Ant Clemons


Anthony Clemons Jr. is an American singer-songwriter. Clemons originates from Willingboro, New Jersey, United States and grew to prominence as a guest artist on American rapper Kanye West's 2018 single "All Mine". Clemons has since worked with a multitude of artists, including Ty Dolla Sign, Beyoncé, Jay-Z, Childish Gambino, Skrillex, Camila Cabello, the Sunday Service Choir and more. Clemons released his debut EP Happy 2 Be Here in March 2020, featuring Ty Dolla Sign, Timbaland, and Pharrell Williams.

Early life

Clemons grew up in Willingboro, New Jersey, United States. Clemons' musical taste was shaped by his parents playing Michael Jackson, The Notorious B.I.G. and Stevie Wonder. At age four, Clemons began performing at birthday parties as a Jackson impersonator. Clemons was part of the youth choir at the Sharon Baptist Church and joined The Heritage Players and Showstoppers at Willingboro High School while being a student at Burlington County Institute of Technology. At family events, Clemons would sing with his sisters Ashley and Amber as the "Clemons Trio". In 2009, during his parents' divorce, Clemons began his interest in songwriting. Clemons began recording himself and producing music with Pro Tools and Logic. Clemons attended a semester at Burlington County College before dropping out.

Career

Clemons began his songwriting career in 2016. Clemons was working at Red Lobster in Philadelphia and flying to Los Angeles every two weeks as an attempt to meet songwriters and producers. He would return to Philadelphia every time he ran out of money. Clemons' mother eventually supported him in permanently moving to Los Angeles, where Clemons slept on two friends' floor. Clemons wrote a song a day in exchange for rent. In Los Angeles, Clemons met Ryan Toby who gave him the opportunity to work on Luke James' single "Drip".
In January 2018, Clemons met American producer Bongo ByTheWay, where upon meeting each other for the first time, they recorded eleven tracks together in one day. After the two quickly became close to one another, Bongo ByTheWay introduced Clemons to American singer Jeremih. Clemons recorded the hook for a Jeremih demo titled "All Mine". Jeremih was invited to Wyoming by American rapper Kanye West and played the demo. West then incorporated "All Mine" into his eighth studio album Ye. West then invited Clemons to Wyoming to write for Teyana Taylor's second studio album K.T.S.E.. Clemons saw an increase in fame after working with West. In September 2018, Clemons was invited to Chicago by West and Chance the Rapper to work on West's ninth studio album. The album was initially titled Yandhi and Clemons was to feature on seven out of eight track. The album was released as Jesus Is King in October 2019, where Clemons was credited on the tracks "Selah", "Everything We Need", and "Water".
Clemons and The World Famous Tony Williams became the lead vocalists of West's Sunday Service Choir that formed in January 2019. That same year, Clemons worked with Beyoncé to write "Mood 4 Eva" for the soundtrack album . Clemons was invited to the 62nd Annual Grammy Awards for his work with Beyoncé, YBN Cordae, Chance the Rapper, Skrillex, Boys Noize, and Ty Dolla Sign. Clemons co-wrote Camila Cabello's 2020 single "My Oh My" featuring DaBaby; the song peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. In March 2020, Clemons released his debut project Happy 2 Be Here in March 2020, featuring Ty Dolla Sign, Timbaland, and Pharrell Williams.

Discography

EPs

TitleYearAlbum
"4 Letter Word"
2019Happy 2 Be Here
"Excited"
2019Happy 2 Be Here
"Beep"2020Happy 2 Be Here

Promotional singles

Guest appearances