When it comes to accomplished producers in the culture of Hip-Hop who continue to push the game forward, you’ve always gotta mention Amadeus.
Dubbed a super-producer, and born as Antwan Thompson in The Bronx— the breeding ground for hip-hop’s beginnings– Amadeus got some pretty hefty names under his belt. He’s produced for the likes of Jennifer Lopez, Young M.A., Lil’ Mo, Jim Jones, Remy Ma, Busta Rhymes and even stepped into the pop realm when he collaborated with Justin Bieber on his holiday album Under The Mistletoe. And we can’t forget how he produced ESPN’s First Take theme song.
But before he was working with heavy-hitters he was just another kid from New York whose love of music and play instruments came from a stroke of luck. He came through the CasBar to chop it up with the team about his roots and battle it out in a few games.
“It started with me learning how to the drums in fourth grade. We were forced to pick up a musical instrument and I was absent on the day. So the next day when I came in the only instruments left were the violin and the drums,” he remembers.
In the end, his neighborhood ultimately helped him make his choice.
“I’m from 169th Street and Washington Avenue in the Bronx. I’m already a target because I’ve got on the slacks, the dress shirt, the ties, and shiny shoes, so I was not going to choose the violin. I ended up picking up the drums. Even though I never played a day in my life, I was able to play every rhythm pattern that the teacher played. It was that moment that I had something unique and special. And here we are 19 years later, produced for over 90 major artists,” Amadeus added.
In the CasBar man cave, he was able to easily defeat Bruce in a game of connect four but watch the latest episode of CasBar up top to see if Amadeus was able to take home the W against Beanz in Street Fighter.
