In 2011, Music Beats Cancer artist Frank Anthony had a budding music career. He had just finished working on his debut album with music producer Poo Bear, dropped a single with rapper Tyga that reached over 200,000 YouTube views in one night, and was heading back home to take over the Canadian market. Suddenly, his music career had to be put on hold.
“All of a sudden out of nowhere I had these weird symptoms,” Frank Anthony said. “It became a burden on my quality of life, so I went to the doctor and I found out I had Stage III lymphoma.”
The cancer had spread to Frank Anthony’s stomach, chest, and neck, so he underwent treatments for a year and a half while he took a break from music. As of today, it’s been three and a half years since Anthony completed his treatment.
“I’m comfortable sharing my story because it’s easier to talk about now. I’m back and I’m strong,” he said.
Frank Anthony came across the Music Beats Cancer organization, and he decided to join in the partnership to raise money and awareness for cancer research. “Their platform goes hand in hand with my story because I had cancer myself,” Frank Anthony said.
Music Beats Cancer isn’t the only cancer organization that Frank Anthony has been involved with. “A few years ago, I wrote a theme song for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society of Canada’s campaign that was available for sale. About 90% of the song’s proceeds went to the foundation. It was a big honor to ask me to do that, and I was able to write the song within ten minutes in the car because it was so personal,” Frank Anthony said.
Music has always been an important part of Frank Anthony’s life. His father was heavily involved with music when Frank Anthony was growing up, and Frank Anthony “admired what he did, [watching] him and his bands practice.” That strong musical presence at the beginning of Frank Anthony’s life led him to pursue a music career. “I’ve always felt that music was something I wanted to do… It’s been the backbone of my life; I go to sleep listening to music, and when I wake up in the morning it’s to my favorite song. It gets me going,” he said.
As for Frank Anthony’s musical style, he draws from diverse musical genres. “If you look on my iPod it’s ridiculous; put it on shuffle and you’ll hear the most random playlist ever,” he said. Much of his inspiration comes from R&B and soul music. “Love songs and more emotional music is what I’m drawn to and what I feel comfortable writing about and singing,” Frank Anthony said.
Artists like Elvis, James Brown, Donny Hathaway, and R. Kelly motivate Frank Anthony’s artistry as well. “My biggest influence is R. Kelly; he’s one of my favorite artists. He’s multi-talented, he produces, and his voice is incredible,” he said.
With a notable debut album and pop music success already behind him, Frank Anthony now looks to the future. “For now we’re going to release a song called ‘Distance.’ I worked on the song with Miles Ryan Harris, a songwriter in L.A., and I produced it with Boi-1da, one of Drake’s most prevalent producers. We will be releasing it online soon,” he said.
“‘Distance’ is a pretty emotional and heartfelt song, and that’s what I wanted to start this next project off with. It has all the elements I want to be in my music,” Frank Anthony said.
After Frank Anthony’s experiences over the past several years, he has grown both personally and artistically, saying, “I’m both the same and a different person going into [the music industry] the second time around. I’m seeing this from different eyes because of the things I’ve been through and what I’ve seen in the industry. I’m just a regular guy that appreciates love and support from anyone.”
To learn more about Frank Anthony, visit his Music Beats Cancer profile here:
https://musicbeatscancer.org/artist/frank-anthony/
