It is seldom to find someone who actually uses their talents to edify their community. Sequential artist and emcee, Antonio L. Vaughan, does just that with his comic book series entitled “AdynastyO: I Am Dynasty” and his first album entitled “FBAM: Fly By Any Means.” Vaughan paints a surrealistic autobiography with words and iconic imagery by mixing fantasy and real life experiences and psychedelic musical compositions. Though Antonio always had and innate artisanship for the visual arts, his fascination with the expressiveness of hip-hop music and fashion, as he stated, “were another vehicle to use my creative energy to entertain and inform.
There is no doubt he is a real multi-talent. So we had a conversation with him about his life, professional career and recent projects.
Pro Media Mag : First of all tell us about the start of your professional career?
Antonio : The beginning of my professional career was rocky, full of self doubt, and uncertainty. The city that I am from doesn’t have a healthy outlet for hip hop. Imagine a watching professional sports like football and basketball without referees, without fans in the bleachers, and without commentators on the sideline giving us insight into the game and personal lives of the players. It would be a very interesting game to watch but there would be no structure. That’s how the hip hop scene is for up and coming acts in my hometown. Then one day I just started doing some research. For another way to get the results I was looking for. That was the beginning of my professional career. I haven’t looked by ever since.
Pro Media Mag : Is your creativity inspired by someone?
Antonio : My creativity is inspired by everyone around me. I absorb everything and redistribute that energy to fuel my own creations. However, my mother is my main inspiration. She wasn’t in my life that long but I often wonder what she would be like or what I would be like had she been alive now.
Pro Media Mag : Our readers would like to know more about your comic book series “AdynastyO: I Am Dynasty?
Antonio : AdynastyO: I Am Dynasty is an autobiography at the core. What started out at a comic book series has evolved into a multimedia presentation that will include not only a sequential art aspect but also, music, graffiti, sculpture, apparel, and A feature film presentation.
Pro Media Mag : Tell us about your recently released Album'”FBAM: Fly By Any Means.” ‘?
Antonio :FBAM: Fly By Any Means is about following your heart and achieving your goal any way that you can. The end justifies the means. Don’t let anything stop you from getting to where you want to be. Your only downfall is you. Once you conquer your own inhibitions then you can fly uninterrupted towards realizing your wildest dreams.
Pro Media Mag : What kind of response you have received from the release?
Antonio : I’ve gotten several positive responses. Responses ranges from people really liking one song to being very fond of the whole project. I’ve gotten thousands of streams on several music streaming platforms including soundcloud and Spotify as well as comments from people expressing their feelings about the overall quality and mood of FBAM: Fly By Any Means.
Pro Media Mag : Comics, music, painting and so many other stuff to do. How do you manage all that? All of them are connected. paintings.
Antonio : Each of the media that I use to create feeds the other. When writing a song I could come up with a words or a mood that impacts the design of a character in my comic book. And when drawing my comic book, I often create drawings that later become
Pro Media Mag : Have you set some goals to achieve?
Antonio : One of my ultimate goals that I set forth is to produce a feature film as the end result of my creative journey through the world of AdynastyO. Every thing that I create brings me a step closer to the realization of this goal.
Pro Media Mag : Are you working on any new project?
Antonio : No. AdynastyO: I Am Dynasty and FBAM: Fly By Any Means are the only project that I am promoting right now. You can get a copy of both project on my website at www.AdynastyO.com