Meet Anthony Samuels

We were lucky to catch up with Anthony Samuels recently and have shared our conversation below.

Anthony, looking forward to learning from your journey. You’ve got an amazing story and before we dive into that, let’s start with an important building block. Where do you get your work ethic from?

My work ethic comes from generational trauma.

An idle mind is a devil’s workshop so constantly working can ease the mind of the thoughts of what we have experienced. Being born in America as a black man, or anywhere in the World for that matter, automatically comes with its own requirements of hard work and needing to work twice as hard in order to be considered equal. That coupled with poor parents, one a Panamanian immigrant, developed an insufferable work ethic. To paint a picture; my mother lost her father, mother, and brother in a train crash leaving her wedding. Work and faith is the only way that she survived which was passed down to me in order for me to survive my own life’s struggles.

Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?

Artist & Attorney

Ever since I could remember I have been in love with Hip-Hop. It seems as though my whole life has been attempting to find ways to become a full-time musician. There has been so many twists and turns on the journey. Brown Sugar has always been one of my favorite movies based in the culture of Hip-Hop which would become my careers’ muse. I was sitting in the car with one of my friends in the projects in New Jersey and told him that I was going to combine Taye Diggs and Mos Def into one person; the business and the musician. I was accepted into Howard Law School with a 21-hour 7 days-a-week plan to build a music career and become an Attorney. My mother would always say love no matter this situation; made it to a destination safely, love; received an unexpected blessing, love; a roof over your head, love. So I decided to name my company How Lovely Records. I was able to build my name in Washington, DC and gained many touring opportunities while attempting to pass the bar exam. As a current Attorney and musician, I work with the same clients that I work with ha! The same musicians that I collaborate with on music end up becoming my client as an Attorney whereby I administer their copyrights, trademarks, and the like.

If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?

-Observant: God gave us two eyes and one mouth for a reason. See before you speak. By watching and analyzing I have been able to avoid life’s pitfalls prior to experiencing them. I developed awareness and learned how to read body language which became the difference between life and death. Most communication is non verbal so observing will tell you most of the story.
-Mental Toughness: Life is hard and your mind has to be stronger than your emotions or you wont survive. Everything begins with a thought, so I trained my mind to endure the struggles of life. By building a strong mind, I am able to analyze my way out of any circumstance.
-Empath: The ability to feel, understand, and relate to people has been my most impactful quality in my journey. Your network is directly tied to your net worth. Knowing people, down to how they tick, is a huge advantage. I have real emotional reactions to individuals that tell me a heartfelt story which resonates with them to the point that they want to help me.

The best way to develop and improve in these areas and others is to always embrace new experiences. Never stay stagnant in your perspectives; there is always something new to learn and learning creates knowledge and knowledge is power!

Thanks so much for sharing all these insights with us today. Before we go, is there a book that’s played in important role in your development?

The Autobiography of Malcolm X

The Autobiography of Malcolm X is the most important book I have ever read and my life would not be the same without it. I have always had a undying curiosity with creation, God, the universe, purpose, and destiny. My questions were always left unanswered. Slavery, Jim Crow, Segregation and the overall miseducation of African Americans left such a gaping hole in my soul. To read about Malcolm’s journey from a life of crime to becoming a powerful voice for Black pride, nationalism, and Afrocentric principles resonated with me so much. The text came at such a pivotal time in my life with many forks in the road similar to that of Malcolm’s. One of the most impactful nuggets of wisdom I learned from the text was that education is the passport to the future and it’s founded in truth seeking. The truth has always been a form of freedom to me because once you know then you can choose. Another nugget is that a setback is not an ultimate failure. As someone who has had a hard time with grey area, it was always a win or a loss, no in-betweens. Malcolm’s autobiography helped me expand my mentality so that I am not mentally defeated by a setback. The mental expansion allowed me to welcome setbacks because you learn more from losing than from winning.

Contact Info:

Image Credits

Darrin Stevens Photography
How Lovely Records LLC

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