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Mista Tony



Last Updated: 11/19/2009

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Status: Single
City: Campbellsville
State: Kentucky
Country: US
Signup Date: 4/7/2006

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Monday, February 23, 2009 
A number of people have asked my opinion of the NY Post cartoon and the
hoopla in the press about it. Imma keep it real simple. I thought it
was almost ingenius. The timing. Very nice. Was it racist? Sure. Should
somebody get fired? Not hardly. It's a political satire cartoon, not
news. If you've got nothing better to do with your time and resources
using them to get those who draw cartoons and the people that hire them
fired, you and the monkey have alot in common.

click here to see what im talkin about


10:19 AM 
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Wednesday, July 09, 2008 

Category: Goals, Plans, Hopes


50 States

Someone one said that life is too short, which couldn't have been more true today as I went to the funeral for Tez Money, who was gunned down in Louisville, KY last week at the young age of 25. Wow. He had a son too. I still can't believe he's dead but he is. He was a good dude.

   I got to the New Jersalem Baptist Church and found out the service started an hour later than I thought. The empty parking lot except for a lone hearse and a coupla cars should have been an clue but I took advantage of the time to go in and pay my respects and view his body. The last thing Tez said to me was "Get at me", because he wanted to get some footage for his DVD project. I hadn't talked to him since and as I stood over his lifeless body I thought about the times we had spent together and I said to him, "I'm at you." I could feel nothing but disappointment that we hadn't had a chance to help him realize his dream making it one day in the music industry.

   A son, a father, a brother and friend I met Tez Money during my first year working on Street Credit in 2005, while filming a project for GMC, the hip hop group he was a part of and he was fun to be around. I loved his spirit and he always complained about not gettin enough footage. We even travelled out of town together and he would sometime drop by mu house, and it seemed like I was always running into him somewhere while workin on somebody else's project.

   Tez lost his life on the same day I was celebrating another year of mine, and I got the call about his murder the next day, which, looking back, I am thankful for the late news as it would have been hard to enjoy my birthday knowing he would never celebrate any more of his.

   I sat in the back of the packed church during the service, looking at all the people he had affected, alot who undoubtedly knew him alot better than I did. I didn't even know his real name was Martess Bethel until I read about his killing online. There were people there who loved him, and some sobbed openly, others wiped away tears, and I even heard a lady ask why did this happen. Though we will never know the answer, we were all given comfort by words from a cat named Kevin that touched us all.  The minister delivered his eulogy while kids were getting restless, having little idea of what was going on around them other than the fact that a church service was taking place.

   After the service was over and the casket was put into the hearse for Tez Money's final ride, after the hugs and handshakes between the mourners, family and friends, after I had met his mother and tried to offer her what little comfort I could, and I was on the long ride home, I couldn't help but to think back almost exactly 2 years ago when Smurda, another Street Credit soldier was gunned down, as well as numerous others that I have filmed over the past 3 years who have also died violently. I was saddened back then that another black man was killed and I feel the same way now.

Tez, you will be missed, and the full impact of losing you hasn't even hit your family yet I'm sure. I loved ya spirit man. Hate that we didn't get more footage so we can put you somethin nice together. But you already know Street Credit gone hold u down. Your music will always live through us.

COURIER'>http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2008307020018">COURIER JOURNAL - Read more about Tez Money's murder here


FOX41'>http://fox41.com/Global/story.asp?S=8611296">FOX41 - Read more about Tez Money's murder here


WHAS'>http://www.whas.com/script2/print.php?page=/cc-common/news/sections/newsarticle.html&article_id=3904259&feed_id=145498">WHAS 11 - Read more about Tez Money's murder here

5:28 PM 
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Friday, January 04, 2008 
Tonite I watched a page being turned in the history of this country when Barack Obama won the democratic caucus in the presidential race in Iowa. I haven't been a Democrat for many years and I don't plan on changing that anytime soon, but I was truly impressed by the widespread support he was able to achieve, so much so that I am wondering if I could support a democratic candidate myself. But what was far more impressive was the acceptance speech he gave that was inspirational and almost breathtaking in his ability to create a sense that through him positive change could be achieved. I haven't studied his platform and most of what I've heard from him before tonite consisted of mainly soundbites, I admit that I will give him a second look and appreciate the energy and hope that he brings to the campaign.

I also have to say to that I also realized how short sighted I've become to think that a black man couldn't reach the same level as a white man on the political plain and that if he can do what seemed unbelievable, what can I achieve that also looked unimaginable. Whether he ultimately wins or loses is left up to the future, but Barack Obama has definitely given a lot of people hope that they too can do whatever their minds can conceive.
5:23 AM 
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Sunday, December 30, 2007 
This past week is still fresh in my mind and one of which I have mixed emotions. The same day I went to a funeral of a brother who did a lot for the community throughout the city of Louisville but was cut down by a masked gunman while he was cutting a patron's hair, a great leader who stood up for her beliefs even though it cost her life was also laid to rest. Even though these two people were worlds apart and from different countries and backgrounds, I couldn't help but draw a parallel between the murders of both these individuals whose killings were both shocking and saddening. One I knew, the other I did not. Big Don and Benezair Bhutto probably didn't have much in common other than the fact that both of them wanted to better the situation of many people, one a woman from the aristocracy of India, the other from the inner city of Louisville, KY, but both were cut down by violence. Earlier this week I was stunned to hear about Big Don, and the senseless way in which he died, and even more when I heard the news about Bhutto. Both had pasts that were questionable, though one could never question the committment each had to making the world a better place, one a city the other a country. Bhutto knew that in her fight for democracy she was risking her life, but Donald Boyd never thought he would lose his in a business he had owned for years while on the job. Both deaths will have a lasting impact, Pakistan already being gripped with violence and unrest, Big Don's family and friends trying to cope with losing a man that was a pillar in the community who sponsored little league football teams and put kids through college. I am inspired by Bhutto and Big Don to do more to make a difference in the world, maybe not affect a country or even a city, but enough that my eulogy will be half what theirs was.
6:00 AM 
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Thursday, November 15, 2007 

Where I Live is one of those songs that really spoke to what I was feeling at the time I wrote it. It was kind of a difficult time for me back in 2004, I had left a church that I was playing at for a number of years and things weren't going that well, which made me question the meaning of life and what was happening in the world. I actually recorded the music on my laptop and wrote the words around Sept 11 of that year but put it on the shelf until I met Angela Wilkins, who I was introduced to thru this cat named David. He let me hear a song she had done "Handlin My Biz" and I was blown away by her talent and really wanted to work with her so that next week she came into the studio an I asked her to try singing a lil bit of "Where I Live" just to see what she sounded like on it. She sang it just like I wanted and I thought it came out very well. The version is only a rough draft and we are going to re-record it soon and have it professionally done and all but I have to give props to Angela for making the words really come alive for me. It was sort of a milestone in my music career because I had never had anyone sing anything I had written before because I had always been kinda closed with my projects. But she did it justice and I look forward to working with her more in the future and it gave me alot more confidence to collaborate with other artists on my music. It's not a platinum track or hit single or anything but I think the words might speak to somebody and help them through a difficult time. Let me know what you think about the song.

 

© Anthony Johnson | Mr. P.C. Publishing

Life's so hard I'm lookin for an easy way out
Torn apart I haven't laughted in so long
Still lookin for what I never seem to find
Took me more than just a little of my time
But where I live nothing seems to matter
Where I live everyone is afraid
Where I live love is a memory
Will you remember me when I'm gone

I'm satisfied that I did the best that I could
It all passed me by but I tried to do what good
No shelter livin helter skelter everyday
Lord please save me from this old world I pray

Cuz where I live nothing seems to matter
Where I live everyone is afraid
Where I live love is a memory
Will you remember me when I'm gone

8:40 PM 
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Wednesday, September 13, 2006 

Category: Music
To all the folks trying to figure out what happened to the Top 10, our mySpace account was down so we couldn't change anything on our page. Please next time dont blow up my phone and bombarb my email. But just in case it happens again, if you just type StreetCredit.TV it should get you together. I hope they get to the bottom of it so it won't happen again. But considering how many problems mySpace has experienced recently...

Anyway, thankx to everybody that's been checkin out the videos. We appreciate you so much. I know it may seem like we're too busy sometimes, we are simply tryin to improve our product and build a better brand. So when we can't reply to your message right away, be patient with us, we'll get back to you.

People are always askin how can they help us with Street Credit and God knows that we do. The best thing you can do is: 1) buy a DVD... 2) tell somebody else about Street Credit and what a real movement we have goin down. The first one is pretty much the only one that's gonna  cost you anything. And $16 including shipping is very reasonable for both our DVDs, which includes Derby Edition (double disc), and King of the Bluegrass which was 120 minutes of non-stop action. Between these two discs, you got pretty much everybody holdin it down in the state of Ky, as well as some of the mainstream artists that holdin weight in the street tell you how Street Credit gets down. Plus there might even be some artists that keep it all the way real and throw in some free cds or for promotion, since they know we will help to get it out there.

The second is a whole lot easier. Everytime somebody tells somebody about us, it gives Street Credit more Street Credit. I know it sounds funny but we need as much as we can get but we are thankful for what we already got. So if yall could hold us down by tellin your peoples about us, all our friends on myspace. Matter of fact send them a bulletin or copy this convenient one. Go to our video clips, click on them, and bulletin them to your friends. This will help easily spread the word about the Street Credit movement. You can even copy (cntrl + C) the embed code of one of our video clips and add it (cntrl + V )to your profile page or as a comment. Haters, you can even do this too so your peoples can see what you hatin' on.

Street Credit is already blowin. Thanks to yall. One day we gone all be proud of how far we've come. We steady grind cuz we got a ong way to go. Ride wid us!

Mista Tony
Street Credit Inc
CEO
10:06 PM 
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Tuesday, June 06, 2006 
People ask me all the time how long I've been playing keys and I have to say that I've been at it a long time. I first started playing when I was little, probably about 4 or maybe even longer. I remember trying to figure out the old gospel hymns I would hear in church and at home. My parents would have me show what I could do to their friends and they would trip out hearing a kid do his that. At first it was just one little baby finger plunkin out melodies and then I started progressing to chords. As a teenager I fell in love with jazz, listening to Marian McPartland's Piano Jazz on NPR radio and I was never the same. After that I devoted most of my time trying to play like the piano players I was hearing on the jazz records like Thelonious Monk and Duke Ellington but when I heard John Coltrane's music, it was like another world for me, even though he was a sax player. Miles Davis's "Kind of Blue" is still my favorite album of all time because there was so much feeling and exploration in that session that it is a classic.


I started listening to hip hop music back in 1982 or so but back then I never thought I would be a part of hip hop history myself. I used to record tracks off the radio and play back the cassette to learn all the words. Back then I was infatuated with the sound since it was so gritty and different from anything else. My favorite hip hop was  NWA's "Straight Outta Compton" and it was the first tape that I actually bought. I still have it as a matter of fact. I think I first started wanted to actually make my own music after I heard Dr. Dre's "The Chronic" and Warren G's "Regulate"but I didn't make any moves in that direction until many years later.


After I turned 18 I really didn't play much at all, except maybe a coupla times a year when I was close to a piano or at a music shop. I don't think I started playing again until I was about 24 or so, when I got my first keyboard (Kawai x-50) and I got back into it again and started playing in jazz clubs and different groups. TBoldhat lasted a couple of years and I kinda gave it up again for a few more years. Then this church asked me to play for them because they had no piano player and at first I said no, mainly because I hadn't been to church in years, let alone play for one. I had never played for a church and didn't remember any songs from when I was a kid but eventually I did start playing there and it has been a beautiful ride ever since. I ended up playing for a number of churches and currently I play at Hill Street Baptist in Louisville, Ky.
3:00 AM 
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