We recently connected with Antonio Martinez and have shared our conversation below.
Antonio, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.
When I first started putting out my music I didn’t know how to get music royalties. But when I started working with the distribution company Distrokid then I started learning about earning money from my art. It was slow at first, but once I learned how to promote my music better I was earning a little more. I started to save as much money as I could for two years and when I was ready, I upgraded my studio equipment.
Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.
My name is Tbonez I rap with a computer due to cerebral palsy and I’m the Stephen Hawking Of Rap. I live in Phoenix AZ, I grew up in South Phoenix with my mom, sister, and brother. I started writing music when I was 12 years old and it started in the classroom. I started to write about my feelings and thoughts which helped me to express myself. Then I started to write about my story and I started releasing my music in 2019. I have four albums, about twenty singles, three EP’s, and I’m to release my fifth album later this year. I really found my voice when I first started to rap with a computer, I’ve had several communication devices in the past dating back in 2005. The newest version is from a company called Smartbox and it’s the best one yet. What sets me apart from other artists is I’m original, I’m doing something that nobody has done before you will see anything like my performance. I want everyone to know that never give up on your dreams you can do whatever you set your mind to it takes hard work and dedication when there’s a will there’s a way.
We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.
I get my toughness from my mom, she’s the strongest person that I know. She’s been through some struggles herself being a single parent and raising two kids was hard especially raising a child with a disability. She has always been real with me, she never treated me differently, and she taught me to never let my disability define me. I never gave up on what I wanted to do, I always wanted to do music I just couldn’t express myself like I wanted, not until I found my voice. I’ve been underestimated all my life and same thing for the music industry. It’s tough for any artist to be heard, so I had to work a little harder than others given my situation. I had to proof that I belonged, I had to proof that I was marketable, and I now seven years of hard work is finally paying off.
We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?
Social media has been great for me, I remember starting my Facebook when I released my first album. I didn’t have many followers (mostly family and friends) but I started to gain fans little by little. Then I started my Instagram in I want to say 2022, once I started to learn how to promote my music and doing more performances, I started gaining more followers. I try to keep my social media strictly for my music, like I don’t let just anyone post on my page. If it ain’t about music, it ain’t about me. I rarely post about my personal life you have to be careful with what post especially on social media. Make sure your page is organized I usually have my music videos and music links pinned on the top of the page so people can see it right away instead of scrolling through posts that doesn’t even have nothing to do with your music so organize is key.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/tbonez_martinez/profilecard/?igsh=MWJtbnY4Ymh2dXpybA==
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tbonez.martinez?mibextid=ZbWKwL
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@tbonezmartinez4522?si=YfwDeBvwcQSu9zN8
- Other: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/tbonez1/doomsday-ep?utm_campaign=website&utm_medium=Email+&utm_source=SendGrid
Image Credits
Hiddengem
Jasaw
My mom
Sister
Brother
Family and friends
All the supporters
All the artists that I’ve collaborated with
All the radio stations and podcasts photographers who gave me the opportunity to tell my story