Antonio Paul Williams (born October 25, 1986), better known by his stage name Antwon, is an American rapper based in

San Jose, California San Jose, officially the City of San José ( ; ), is a cultural, commercial, and political center within Silicon Valley and the San Francisco Bay Area. With a city population of 997,368 and a metropolitan area population of 1.95 million, it is ...

. In 2013, he was included on ''

Complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

''s "15 Unsigned Rappers Who Should Get a Deal After SXSW" list. He was also included on ''Complex''s "25 New Rappers to Watch Out For in 2014" list.

Biography

Born in

Key West, Florida Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, at the southern end of the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Sigsbee Park, Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Islan ...

, to an

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

father and a Filipino mother, Antwon grew up in

Sunnyvale, California Sunnyvale () is a city located in the Santa Clara Valley in northwestern Santa Clara County, California, United States. Sunnyvale lies along the historic El Camino Real (California), El Camino Real and U.S. Route 101 in California, Highway 1 ...

. He was a member of the Philadelphia-based hardcore band Leather, as well as the pop punk bands Sour Patch and How to Summer. Antwon's first mixtape, ''Fantasy Beds'', was released in 2011. In that year, he also released ''My Westside Horizon''. In 2012, Antwon released a mixtape, ''End of Earth''. ''

SF Weekly ''SF Weekly'' is an online music publication and formerly alternative weekly newspaper founded in the 1970s in San Francisco, California. It was distributed every Thursday, and was published by the San Francisco Print Media Company. The paper ha ...

'' included it on the "10 Best Bay Area Hip-Hop Records of 2012" list. In 2013, he released a mixtape, ''In Dark Denim''. It was listed as ''

Spin Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

''s "Rap Release of the Week". His first official studio album, '' Heavy Hearted in Doldrums'', was released on UNIF and Nature World in 2014. In 2016, he released an EP, ''Double Ecstasy'', on

Anticon Anticon (often styled as anticon.) was an independent record label based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1998 by seven musicians and manager Baillie Parker. It was collectively owned among six musicians, co-founder Parker, and manag ...

. In 2017, he released a mixtape, ''Sunnyvale Gardens''.

Red Bull Red Bull is a brand of energy drinks created and owned by the Austrian company Red Bull GmbH. With a market share of 43%, it is the most popular energy drink brand as of 2020, and the third most valuable soft drink brand, behind Coca-Cola and ...

placed it at number 20 on the "20 Best Hip-Hop Mixtapes of 2017" list.

Style and influences

'' described Antwon as "an affable guy who might have one of rap's biggest, best-sounding voices, which he usually focuses on goofy jokes and surprisingly sweet bedroom raps." He has often been compared to

The Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in the New York rap scene and gangsta rap tradi ...

His texts mainly revolve around sex. During his youth, he listened to

Biohazard A biological hazard, or biohazard, is a biological substance that poses a threat (or is a hazard) to the health of living organisms, primarily humans. This could include a sample of a microorganism, virus or toxin that can adversely affect huma ...

and

thrash metal Thrash metal (or simply thrash) is an Extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its overall aggression and fast tempo.Kahn-Harris, Keith, ''Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge'', pp. 2–3, 9. Oxford: Berg, ...

. He has also quoted

Kid Rock Robert James Ritchie (born January 17, 1971), known professionally as Kid Rock, is an American musician, singer, rapper, and songwriter. After establishing himself in the Music of Detroit#Hip-hop, Detroit hip-hop scene, he broke through into m ...

and

Prince A prince is a male ruler (ranked below a king, grand prince, and grand duke) or a male member of a monarch's or former monarch's family. ''Prince'' is also a title of nobility (often highest), often hereditary, in some European states. The ...

among his influences.

Controversy

In 2016, Antwon formed Secret Circle along with

Wiki A wiki ( ) is a form of hypertext publication on the internet which is collaboratively edited and managed by its audience directly through a web browser. A typical wiki contains multiple pages that can either be edited by the public or l ...

and

Lil Ugly Mane Travis Miller (born May 13, 1984), best known professionally as Lil Ugly Mane, is an American musician, rapper, singer, and record producer. Noted for his diverse style, introspective lyrics, and various side projects, Miller's work spans a wid ...

. Since then, the group released several tracks and played live performances across North America. In 2018, Lil Ugly Mane announced the breakup of the group, not initially indicating a specific reason for the breakup. Antwon posted a statement on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

, alluding to unnamed allegations. Wiki and Lil Ugly Mane subsequently indicated that the allegations mentioned in Antwon's statement, including abusive treatment of women, were the impetus for the breakup.

Discography

Studio albums

* '' Heavy Hearted in Doldrums'' (2014)

Remix albums

* ''Heavy Hearted in the Function: Depressed Teenager Remixes'' (2014)

Compilation albums

* ''Collection: 2005-2007'' (2011)

Mixtapes

* ''Fantasy Beds'' (2011) * ''My Westside Horizon'' (2011) * ''End of Earth'' (2012) * ''In Dark Denim'' (2013) * '' Heavy Hearted in Doldrums'' (2014) * ''Sunnyvale Gardens'' (2017) * ''Downtown Tony'' (2019) * ''Life In Exile'' (2020) * ''The 45 Plates EP'' (2020) * ''BLASIAN'' (2021) * ''A TIME 2 UNPACK, Vol.1'' (2023) * ''A TIME 2 UNPACK, Vol.2'' (2023) * ''IN LIFE ONLY PAIN IS REAL'' (2023)

EPs

* ''Cocaine and Hennessy'' (2012) * ''End of Earth Pre Tracks'' (2012) * ''Double Ecstasy'' (2016) * ''The 45 Plates EP'' (2020) * ''Life in Exile'' (2020)

Singles

* "Big Girls" (2011) * "Living Every Dream" (2012) * "Underwater Tank" (2012) * "Helicopter" (2013) * "Automatic" (2013) * "Dying in the P****" (2013) * "25th St. Sessions" (2016) * "FNF" (2019) * "Reign in England" (2019) * "DMT" (2020) * "Perry Jules" (2020)

Guest appearances

* Isaiah Toothtaker - "Waterbed Wave" from ''Sea Punk Funk'' (2012) * Shadowrunners - "Smooth" from ''Cyberdine'' (2012) * Mishka & Rad Reef - "Hyperbolic Chamber Music" (2012) * Hot Sugar - "No Joke" from ''Midi Murder'' (2012) * Hot Sugar - "Mama, I'm a Man" and "56k" from ''Made Man'' (2013) *

Juiceboxxx Juiceboxxx is an American rapper, producer, and label-owner based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Music Juiceboxxx released his first album in 2005: ''R U There God?? Itz Me Juiceboxxx'' on Vicious Pop Records. In 2010, Juiceboxxx released two mixtap ...

- "Pump It (Remix)" (2013) * Kitty - "Scout Finch Bitch" from '' D.A.I.S.Y. Rage'' (2013) *

- "Underwater Tank" from ''The Weeping Worm'' (2014) * Jesse Medina - "Dream Big, Think Bigger" from ''Meet Jesse Medina'' (2014) * Little Pain - "Pain Killers" from ''L.I.T.T.L.E.'' (2014) *

Pictureplane Travis James Egedy (born May 1, 1985), better known by his stage name Pictureplane, is an American electronic musician, visual artist and fashion designer based in Brooklyn, New York. He first appeared in the music scene of Denver, Colorado, m ...

- "Total Confusion" (2015) *

Crookers Crookers is the musical project of Italian DJ and producer Francesco "Phra" Barbaglia. Crookers was originally a duo consisting of Phra and fellow producer Bot, who worked together from 2003 to 2012. When the two artists met, both were trying to ...

- "Strokin'" from ''Sixteen Chapel'' (2015) * Shy Girls - "Xhampagne" from ''4WZ'' (2015) *

- "Whole Half" and "Patience" from '' Lil Me'' (2015) * Wiki - "God Bless Me (Remix)" (2016) * clipping. - "Back Up" from ''Wriggle'' (2016) * Corbin - "Something Safe" from ''Mourn'' (2017)

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1986 births Living people West Coast hip-hop musicians Musicians from San Jose, California Songwriters from California Rappers from California African-American male rappers 21st-century American male rappers 20th-century American male rappers American rappers of Filipino descent People from Key West, Florida Songwriters from Florida People from Sunnyvale, California 21st-century American rappers 21st-century American male musicians African-American songwriters 21st-century African-American musicians 20th-century African-American musicians American male songwriters