Tony Williams, though today, known primarily as a background performer, has dubbed himself, the World Famous. Having travelled the world over, more than, five times as the background vocalist for the iconic Grammy Winning rapper, Kanye and the actual artist who wrote, produced and performed the vocals on a majority of the hits that he performed from Minneapolis to Melbourne, he has earned the name. Tony has worked with some of the most influential and prolific rappers of this Millennium, Jay-Z, Nas and, of course, Kanye. Not only has Tony’s fame abroad made impressions on fans, but on other performers from Brazil to France. Tony has performed with a French rapper who rapped in French and produced the collaboration for the French music market and a Brazilian rapper who rapped in Portuguese for the Brazilian and Portuguese music markets. Tony had been performing long before his debut with Kanye, having founded several bands from his late teens up until his debut on the Kanye’s College Drop-Out. It is his awe inspiring appreciation for nearly every music genre and the fact that he has “soul” authentically that makes him a priceless artist. He is an actual product of the culture that birthed R &B. As a result, his ability to bring to life authentically what so many artists are forced to imitate or sample, urged artists like Kanye and Jay Z to collaborate with him. He is one of the few who has authentic, first-hand, roots in Rhythm and Blues and Soul and is , one of the few, who is perceptive about, interested in and possesses a style that is relevant; moreover, necessary to today’s Hip Hop movement. If you ask Tony what he wants to achieve with his music, he simply admits, “I do not want to be an international artist, I want to be a local artist all over the world." Tony wants to be connected so closely to his fans that no matter where he is performing, he is viewed and treated like an artist performing in his own home town. For Tony, that translates into creating hits that are timeless, crossing over into those more difficult markets, putting on memorable performances, carefully selecting his venues, meticulously setting the stage and undoubtedly touching the lives of his fans world over, not just, through his music, but through his philanthropy. Tony is determined to make the difference , not only with his “big voice and big ideas, but his big heart!” Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.