Swiss State Native Anthony Lamarr goes in more of a Hip Hop direction on the T.R.Y. project, giving us more strong messages from the Artist and Leader. The experienced stage performer and studio sensation will be making the move to Seattle, Washington soon. This will be his last project out of Madison for a while now. Bless up.
He says in a note:
“This album is dedicated to the people that know me most intimately…my family. I want to thank them for their love, patience, understanding, prayers and spiritual support.“
I was diagnosed with both bipolar disorder and alcoholism at a young age (April 16, 2016). Many know this, many don’t. Even though I have not one but two apparently extremely debilitating disorders, it’s easy for the average person to look at me and see a tall, fit and strikingly handsome exterior, listen to my deeply erotic voice and hear how eloquently I can finesse the English (and Spanish) language, and feel the irresistible charisma that I’ve captured the whole nation with. I have to laugh at it, because that’s been the only way to survive.
Most white people assume that I grew up like them. Society also rewards me for covering up the truth. I’ve opened up about my past to reporters, yet they never mention my life outside college, and when they do it’s usually with something that they made up. Look at my bio, listen to my music, then go look up the press on me. Mainstream America does not want someone like me to be a reality, and they will do anything to keep it that way. I’ve been slandered by virtually every publication in the country for no reason. But forget name calling, I’ve been thrown into so many fights in my life, I don’t glance when I’m punched in the face or cry when I snap a bone. I’m the toughest one out here.
“Old Thompson & Marb Reds”
Obviously, these things have made life incredibly difficult. On top of being mental, I grew up with little money and opportunity. Ya don’t hear me complain about this a lot – as rappers tend to do – because I know my parents work incredibly hard and I can’t discredit them for their effort, or for the progress that they’ve made. We’ve conquered huge obstacles as a family and I could never take away from the overwhelmingly positive impression that they’ve left on me over the course. The Grefe’s have had their problems, but keeping the fam close is what got us here today.
These issues have lead to a few run ins with the law, which is (I assume) the reason why the white collar Hip Hop people are also scared of me. They’re afraid, the same as the press and government. I was put through countless therapy, counseling and rehab programs by the court system. They would tell me that there was something wrong with me, I would convince them that there wasn’t, and then they would graduate me. Do we see the irony here?
The real problem with me is that I’m too intelligent, creative and motivated to be compartmentalized into one of modern society’s simple-minded classifications. This is hard for folks to understand and that’s ok. I do feel like the world is against me sometimes… but no matter how painful my past may be, and regardless of the jacked up shit flying through my head as I’m writing this sentence, I’m still alive and levels beyond anyone in my generation. One day I hope to escape this hole. For now, this is Clifton Beef. This is The Depression.
Each part of the Chapter II concept album fits into the story like a novel. Each line, each verse composes a narrative from my life. There are many different pieces to this puzzle. Rappers would call these projects EP’s. The first EP – called The Hustle – dropped on January 15, 2016. The next came a month later, called The Fall In. Following the tape for the ladies, Beef released The Depression in April and The Bars in June. After finishing up some crazy shit in California, I released my debut book Why Wisconsin Voted For Donald Trump: The Coastie Privilege, dipped from Mexico, and arrived back in Wisco to drop the full Double Major album, while homeless, and writing my second book – The Life of Cliff G: Dog. Then, I dropped the rest of the EP’s in the first week of July 2017 – The Fall Out, The Producer, The Move Out West, The Home State and The Remixes – completing Double Major on July 5.
I’m not gonna tell ya what Double Major means exactly, because it’s in the music. This is my life… The central message is that I recently graduated from the University of Wisconsin – Madison with a double major, while handling a labyrinthine set of personal circumstances at the same time.
I started out in the arts writing poetry, so finessing a little flow is no problem. I can outrap most major label artists no problem. Understand that this is not about rap, though. I create music first n foremost so that I don’t go completely fucking mental. Secondly, I do it for the squad. Even in the Midwest, Wisconsinites are outcast as drug abusing hicks. So this is for home too, this is for everyone that gets cast aside. On God, I will bring the industry to Wisconsin. This is my autobiography though and I can’t really speak for anyone but myself at the end up the day. I can only keep it Basement Made.
The Madison R&B singer is a talented performer and offers a refreshingly spiritual voice to Hip Hop. Anthony Lamarr dropped Act Two: The Way of the World on October 11, 2012. Later, he would release the visuals for “Elevation” and “Fear”.
Anthony Lamarr hits home on his fourth studio album, putting Madison, Wisconsin on the map with his beautiful Soul and Gospel infused project. This is Jump Start The Soul.
