Some artists put a lot of thought into their artist name; some go with the first one that comes to mind. Can you tell the reader how did you land on yours?
Not many people know, but I started rapping under the name Vinny Machiavelli. I really liked the way it sounded, but a lot of people struggled to spell and search the name.
Eventually, I settled on Big Fat Tony, a high school nickname. Something about the name just has that “it” factor. It’s very easy to remember and makes for a good chuckle whenever I introduce myself!
What year did you start your music journey? Who or what inspired you?
I want to say it was right around 2015. I had always had it in my heart that I wanted to pursue music, but it wasn’t until a memorable night when I had a very high fever that got the ball rolling for me.
I was sick with some sort of nasty bug that had me posted up in my bed with a very high fever. It was so high, in fact, that I started to have audio hallucinations. The music I was listening to at the time had changed and it sounded just like me singing the songs!
This made me feel like even I was capable of getting my own voice on a song and pursuing music seriously.
Did you have a goal when starting music? Is it the same goal you have today?
Sex, drugs, and rock & roll.
When I first started, I fell into the mindset that I had to be like all of the big rappers out there, you know? Like sleeping with every girl I see and doing a bunch of drugs to seem cool.
Boy am I glad to be past that portion of my life. Now I would really like the help people with the platform I am building for myself. It would be nice to provide resources for people who have been in similar struggles and situations I’ve found myself in before.
Lately, what has been your motivation to keep making music?
I mean it is always wonderful to see how much you can grow and evolve as an artist, which has been the motivation for quite some time, but nowadays, it feels like something is in the air.
I truly feel like I’m at the point where any of my next steps could be the one to really get things in motion for me. I’m not sure where or when it might happen, but I can’t wait until it does. And until then, I’ll keep chipping away at this marble God put in front of me.
What genre of music would you create if you didn’t create HipHop/Rap music?
I love this question because I was literally thinking about it in the car yesterday. I would love to start making big band music at some point. Artists like Frank Sinatra and Glen Miller really move me and inspire me to try that avenue.
I know it would be a curveball for a lot of people to see me make that kind of music, but I think it would be a really fun challenge. Hopefully, it will come sooner than later!
Do you have any advice you wish you could share with yourself when you first started your music career?
You really just have to do the things to learn how to do them. Yeah, you’re gonna suck when you start, but start anyway. Everything is like going to the gym. You only get bigger and stronger everytime you go, and in 6 months of consistent effort, you make unthinkable progress.
If you could point the reader to one of your songs to listen to after reading this interview, what song would you direct them to?
Right now, the best song that plays and people go, “Okay, THIS is Big Fat Tony,” is my song “How Are You?“
The lighthearted nature of the lyrics and beat really exemplifies who I’m trying to be. Yes, my other darker songs also reflect a side of me, but “How Are You?” is more of what I would like to start pushing out to the world.
Find more Big Fat Tony here. Follow him on Instagram.
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