aaamusic | On 28, Jan 2011

Anthony David is a Grammy nominee and is President Obama’s favourite new artist. He discovered and managed India.Arie in her early days and has performed on BBC’s ‘Later With Jools Holland’. He releases his third studio album- As Above So Below on February 21^st on Dome Records.

As Above, So Below sees David team up with a new producing partner from Nashville- Shannon Sanders (Heather Headley, India.Arie). From the gospel-rock political  What God Said, to his stunning opening single 4evermore –  featuring fellow Atlanta vocalist Algebra and rapper Phonte from Little Brother – to his confident remake of Tears for Fears’ Everybody Wants To Rule The World, on which he shares vocals with his cousin, Shawn Stockman from Boyz II Men, it gives you Anthony David unvarnished.  There’s even a seven-minute acoustic tale about life on the ghetto streets, “Backstreet”.

Often described as the heir-apparent to his early influence Bill Withers, David is elbowing a space for intelligent lyrics and a grown man’s voice in a scene that’s in a race to be young. A student of Wither’s lyricism; the masculine rhythms of Beres Hammond and Frankie Beverly; the storytelling of Slick Rick and Jay-Z; and the blues of Lightning Hopkins, Howling Wolf, and T-Bone Walker, David is ushering back the kind of masculine soul that men can identify with and that ladies can nestle up to.

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President Obama was delivering a get-out-the-vote message on the US nationally syndicated Rickey Smiley Morning Show last month, and when the conversation turned away from politics he was asked who he was listening to on his iPod.  He replied: “You know, I have actually been listening to some of the neo soul. The First Lady turned me on to Anthony David – he’s got some nice music”.

Michelle Obama is previously on record as having Anthony’s music in pride of place on her iPod.

Anthony David was the opening act for Boyz II Men on a recent UK tour and made his first TV appearance on the BBC’s ‘Later With Jools Holland’. Georgia’s son with the famously raspy voice never dreamed of becoming a singer, not with other family members who sang with multi-platinum groups Xscape and Boyz II Men.

Originally from Savannah, Georgia, he moved to Atlanta to jumpstart his music career. It was in Atlanta that he discovered India.Arie and went on to pen Part Of My life for her critically acclaimed and multi-Grammy nominated debut album Acoustic Soul. He later toured the world as one of her backing singers and he never forgot the beauty of the ordinary when drawing on his experiences to write songs.

“It wasn’t until I heard some Bill Withers songs  that I got the inspiration to really try singing and then I found my vocal stride.”

David’s second album – The Red Clay Chronicles contained Words, his Grammy-nominated duet with India.Arie.