A few weeks back I grabbed my camera and headed to East Flatbush to meet up with Dizz Taylor and interview Kay Anthony. This was the first time meeting him so I didn't know what to expect. What I found out was that he is a talented artist with a vision that has been through a lot of struggles many people don't face. Kay talks about it a little bit in his intro "The Hood Took Me Under" but he goes into more detail in the interview which you can find here. He mentions how his dad got locked up for selling drugs and what life was like growing up in the projects in Brooklyn, NY. Kay tells a lot of stories throughout the album but first check out what he had to say about his 10-track sophomore album The Man That I Am Now as a whole.

This album is dedicated to Arlene Garnett may her soul rest peace to a woman that showed me the ropes to life always kept out of trouble & made sure I went to church every Sunday this is dedicated to you I hope God knows he has an angle in his hands now you're A legend #RIPMOM & to Malik hold your head up high things will get better brother. This album cover was inspired by NAS one of my favorite rappers he did this with his first debut Illmatic it takes a village to raise a man It does take a village, to work with the family, to raise a child and weather the storms of life. If we want that kind of support, the place to begin is with ourselves. Community, like charity, begins at home. You start building a good neighborhood when you yourself decide that you will be a good neighbor. If you don't know anyone on your block, you can take the initiative. You can bake some bread and take it to your neighbors and introduce yourself. You can join a church and become part of that community. You can reach out to your own network of friends and start building community. My friends mean the world to me an as things get more serious as I grow I put them apart of everything I do these are my brothers they've held it down in the realist situations & now we're growing God is good god is amazing happy 21st birthday to me.

[soundcloud url="https://api.soundcloud.com/playlists/238998048" params="color=ff5500&auto_play=false&hide_related=false&show_comments=true&show_user=true&show_reposts=false" width="100%" height="450" iframe="true" /]

Kay Anthony sets the tone for The Man That I Am Now with a very personal message on "The Hood Took Me Under". He mentions growing up in the projects, moving to NYC from DC, and the struggles he endured. After listening to the first track, I knew I was going to be on an emotional ride for the next 40 minutes. The second track "The Enemy" starts out with a short motivational message from a girl from Brooklyn. I'm not sure if it's Trae Liryc or someone else but it's inspiring either way. Kay Anthony and Trae Liryc both deliver strong verses over the hard hitting instrumental. Kay starts the third track "I Am Legend" telling a story of a young man over an emotional beat. He continues his story but this time with rhymes and flows. At this point of the tape, I can already tell that Kay Anthony is one of the best storytellers in the upcoming scene. And for anyone who follows my writing regularly, you know I love a good storyteller.

"Balance" starts out with a message from Dizz Taylor, who I also interviewed that day I went to the studio. He is actually the one that introduced us so shout-out to Dizz for that. This track brings out the third artist feature on the project with Catty Kitts. She provides a beautiful hook/verse that finishes the track nicely after a touching verse from Kay. "Loosing Faith" follows which is a smooth interlude from Kay expressing his doubts. He continues his story on "Parents Letter Part 2" and features Zachary Durham, Tramia, and GLC THE ISM. He talks about how his parents made him the man he is today which seems to be the ongoing theme of the tape. This was one of the tracks he showed me back when I interviewed him and I remember it sticking out to me. It's definitely one of (if not) my favorite track on the album.

"Poverty help me understand the way of life... Poverty made me the man that I am now." - Kay Anthony

"Don't Change" addresses many topics people can relate to but the one he starts with is fake friends. What I gathered from this track is that Kay Anthony doesn't want to or need to change. You can hear it in the chorus when he says "no they can't stop me". He knows he is talented and he knows he makes great music. "Letter To My City" is an open letter from Kay to the city of Brooklyn. I feel like he had a lot of things to get off his chest and he used this track to do it. The title track "The Man That I Am Now" is a powerful poetry piece by Ky Noel. "Strawberries" is the last and final track on The Man That I Am Now and it's the perfect end to a great tape. He continues the storytelling but this time about his love life. Kay tells a great story and does it through clever wordplay and interesting rhyme schemes. He also shows his vulnerability and mentions he is looking for a nice girl but only attracts bad girls. Kay isn't heartless he just uses his heart less.

Connect with Kay Anthony
www.kayanthonyyy.tumblr.com
Twitter.com/kayanthonyth3rd
Facebook.com/KayanthonyB