, everything mixed so bright and tight… Shit got boring”
An old Johnson JS-700 Cali (Strat copy) from his youth would become the catalyst to the rebirth of Da Priest’s compelling new sound as he drew from childhood favorites Sum 41, Green Day and Nirvana, an unusual claim for most hip hoppers, that would result in the song “Not Waiting”, which was released as the lead single for his 2012 LP The Fi King. Aided by a self-directed and recorded music video released on VEVO, the song features a blend of rock styled singing along with razor sharp raps which detail frustration over society’s blissful ignorance. The video includes indicting imagery of industry heavyweights (Jay Z, Oprah, Miley Cyrus, among others) who seem to fit the shoe of A.Tone’s poignant accusations.
Although The Fi King, would only go on to contain 5 other guitar driven tracks out of a total 19, it would be these songs that would set the tone for his next album October Sky and potentially for the rest of his promising career as live instrumentation became the prominent feature. He recalled:
“Once I started doing more and more songs I fell in love with composition, and performing with the guitar live. It just felt so much more natural than trying to rock the crowd with my hand or something and not needing a chain to be interesting.”
The 23-track follow up more than pushed the limits of what anybody assumed music could or ever should be, as A.Tone flew through multiple genres ranging from salsa and new wave to synth-punk and hip hop, never once stopping to think if the changes were to abrupt for the average listener. The result is a plethora of enthralling yet at times dissonant sounds which utilize unorthodox mixing techniques, passionate rapping and key-defying welts of exasperation (reminiscent of early punk bands who packed in rawness for every bit of musicianship they lacked) to drill home a feeling of youthful resilience and a punk like attitude towards everything conventional.
With a mind for business, substantial amounts excitement and attitude that never seems disingenuous, A.Tone Da Priest comes across as an artist who really loves and appreciates music and is eager to connect with anybody who feels the same. Only time will tell if his immense talent and seemingly unparalleled vision will get recognition from major labels or if he will continue to keep it punk, but one thing is for certain. The path less traveled is one of many obstacles and criticism, but as A.Tone stated, it can prove just a fruitful for those patient enough to pursue what they love and feel, and not simply what will make them rich.
