Anthony Flammia – Top of My Lungs & Pieces

By starrymag | May 30, 2019

By: Paige Zinaman

 

 

Q) How would you describe it to the people who are just discovering your music?

A) Uh, I would not describe it. I would describe my music as mood music. Um, I would describe it as medicine. I make medicine.

 

Q) To heal all your pains, huh?

A) Yeah. It was food for your soul, for your spirit, for your heart, for your mind, for your ass… It’s everything. Medicine.

 

Q) Can you tell us how “Pieces” and “Top of My Lungs” came about?

A) Oh, they both came from living life and then singing about it. I lived and I loved and then I learned and then I was singing about what I learned.

 

Q) Okay. So, let’s get a little more detail about “Pieces.”

A) “Pieces” is the product of an unbalanced relationship. Let me think. I was too scared to commit and then by the time I was finally ready to commit, and I mean really commit to that person, she had already found somebody that was ready to do it. So, it’s like a product of snooze it you lose it.

 

Q) Oh really?

A) Yeah. Snoozing, Losing then Learning.

 

Q) And the story about “Top of My Lungs”?

A) “Top of My Lungs” was the awareness of the problem within that relationship.  It was just recognizing that every time I get this deep into relationship I end up leaving screaming at the top of my lungs and I’m just trying to understand what the hell was going on. But that was my awareness of it. If there’s a problem, you can’t fix it if you are not aware of it. “Top of My Lungs” is me recognizing there was definitely something up and every time I get this far something happens.

 

Q) Now “”Pieces” has a music video out now. How did the inspiration come for music video?

A) The video was created by my team sitting down and collaborating on images that correlate with an impactful visual that relates to the song. I, myself, felt like I was in a therapy session. You know, dealing with my own shit.

We were like, “I love that.” And then just the kicker was when you told me to go see a therapist, but the therapist is helping you write the song and then when you really get deeper in you see the therapist was me the whole time. I’ve become more aware of my mental health recently. Just the importance of it in order for me to do my job and the answers always from within.

 

Q) Speaking of mental health, how important was it for people to understand the message about mental health, especially as a young man of color?

A) Yes. The most important thing when you brush off your own mental health, if it’s taboo to even talk about, then you can never really heal from anything. We all get hurt at some point. But the most important thing is being aware of it and then taking action towards growing from it. If you never tap into your own mental health and awareness of what’s going on, you don’t give yourself the opportunity to grow. So, you kind of sit still and it affects your ability to vibrate the things that you want. It affects your whole frequency and it’s taboo. Being a young black man in America, we not raised to say, “Ouch, this hurts.” You know what I mean? We’ve grown up thinking that if you show your emotions that’s a sign of weakness when in reality it’s a strength because that awareness is what allows growth. You know? That’s why I think women are the most powerful force on this planet because they all cried together. Women go to women and they go through it together. So once you tell yourself the truth and grow from it, once you encounter something similar, you established a stepping stone and you step right above it and you just keep going because you already went through it and you got through it as opposed to pretending like it didn’t hurt and just keeping moving and then walking around damaged.

 

Q) So as an artist, what are the three most important things to keep in mind as you write your lyrics?

A) Okay. Just stay honest. Raw and honest. Don’t hold back and don’t try to do what works. Just do what’s right. Do what’s real. See how you really feel and somebody is going to latch on to it no matter what.

 

Q) Which artists did you look up to growing up?

A) Stevie Wonder, Sade, Frank Sinatra, Bob Marley, Jadakiss, Jay Z, DMX, Busta Rhymes and Missy Elliott.

 

Q) Has there been a favorite song that you’ve performed or written?

A) Favorite? I love every single song that I wrote was, so every song that I make up I fall for. I love.

 

Q) For those who may not know, you are also a producer. What drew you into not only writing music but also producing it?

A) Necessity! I couldn’t wait for a producer to produce on me, so I just started doing it myself. And the quicker I started doing it myself the more useful I became in the rooms with other creating. So, now not only am I writing, but if I’m in a room with a producer that producer and I – we can help each other get better. So, it was just a new way for me to fall in love with music and grow.

 

Q) Who would you like to most collaborate with in the future?

A) There’s way too many people to just chose one.

 

Q) What do you hope listeners take away from your music?

A) I hope they feel like they know me well enough that if they see me on the street they come give me a hug.

 

Q) Is there anything you’d like to say to your fans and supporters? Anything you want them to know?

A) Thank you! I love y’all so much. I just going to keep working on giving you a 110% of myself and my music.