Tafari Anthony is a Canadian rhythm and blues singer and songwriter.
Originally from
Toronto
Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
,
Ontario
Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...
, Anthony studied
graphic design
Graphic design is a profession, academic discipline and applied art that involves creating visual communications intended to transmit specific messages to social groups, with specific objectives. Graphic design is an interdisciplinary branch of ...
at
Cambrian College
Cambrian College, established in 1967, is a List of Ontario Colleges of Applied Arts and Technology, college of applied arts and technology in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada, partnered with private Hanson College of Business, Health and Techno ...
in
Sudbury. While living there, he was involved in the city's YES Theatre collective, and submitted his original song "Maybe When I Get Older" to
CBC Radio 2
CBC Music (formerly known as CBC FM, CBC Stereo and CBC Radio 2) is a Canadian FM radio network operated by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It used to concentrate on classical and jazz. In 2007 and 2008, the network transitioned towards a ...
's Searchlight competition in 2016.
[Bianca Sutton]
"QUEER VOICES: TORONTO SINGER-SONGWRITER TAFARI ANTHONY TALKS THE MUSIC INDUSTRY, GATE-KEEPING AND TAYLOR SWIFT"
OutTV, July 11, 2019. Although he did not win the competition, he finished in the Top 25; when he released his debut EP ''Die for You'' later in the year, the network placed his single "Know Better" into high rotation
[Olga Kwak, "Rise and Grind: Tafari Anthony". ''Urbanicity Hamilton'', September 2017.] and named it as one of the top Canadian songs of the year.
[ His second EP, ''Remember When'', followed in 2017.][
After taking some time to refine his sound, he returned in 2020 with the singles "Live in a Dream" and "No Good",][Matt Wallock]
"Tafari Anthony Delivers a Soaring Goodbye to a Bad Relationship in 'No Good'"
''American Songwriter
''American Songwriter'' is a bimonthly magazine covering songwriting. Established in 1984, it features interviews, songwriting tips, news, reviews and lyric contest. The magazine is based in Nashville, Tennessee.
History
The ''American Songwri ...
'', October 2020. leading up to the release of his third EP ''The Way You See Me''.[ With the ]COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
limiting touring in 2020, the new singles were promoted in part with a livestreamed performance as part of Sudbury Pride
Sudbury Pride () is a 2SLGBTQ+ Pride advocacy organization based in Greater Sudbury, Ontario, Canada. Their now annual Pride festival, held for the first time in 1997 and organized by a committee that included sociologist Gary Kinsman, was the ...
's digital Queerantine program.
''The Way You See Me'' received a Juno Award
The Juno Awards (stylized as JUNOS), or simply known as the Junos, are awards presented by Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, the Canadian Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences to recognize outstanding achievements in Canada's mu ...
nomination for Adult Contemporary Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2022.
In addition to his solo recordings, Anthony has also performed as a member of the bands Eh440 and Samantha Martin & Delta Sugar, and has had musical theatre roles in touring national productions of ''Love Train'' and ''Red Rock Diner''. He was a credited co-writer of Priyanka's single "Bitch I'm Busy", from the '' Taste Test'' EP.
In 2023, he participated in an all-star recording of Serena Ryder
Serena Lauren Ryder (born December 8, 1982) is a Canadian singer-songwriter. Born in Toronto, she grew up in Millbrook, Ontario. Ryder first gained national recognition with her ballad "Weak in the Knees" in 2007 and has released eight studio ...
's single "What I Wouldn't Do
"What I Wouldn't Do" is a song performed by Canadian singer-songwriter Serena Ryder, which was released as a single in November 2012. The song was written by Ryder and Jerrod Bettis for Ryder's fifth studio album, ''Harmony (Serena Ryder album), ...
", which was released as a charity single to benefit Kids Help Phone
Kids Help Phone () is a Canadian charitable organization that provides online and telephone counselling and volunteer-led, text-based support in English and French to youth across Canada. Kids Help Phone also provides information on how to acc ...
's Feel Out Loud campaign for youth mental health.[Brent Furdyk]
"Feel Out Loud: Alessia Cara, Serena Ryder & More Canadian Artists Collaborate On New Single Promoting Youth Mental Health Initiative"
''Entertainment Tonight Canada
''Entertainment Tonight Canada'' (commonly shortened to ''ET Canada'') is a Canadian entertainment news television series that aired on the Global Television Network from 2005 to 2023. Its branding and format were based on the American entertainm ...
'', March 2, 2023.
He is out as gay
''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.
While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...
.[
]
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anthony, Tafari
21st-century Black Canadian male singers
21st-century Canadian LGBTQ people
21st-century Canadian male singers
21st-century Canadian singer-songwriters
Black Canadian LGBTQ people
Cambrian College alumni
Canadian gay musicians
Canadian LGBTQ singer-songwriters
Canadian male musical theatre actors
Canadian pop singers
Canadian rhythm and blues singers
Gay singer-songwriters
Living people
Singers from Toronto
Year of birth missing (living people)