Crisp autumn air flows through your window, bringing the cold silence of the witching hour. Not even the low rumble of I-75 can comfort you as you toss and turn, searching for the peace to fall asleep finally. With no relief in sight, you turn to your radio to settle your loneliness. Switching through stations, you’re jolted out of your insomnia-driven trace. A howl rings through the speaker, and the music transports you into the world of nightmare RADIO*. Artist and producer Tony LeRoy, simply known as Tony!, dives into his latest album in this CityBeat exclusive.
Raised in Florence, Kentucky, Tony!’s exposure to music came from humble beginnings. Like many kids, Tony! found his love for music through his parents’ CDs and the music around him. This love of music followed him throughout his life, and it was only a matter of time before he started to make his own songs. He started his musical journey in second grade and continued to hone his writing skills until finally making the jump into crafting his own sound. Despite the fear of rejection, he committed wholeheartedly to his first singles.
“My freshman year of high school, Frank Ocean released Nostalgia, Ultra, and it inspired me so much that I felt that I had to start releasing music. I knew some people wouldn’t take me seriously because there wasn’t a soul putting music out in Florence, but I also knew I was good at rapping because I had been writing for almost 10 years at that point. So I put three songs on SoundCloud and people loved them, and I went on to put stuff out throughout high school.”
After a brief hiatus after graduation, he made a serious return to his craft. In 2018, Tony! began producing his own beats and started to get serious about releasing music and making it accessible on streaming services. Through this process, he started to engross himself in the scene by collaborating with local artists.
“After working with them, I became more acquainted with those in the Cincy scene, and I’ve been locked in with everybody since I’m still constantly meeting new talented people,” Tony! said. “My goal is to work with everybody in the city in some capacity.”
Since then, he has released three LPs and a multitude of singles and EPs. After about a year of preparation, on July 19, fans were delighted to finally hear the enigma of nightmare RADIO*. Reflecting on his evolution as an artist, Tony! shared how his creative process has transformed, especially after stepping into music production.
“I think when I started, I wanted to be the best rapper in a technical sense,” Tony! told CityBeat. “I didn’t make beats at the time, so all of my creative energy was going into songwriting. And looking back on it, I think I was doing too much lyrically at times. Once I started to make beats, I was expressing myself so much through the production that I didn’t feel the need to say as much. Don’t get me wrong, I can still rap my ass off and will. But I’ve developed better judgment as far as deciding whether or not it’s needed for a particular song.”
This focus on the production of each song is apparent through the seamless transitions between songs and his knack for collaboration. “Usually, when I’m making the beat, I’m already starting to think about which one of the homies would fit on it, and how their voices sound is usually the deciding factor,” Tony! said. “Being open-minded is another one. I’m going to try to get you out of your comfort zone and get you on styles of music you’ve never been on before, so you’ve got to be willing to take risks. Lucky for me, there are tons of super talented musicians here in Cincy.”
His discography reflects these risks, evolving from warm, organic sounds to more synthetic, experimental tones. As he describes it, “The best way I can put it is that this album sounds much more metallic than my past works. ALLSTAR had a lot of organic sounds — a lot of live drum breaks, brass/woodwind instruments, electric basslines, etc. — while nightmare RADIO* is way more synthetic. One feels warm and the other feels cold.” nightmare RADIO* wasn’t conceived on a whim — this album had been brewing long before Tony made his first song.
Known for his introspective lyrics, nightmare RADIO* pivots into experimentation. When asked if any life events inspired the content of nightmare RADIO*, he recalls the inception of his album. “Yes and no. With this project, I wanted to lean into escapism so there are not too many instances of looking within or reflecting on life experiences. But at the same time, the theme and aesthetic for this project have been brewing since I was a kid. I’ve been crafting hypothetical albums before I ever started recording. In middle school, I would write notebooks full of tracklists with notes on how the production would sound and what features I would have. One of the concepts I came up with a while back was this industrial, futuristic version of club music, and it turned into nightmare RADIO*. I always reference the nightclubs in Blade and The Matrix as the inspiration, and I think seeing those movies when I was younger planted the seed subconsciously.”
Crafting an album of your dreams isn’t without its struggles. Balancing his vision and the expectations of the music market crafted the overall experience of nightmare RADIO*. “My biggest challenge was figuring out how to balance experimentation and accessibility. Initially, the album was extremely left-field. It sounded something along the lines of Arca or Sophie with more hip-hop elements. But I felt like it sounded too much like Yeezus, so I dialed it back and ended up making something that was easier to listen to. I still plan on executing that initial vision in the future though.”
Although it may not be an exact replica of its original concept, the album still holds the same meaning to him. Tony! points to “prollemz!,” where he collaborated with fellow local artist Nova, as a prime example of how the project evolved during its creation. “Big shout out to Nova for making that with me. When we started on the song we joked a lot about how it sounded Ray J and B2K coded. But we quickly realized how much potential the song had…I revisited the song months later, added everything after the rap verse, and it just felt like one of the most complete songs I ever made. It’s constantly progressing from start to finish. It’s catchy and experimental, but it’s still accessible. I’m very proud of that one.”
nightmare RADIO* will be one of the standout albums amongst his work. While it paints just a small portion of his work, when asked how he hopes this album will shape his legacy as an artist, he reiterates the importance of diversifying his discography.
“My goal is to have one of those discographies that nobody can agree on. If you ask a bunch of Prince fans what his best album is, you’re going to get a million different answers. So, not to downplay the album, but I want it to be a small (but loved) part of a bigger collection of ideas. And if it has its own little audience of people who view it as my best work, then hell yeah. But we’re so early in my story that it’s hard to say.”
As listeners journey through nightmare RADIO*, they are immersed in a blend of intensity and introspection, feeling the darkness and energy Tony! brings to his music. The album’s layered emotions make it feel like an experience that lingers long after the last track. When asked to reflect on the emotions captured in the album, Tony! compares the experience to a vivid recurring dream: “Probably that combination of fear and excitement. Like riding a rollercoaster or going to a haunted house. The thrill of being in danger.”
You can find nightmare RADIO* on Spotify and Apple Music.
For a deeper dive into Tony’s creative process, his evolution as an artist and insights into his past work, check out this video.
Listen to “show me sum” by Tony!:
This article appears in Oct 2, 2024 – Oct 15, 2043.