Our new exclusive interview is with St. Louis based rapper and vocalist ATG (Antonio The Great). This talented artist has performed with artist like Joe Budden, P.O.D, Hed PE, Mushroomhead, Kotton Mouth Kings, Inspectah Deck etc. and strives to keep truth and meaningful lyrics as the main focus of any project he's apart of.

Speaking of projects, ATG recently released a very DOPE 14-track album entitled “Legacy” and has shared the visuals for one of album’s featured songs, “Therapy”. Enjoy our Q&A with ATG below and be sure to stream “Legacy”, check out some of his other videos and connect with him on Facebook.

The word "Legacy" has a strong connotation; what led you to name that your new album and what does it represent for you?

I wanted to create a project that will hopefully live on after I'm gone. Something for my friends, family and fans to remember me by. I was iffy on the idea of releasing a solo album because I'm currently working on an album with my band. I decided, I needed to introduce myself and tell my story. Also, kinda scratching it off the bucket list lol.

One of the standout tracks on the 14-track album is "Therapy". Why did you select this track to create a video for and who directed it?

“Therapy” is probably my favorite track off the album. It was also the last song I added to the project. I feel like this track does a great job of telling my story and hopefully it will inspire. This video was directed by my homie Freddy D'angelo over at Freddy D'angelo Studios.

Tell us about your band Discrepancies and why it's important for you to have live music as part of your shows.

I love hip-hop, that's definitely my first love. But there's something special about creating a track from the ground up and then performing it in front of everyone with a full band. The energy is always through the roof when we hit the stage together. These are my brothers. We've only been a band for a little over 4 years but we've traveled across the country and crushed so many goals already. We're just getting started.

When a lot of people think about St. Louis hip-hop, the name Nelly pops to mind even though he hasn't really been a chart topper for over 10 years. Describe the hip-hop scene in the city now, especially for emerging rappers.

Yeah, St. Louis is definitely mostly known for the commercial success of rapper like Nelly, Chingy, J-Kwon etc. What I've realized is that people don't understand that we also have some real lyricist here. Not saying that those guys aren't great lyricist. They're amazing and they inspired the entire city. But we have real battle seasoned emcees as well, like Aye Verb & Hitman Holla. We have emcees with impeccable flow like Tef Poe & Bo Dean. Emcee led bands like Midwest Avengers, Common Jones & Steve O'Brien. Among my personal favorites are emcees like P.R.E.A.C.H. & Stevie Stone.

We also have some remarkable emcees with that old school flow like Egan's Rats, Altayzie, Scrub & Ace Ha. Unfortunately our market isn't really looking for what we're offering it seems. But there's crazy amounts of potential here.

With 2018 winding down, what do you look forward to the most in the new year and what are your goals musically?

My band is currently working on our 2nd LP. We will be dropping that sometime in the new year and hit the road for a bit. I plan on writing a follow up solo album in my downtime between shows. So hopefully I will be able to drop that before the end of 2019.

Why should every person reading this interview go listen to your new album "Legacy" immediately?

Not only does this album bring lyricism back into the conversation, but I've managed to cram 14 features into this album and still tell MY story. If you're into bars or substance, this is the album for you.

Stream and Share “Legacy” on Spotify

Watch ATG’s other videos: The Elements | Prevail/Wake Up

Connect with ATG: Facebook